suggested loads using Swiss in a 1858 Remington

[49FMarlin]

Im looking for a starting and Max load for my 1858 Pietta, using swiss powder,

I'm brain-farting but i "think" i read or heard you should use a reduced load compared to a Goex load,
but can't remember what the reduction was,

and as i have swiss 2F and 3F id like to use it

thanks
John

[rfd]

for starters, 25 grains of swiss 3f under a 1/8" lubed felt wad and a .454" pure lead ball for my uberti 1858 rem NMA.

a pair of remington replicas ...

http://i.imgur.com/u3cBLKw.jpg

[rodwha]

There is no need to reduce your charge. Some claim that with Hodgdon's Triple 7, but they are taking what's said to create a similar velocity when using black powder (except that both Swiss and Olde Eynsford give very similar velocity as T7) and figuring it to mean it's for safety reasons, much as they do for compression of it as well, which is only stated when loading cartridges and not for other uses.

[Omnivore]

You can use as small a charge as you want, but just make sure you're getting the ball down onto the powder, or use a filler such as cream of wheat, or corn meal, etc. to see that you're seating the ball onto the charge. Technically, the "minimum charge" would be that charge which reliably gets the ball out the barrel. If balls are sticking in the barrel, you know your powder charge is too light.

The maximum charge is that charge which still allows the projectile to fit below the cylinder face. If the cylinder can't rotate because the balls are sticking out a little bit and jamming on the end of the barrel, and you can't seat the ball any deeper to avoid interference, then you know your powder charge is too heavy. That'd be close to 45 grains of real black with a round ball, 35 grains with the Lee 200 grain conical seated hard-- it depends on the length of the projectile, and on the brand of powder-- Swiss and Olde Eynsford are slightly more dense than Goex, while some of the substitutes are more easily compressed than real black.

2F or 3F will both work, but you'll get more efficiency out of the pistol using 3F. "Conical" bullets in the range of 200 to 240 grains will get the best energy efficiency out of the pistol. A compact 240 grain bullet and 30 grains of real black is about all you'll be able to fit into a chamber.

In the 1860s the predominant loading method was the paper cartridge. Cartridge loads varied widely, but most ranged from 20 to 30 grains of powder and a 230 to 255 grain bullet.

sources; American Manufacturers of Combustible Ammunition, by Terry A White. The book on percussion handguns, the name of which escapes me at the moment, by Cumpston and Bates-- you can look it up.