My best 1858 loads

[coopieclan]

I had to buy a new box of balls for my 1858 Reminigton (Pietta)
So I have loaded & shot over 100 rounds.
Some things I have learned:

#11 caps CCI or Remington always go off for me.
The cylinders from Bass Pro Shops work 100.%

My best load is still 25 grains. I have tried more and it is just more smoke.
The only ball I have shot is the Hornandy 454. (swaged-143 grains)

I have tried filling in the cylinder with Grits to keep the ball up close to the barrel but I don't think it helps.

Loading up with the flask is not consistent, I get light loads once in a while.
It is better to use the Tru-View and reading glasses method and get the right amount.

Wonder Wads and my own Crisco/wax mixture work O.K. for me.
I never see any fouling. I clean and grease the gun every time I shoot.

Work up the "Sight Picture" for the distance you are shooting, enjoy the delay between hammer fall and ignition.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
It is always a joy to have a revolver that shoots what you aim at. I am a bit more inclined to the 1851 models but I have a couple caliber.44´s I also enjoy pulling the trigger on. That 25 grain load is probably the best place to start for anyone looking for accuracy. The older Lyman manuals listed accuracy loads for muzzleloaders and I found they were usually right in there. Now all you need is a kind farmer who has too many groundhogs chomping his beans or corn. Neck & head shots generally park most any size ground hog. Big ones can go amazing distances shot through the lungs & shoulders with a RB.
Mike in Peru

[Fly]

Well I shoot 30 to 35 grains in my Remey & it is the most accurate hang gun I own .My
son in law is a OKC policeman & it out shot his 40 cal S&W & his Glock.He said he wished
he could carry it on duty.

Fly

[Jon]

I shoot 25 grain with mine as well. It seems to be pretty accurate with that charge. I do need to smooth up the trigger a bit though.

[Omnivore]

Coop; that's 25 grains of...what? Goex 3F? Pyrodex P?

...enjoy the delay between hammer fall and ignition.

There shouldn't be any noticable delay. The perception should be just the same as firing a modern metal cartridge gun. If you're getting a delay, something's wrong.

I've been using CCI #10 or Remington #10 on my Pietta. The CCI #10s are technically too tight, but the main spring on my Rem has plenty of power and only rarely results in a misfire with those caps. Remington #10s are slightly loose, but they always fire. Once in a great while one will fall off prematurely. 11s in either brand would be too big on mine (factory nipples). I found the Remington #10s to be the perfect fit on the Treso nipples I have on a Pietta Colt.

I've been using 28 or more grains Goex 3F. I might try the 25 grains, just for kicks, and see how that goes. I've never gotten the accuracy from the Remington that I get from the Colt.

My charges have always been thrown from a flask, but testing them using a powder scale I do notice a couple grains variance from one charge to the next. I guess the real test would be velocity extreme spread and standard deviation. But actually, no-- the real test would be group size.

Using Pyrodex P, I have noticed more delayed ignition. With Goex 3F it is a rarity.

[cwskirmisher]

I use RWS 1075 caps. They fit very well - tight enough to stay on when the other cylinder goes off, and split nicely when fired and fall off - not jammed onto the nipple requiring a pen knife to get off.

I shoot 18 grains 3F at 25 yards, and 21.5 grains at 50 yards using the same POA for both. Very accurate. I top my powder with cream of wheat and lube the top with a stiff crisco/beeswax (peanut butter consistancy). Fouling is what you would normally expect, but it stays soft and I can shoot all I want without having to clean between cylinder loads.

I use Hornaday .457 swaged balls, which are perfectly fine. I have used Speer as well, also perfectly fine. I have moulded my own too - also fine. Use a ball large enough to shave a ring sliver of lead when loaded.

Never had any 'delay' in ignition. If you do, there must be oil residue in the bottom of the chamber - snap a few caps before loading to dry it out.

[Fly]

(QUOTE) I top my powder with cream of wheat and lube the top with a stiff crisco/beeswax (peanut butter consistancy).

Man that sounds like dinner time,Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (wink) just kidding!

Fly

[coopieclan]

Delay...
I'm talking a quarter of a second, is that bad?
Could it be my powder/cap combination?
I use Pyrodex, not because I love it. It was easy to buy.
I plan to get some 777 or real B.P. some time.

[cwskirmisher]

Delay...
I'm talking a quarter of a second, is that bad?
Could it be my powder/cap combination?
I use Pyrodex, not because I love it. It was easy to buy.
I plan to get some 777 or real B.P. some time.

Pyrodex is known to be a bit harder to ignite, your delay is probably due to that.

[Fly]

Pyrodex is known to be a bit harder to ignite, your delay is probably due to that.

That why I don't like Pyrodex.I bought some years back when it first came out.
I ended up giving it away.I know bp is dirty, but thats all my guns see.

Fly

[frnkeore]

You might try duplexing your loads with FFFG to keep from throwing the Pyro away. I'd suggest at least 5 gr black and 10 gr might be better.

Frank

[UweJ]

My Remmie likes 16 grain swiss 2 (3FFF) with 16 grains of COW, shoots POA.Good for competition at 25 meters.
Uwe

[coopieclan]

My Remmie likes 16 grain swiss 2 (3FFF) with 16 grains of COW, shoots POA.Good for competition at 25 meters.
Uwe

25 meters W0W.

Thats some tight shootin' Cowboy!

[UweJ]

With Remmies you only have two choices here in germany, target bullseye shooting at 25 meters or CASS shooting thats why we sight them in only at 25 meters.
Uwe

[Omnivore]

Coop; I don't see that UweJ gave a group size or anything like that.

[treadhead1952]

Well, after years of having mostly Colt Clones, I finally pulled the trigger on a Pietta 5 and 1/2 inch barreled .44 Remington. Perhaps it was watching "Pale Rider" too many times or the idea of getting a .45 Colt conversion cylinder later on down the line. Since Cabelas' put 'em on sale and is offering a rebate, I couldn't resist it any longer.

[UweJ]

I can get it down to 4.5-5.5 inches with 10 shots

[Depreacher]

coopieclan

I'm an old cap and ball man. My first was an original Manhatten .36 (1851 copy) I bought in 1959 and learned how to load and shoot it. Shot many, many balls from several revolvers on Red River through the years. I used to load from the flask directly into the cylinder with smoke still coming out of the barrel. Not uncommon on a turtle shoot, when you were shooting and reloading as fast as you could, so your compadre would not get a higher score count than you at the end of the day. About 5 years ago I, imagined the horror of a flask explosion, the loss of fingers, eye or eyes, and possible loss of life. At 68, still possesing both eyes and all 10 fingers, I now throw 25 to 28 gr. of 777 into a .357 case, then transfer that to the big .44 cyclinder on my 1860 Uberti. If loading for the initial loading, or if the gun hasn't been shot for a few minutes, I normally will throw directly into the chamber, and not worry about it. BUT, otherwise I use the .357 case. For some reason my flask throws very uniformly. It's all in the procedure. Remember,Where there's smoke there's .... Love 'em and enjoy 'em, but always keep your guard up against an accident. Mack

[Fly]

Guy's Mack is so right on the safety thing.Alot of you that read this form,know I make my own black powder.

I have handled BP for over 30 years.But I have NEVER lost respect for it.HEAT, SPARKS are
what you avoid.You do that & most ,likely you will live a long & injury free life with BP!

JMOHOP Fly