what powder to use?

[mozeppa]

my uncle gave me his cap & ball 1860 engraved revolver ...round barrel...high polished steel...(possibly stainless?)
its a beauty!
he had long ago lost all the tools , loading data, and virtually everything that came with it
save a small tin of 44 cal. balls.

then he produces a un-opened 1 lb bottle of pyrodex RS powder and says: "here ..this goes with it."

at my best guess this is RIFLE powder and not PISTOL powder!

am i wrong in saying that he avoided a catastrophy by NOT using the above powder?
what should that powder be used in?

what should i use?

[Tatume]

Using it won't be catastrophic, it just won't produce velocity as great as FFFg powder.

[mooman76]

It would not have been catastrophic. It just wouldn't burn as efficient as the pistol powder. It still would work reasonably well. Unlike smokeless powder, the difference in BP and subs is just the granule size. In fact what is considered pistol powder FFF works really well in most rifles. By the way, the RS stands for Rifle/Shotgun. You can use it if you like rather than letting it go to waist or save it. If you like the pistol, you likely will want to get a rifle at some point. Pyrodex P is what you want or FFF Black powder if you can locate some.

[Denny303]

not a big fan of pyrodex of any granulation, id find some 3f black and save the pyrodex for a rainy day. BTW. welcome to the world of blackpowder shooting!