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Chuck Dye · July 14, 2002, 07:51 PM

If you don't have a copy of the Lyman Black Powder Handbook, get one. Until the 20th century "bolt action" inline ignition gadgets came along, I never encountered a black powder question it does not answer. It also has a great deal of history and a lot of ballistics. Lyman agrees with my one friend who shoots the Ruger-you cannot overload it with black powder and N0. 10 caps. It has been a while, but I think I recall my buddy's roundball max load was a .457" ball 45 grains FFFg, no wad, greased. Our most shot load was the .457 roundball, 35 grains FFFG with an OxYoke wad, no grease. Never tried conical bullets.
My Armi San Paolo replica 1858 Remington calls for a .451" ball but shoots noticably better with a .453" that leaves a very thin ring behind when it is seated. Just be sure to remove the rings before shooting.

Lyman's Old Army FFFg loads-143 gr ball, Remington No. 10 cap, Lyman lube, no patch are:
G-O powder
30.0 gr 858fps 233ft-lbs
40.0 gr 917fps 263ft-lbs

C&H powder
30.0 gr 761fps 184ft-lbs
40.0 gr 772fps 189ft-lbs

FFFFg G-O brand
31.0 gr 964fps 295ft-lbs
41.0 gr 1036fps 340ft-lbs

C&H powder
31.0 gr 911fps 263ft-lbs
41.0 gr 1021fps 331ft-lbs

All the 30.0 and 31.0 grain loads use cornmeal filler between powder and ball.

Lyman's #45468 185 grain conical over 34.0 grains G-O yields 813fps, 271ft-lbs

We tend to either go for the max or go for best accuracy. We rarely tolerate the nuisance of cornmeal filler loads unless we are introducing small kids to "the stinky guns"-"I shot a .44, I shot a .44!!!!"

July 14, 2002, 07:51 PM	#2
Chuck Dye Senior Member Join Date: June 28, 2002 Location: Oregon-The wet side. Posts: 949	If you don't have a copy of the Lyman Black Powder Handbook, get one. Until the 20th century "bolt action" inline ignition gadgets came along, I never encountered a black powder question it does not answer. It also has a great deal of history and a lot of ballistics. Lyman agrees with my one friend who shoots the Ruger-you cannot overload it with black powder and N0. 10 caps. It has been a while, but I think I recall my buddy's roundball max load was a .457" ball 45 grains FFFg, no wad, greased. Our most shot load was the .457 roundball, 35 grains FFFG with an OxYoke wad, no grease. Never tried conical bullets. My Armi San Paolo replica 1858 Remington calls for a .451" ball but shoots noticably better with a .453" that leaves a very thin ring behind when it is seated. Just be sure to remove the rings before shooting. Lyman's Old Army FFFg loads-143 gr ball, Remington No. 10 cap, Lyman lube, no patch are: G-O powder 30.0 gr 858fps 233ft-lbs 40.0 gr 917fps 263ft-lbs C&H powder 30.0 gr 761fps 184ft-lbs 40.0 gr 772fps 189ft-lbs FFFFg G-O brand 31.0 gr 964fps 295ft-lbs 41.0 gr 1036fps 340ft-lbs C&H powder 31.0 gr 911fps 263ft-lbs 41.0 gr 1021fps 331ft-lbs All the 30.0 and 31.0 grain loads use cornmeal filler between powder and ball. Lyman's #45468 185 grain conical over 34.0 grains G-O yields 813fps, 271ft-lbs We tend to either go for the max or go for best accuracy. We rarely tolerate the nuisance of cornmeal filler loads unless we are introducing small kids to "the stinky guns"-"I shot a .44, I shot a .44!!!!" __________________ Gee, I'd love to see your data!