[Ben Towe]

I have a few questions about it. When I got it the action was extremely tight. We took it apart and wiped a bit of grease away and put it back together and it was smooth. When I got it home I broke it back apart to wipe some more packing grease away and when I put it back together it was tight again. I again tore it down and put it back and it still was too tight. After a couple more tear downs it was smooth again. Am I doing something wrong, or is it the excessive grease? It seems that if it was a quality problem it would not come and go upon assembly and disassembly.

I also would like to know what the minimum safe powder charge is? I'm afraid of going too light for fear the load lever will not seat the ball against the charge, but I like to work up to heavier loads. Also I bought a can of Triple Seven powder which I understand is somewhat more powerful than black powder or Pyrodex so I don't want to get too over zealous. And the final question; will .451 balls work or are the recommended .454 absolutely necessary? The reason I ask is I have 100 .451 balls. Any other advice will be greatly appreciated.