How many G. powder in the 1858 in Civil war

[Remington kid]

Anyone know for sure how many g. of power was the accepted load used in the 1858 Remington during the Civil war? After doing alot of research on this I can't find anything that documents it in any diaries or manuals.
Any real info would be appreciated. Thanks for any responces, Mike

[Lakewood Lobo]

I have two of them and am a member of S.A.S.S. When I asked some old timers I was told to use between 28 and 30 grains of 2f (ffg) powder and round ball. From my reading and research I found only round ball was used as it was easier and faster to cast. It was also easier to load and you could carry more. In the dark and heat of battle it didn't matter which 'end' went in the chamber first. If you go under 28 grains you can at times actually see the bullet travel down range.

[Remington kid]

Lobo, I used 30 g.fffg in mine and have for years for target and for the woods, (Snakes and other critters) I carry 35g .Accuracy is just as good at least I think it is. I can blow the head off a rattler at 10 paces,lol.
I was always curious as to how much the solder used in his Remington in battle. Someone else told me that they read it was 28 g. I just thought they would use all they could but maybe they kept there powder use down. Mike
PS I lived in Lakewood and Downey when I was a kid. Finished 7th grade in Downey junior high many, many years ago

[Lakewood Lobo]

Remington, like I said I use between 28 and 30 but I do prefer 30. It's recommended by Lee Reloading Supplies also. I've been shooting the black powder more than the smokeless though. More fun. You touch it off and all that smoke. You wait for it to clear and hope you hit the target. ) I've shot my Thompson Center .54 percussion (I call 'her' Big Bertha cause she's big, mean looking and deadly) so much I had to replace the lock. Haven't fired yet with the new lock in her. Just bought a Pedersoli flint lock. Never fired one before. This'll be a comedy of errors for sure. <LOL> I bought a Walker in .44 last year. Love that one . I drop in 50 grains and fire it off. Better use two hands too. Heavy son-of-a-gun. Good sized kick too. Lots of flame, smoke and bang. I wear my 1858's when I go to S.A.S.S. events and go as a conventioneer. This year I'm going as a Waddie (worker bee) and dressing down some. Then on Saturday my wife and I dress up in our finery and go strut our stuff as conventioneers. It's a hoot if you've never done it. I've met police, lawyers, doctors, maintenance workers, movie stuntmen, actors. People from all walks of life.
When did you leave and where are you now?

[Low Key]

I know that fffg is the recommended granulation for a blackpowder pistol and I have read that some use ffg instead, especially the old timers. But is there a difference in performance? Does one give more punch than the other?

Remington kid, I like to carry my 1858 in the woods with me and use a 30 gr charge of 777, what do you think, would 35 gr of 777 be too much since 777 supposedly develops 15% higher velocities than regular blackpowder?

[Remington kid]

Lowkey, I really can't comment on the 777 because I have never used it. I had some pyrodex once when they first came out with and dumped it in a mud puddle after useing it a couple of times,Lol.
I would think that if you haven't had any problems with the 777 yet and it works well for accuracy that it should be fine. Some people say that the remington loaded with 35g FFFg and a .454 ball give's about the same ballistics as a .38 special +P Load. I really believe it's a little more than that but that's just a guess on my part. If the 777 gives off 15% more velocitey then that gun of yours should be Smoken!!, Lol
As for the different powders they were made to be used in certain caliber guns because of burn rate and preasure caused. If you used the same amount of fffg in a shotgun as you did useing ffg you could be asking for trouble. Here is what the Goex chart say's:

1-fg -used for very large bore guns.
2-ffg-used for .50 calib. or above and shotguns.
3-fffg- Standard for .31, .36, and .44 Calb.

[Remington kid]

Lobo, I'm 59 now and my older brother was living out there when I was about 13-14 and I went to stay with him for a while . It was great but my parents were not about to let me stay in Calif. Maybe that was a good thing,Lol.
I was born and raised in small farming comunity called Copley ,Ohio (5 miles west of Akron) Now it's all high rises and concrete. Moved to St. Marys, Wv (right across the Ohio river and bought a two story log cabin in the boon docks and lived there for about 5 years. Then about 7 years ago we moved to south central , WV (Clay County) and moved in to a house on top of a mountain. My closest neighbor is a half mile away . Closest store is 9 miles. Closest Wal-mart or mall is 55 miles . Lots of Bear, Deer ,Turkey and had a Bob-cat in the drivway last week watching the humming birds feed on our front porch,Lol. My wife was not to happy.
Get's a little lonely some times, but we like it. Mike

[Low Key]

If the 777 gives off 15% more velocitey then that gun of yours should be Smoken!!, Lol

Smokes every time I shoot it! I don't have a chrono so I don't know if the 777 really gives that kind of velocity, but I read in another thread that a guy had chrono'ed some 777 and said the increase was more like 20% above regular blackpowder but I don't know that is a fact. Thanks for the info though.

WV eh? You're not too far from me. I live in E TN, couldn't throw a rock from here to there but I'm not much farther away. I also live on top of a big hill, deer, bobcats, foxes, and other animals surround me but that's OK...they're good entertainment.

[Lakewood Lobo]

I would be leery of using 35 grains. Some of these new powders developed to replicate or replace black powder are all fine and dandy in that they are more stable and less prone to give unexpected bangs. The problem is that their pressures are higher than what the firearm was originally designed for. It's like my Super Blackhawk. If I keep reloading at maximum all the time the continuous pressures built up weakens the metal over the course of time much quicker than if I reload in the mid-range to low end of the chart. It's highly not recommended. As for Pyrodex, it is extremely corrosive. I just bought two Ruger Vaqueroes in .45 Long Colt. They were used exclusively in mounted (from the back of a horse at full gallop) shooting events at S.A.S.S. events and in practice bouts. The individual used strictly black powder substitutes of Pyrodex and 777. They ate the blueing right off the frame. Cost me $350.00 to get them reblued to factory. Needless to say I will not be using those powders. IMR smokeless for me in my Vaqueroes and Goex or Elephant in black powder. If you use Swiss drop your charge significantly as the powder has a very high pressure rating..
Both of you living on mountaintops huh? Lucky stiffs. <LOL> Out here if you live on a mountaintop you,ve got someone right alongside or right below you. Very little privacy. To find what you have out here would bankrupt a small nation and then the environmentalists would legislate you to death about how you can use the property, what you can build on it and what you can do with it. There might be an ant that needs protecting living on it. I'm originally from the Northeast, Northern-most Maine, and I do miss the freedom to move about. We have room in the deserts but again the environmentalists (college kids) still look over your shoulders. You're lucky you're not here now, Remington.

[Remington kid]

Low Key, My brother is building a log home in southern TN right now. It sits close to the border of N. Carolina.He lives in Florida right now and just sold his house down there and retired. He will be moving in his new home in Tn soon.

Lobo, I've heard about the property prices out there and it's crazy! Property is a whole lot cheaper here but they get us in other ways like tax on groceries, tax assed every year on all vehicals and equipment. IT's like paying tax on tax but it's still much cheaper than anywhere else. My property taxes on 42 acrea's is about $153.00 a year. We own a house in Copley ,Ohio also that sits on one acre and the taxes are $2200.00 a year!
Now back to good stuff to talk about. :
I hate pyrodex and have never tried 777 but it's true that powder like Goex is getting harder to find. I have access to a couple of true black powder or muzzle loading shops here and in WV and Ohio so that helps. Don't think I would try 35 g. of 777 in my Remington but never had a problem with 35 g. of Goex and a .454 ball and a German made #1075 cap.

[Lakewood Lobo]

I use #11 CCI caps on mine. They work great. Seldom do I get a hang fire. I've shot in just about all kinds of weather out here and had little to no problems. That weather is drizzle rain, sun, wind, sun, snow, sun, high and low heat, sun. Guess I'm trying to say we have a lot of sun and good shooting weather. (trying not to rub it in as you got us in so many other ways) )