Have I been overcharging?

Z

zippy13

New member
For years, I've been using a .45-ACP case as a powder dipper for .44 (.45) cal BPCB revolvers. A .45-ACP case is smaller than a LEE 1.9 dipper and delivers about 20 gr of Pyrodex P or about 27 gr of FFFG Black Powder. I always thought these were light/moderate loads in a '58 New Army.

Imagine my surprise when I checked out Pietta's instruction manual: Pietta recommends a FFFG Min-Max load of 12 to 15 gr under a .454 ball. Have I been overcharging all these years, or is Pietta being super conservative?
 
Hodgdon's recommends a load of 35 grains (910 fps) of Pyrodex P for steel .44 caliber 1858's. For Triple Se7en they recommend 20 to 25 grains (536 to 763 fps) which is the rough equivalent of 23 to 29 grains of FFFg BP.

The Pietta lawyers want to make sure you don't sue them thus the mouse fart loads listed by them. Give Cabelas a call and I bet they give you some much larger numbers than Pietta.
 
Initially I suspected some error in the conversion from metric grams to US grains, but that's not the case. However, they don't differentiate between brass and steel frames.
 
You cannot overcharge a steel framed cap-and-ball revolver with black powder. I saw those numbers on the Pietta brochure and had to wonder why they have no faith in the strength of their own product. I almost returned the doggon thing because they had me worried:rolleyes: But, they work fine on 30 grains, no worries now!
 
Chris, you're double Pietta's recommended "mouse fart" load of 9-12 gr below a .375 ball. With their loading data so far off the norm, I wonder how much of the other information provided is bogus and there just to placate Pietta's legal staff.

If you're like me, you've noticed newer instruction manuals have a state by state list of mandated safety requirements. Most of them are redundant. Haven't we carried political correctness too far?… In California we're told to keep guns away from children in English and in Spanish!
 
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I use 15 grs. of Pyrodex under a conical in my .36 Remington Police with brass frame. I use 35 grs. of Pyrodex with round balls in all my .44 steel frames.
 
zippy13 said:
Imagine my surprise when I checked out Pietta's instruction manual: Pietta recommends a FFFG Min-Max load of 12 to 15 gr under a .454 ball. Have I been overcharging all these years, or is Pietta being super conservative?
Click to expand...

Pietta is conservative to a fault. 12-15grs in a .44 is a very small mouse phart. That would be a light load for a brass frame revolver in .44.

It would be interesting to know how many times they or their distributors have had legal action against them. I can't blame them for protecting themselves from the U S courts and bottom feeding lawyers. (no offense to any lawyers out there)
 
And here's the thing, if the load is so light that the plunger cannot seat the ball against the powder, that is a dangerous event in itself. I wonder if Pietta has had any blown cylinders from their ridiculously low "maximum" powder charge instruction. They really should make that the "minimum" charge if they are concerned about lawsuits!
 
12 -15 grain?

This obviously is a missprint,my old pietta manual,stated 30gr with ball,and 25gr with conical,unless they have started using chinese steele with very low carbon content,hell even my old cva 36 cal pp max load was 25 grain with brass frame open top,sounds like the load for a bronze derringer 31 cal:cool:
 
Model-P, you're correct. Pietta warns against not having the ball seated against the powder; however, they make no reference to using a filler with their light loads. Just to be sure, I just re-downloaded their manual. Here's the loading data chart, you can see for yourself…

loadzt.jpg
 
Update

My neighbor got a new Pietta replica Remington 1858 this morning. The Pietta instructions call for the mouser fart loads, but the Cabelas manual is in keeping with the real world, and lists 35 grs.
 
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