So today I spent the entire day at the range. I started off puttering about with my Pederoli P58, which I still don't have a decent load for, and then I switched to my Uberti Walker.
I had loads in 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 60 grains 3F Shuetzen, 12 shots of each except for the 60 grains which were only 6.
I shot 6 with no filler, and 6 with cream of wheat filler. I used no lube, since the balls with no filler sat much deeper in the chambers and thus would end up with more lube on top of them than the ones closer to the chamber mouth. I did not want another variable so I omitted the lube.
This is the first time I had shot with no lube over the balls. Holy cow, what a difference in fouling. After just 6 shots, there was a hard crusty fouling that resisted Ballistol and a copper brush. However, when I poured some water down the barrel the bristle brush got rid of it.
So. Over-ball lube make a big difference in fouling and clean-up.
Secondly, I found that the best group was still 45 grains 3F with filler. No load without filler matched that load.
Today was also the first time I loaded the Walker to its full capacity of 60 grains. That was a hoot.
Obviously that was shot with no filler as there is no room for filler with that size charge.
I had intended to also shoot my Pietta 1860 and 1858, but this ended up taking all day.
I'll scan and post pictures of the targets later.
Steve