ffg blackpowder in 1860 Colt?
I know that "fffg" is the standard for black powder pistols, but is it OK to use "ffg" in revolvers? I mean 100 years ago they must have interchanged them alot. I can't imagine western types always having available supplies of 2 different granulations. I'm just curious, and sonmeone always seems to know.
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As far as I know, You can use ff black powder in a revolver if you half too, the only thing is you need to know the proper conversion. fff black powder is smaller and finer than ff which makes fff more explosive. If your pistol takes a fff 36 grain charge, 36 grains of ff might not have the same effect. Which might cause a problem. It also might burn dirtier and thicker, causeing your revolver to jam. Another diffrence is that black powder of the 1800's was better made than todays black powder. Don't ask me why, but it tends to be alot more cleaner buring than the modern stuff. In the end I recommend you use the fff for a revolver when firing live ammo. You will have a much more acurate round, and you wont need to worry about the side affects of a thicker powder. hope this helps!
Scott Dunaway0 -
Hi "Southern Guard" - and thanks for the info. That makes sense to me.I would be more leery of putting a finer powder in exchange for a coarse one. I'm using pyrodex and I don't even have a 1860 Colt but I'm very serious about getting one. ( I do have a nice Hawken that I shoot alot) I just hate to buy another type of powder when all I really want to do with the 1860 is make noise! 0 -
I have interchanged powders for years. As to the FF, if the colt is a 44 then if you use up to 40 grains of FF then it will be fine. A good plinking load in 44 is 30 grains of FFF but that will convert to roughly 34+ grains of FF. I have seen them use F (cannon powder) when they run out of all else. What you want to watch out for is going the other way. If you use 35 grains of FF then be careful with 35 grains of FFF. Dixie Gunworks Catolog has a good black powder conversion chart as well as a pyrodex to black powder conversion chart. As to BP of today being dirtier than of yester year, I find that hard to believe. BP is dirty and corrosive no matter when it was made. I have been shooting BP many years and have only bought 1 pound of pyrodex. I gave it a way after 2 shots. An old rule of thumb is less than 50 cal use FFF but 50 cal and above use FF. In days of old they did not have the luxary of carrying several different powders. I do Rev War reenactments and all documentation we can find is 2 grades of powder. Small arms and cannon. They primed with small arms powder in both rifles and cannons. Just my 2 cents worth. 0 -
As usual, thanks for all the interesting feedback guys!! Hickory 0 -
Can't see where there would be any problem; I've shot Ffg in my Colt and Remington repros for years. Just find a powder charge that allows you to load the ball over it with a bit of compression, apply your grease over the ball and have at it. I also haven't noticed that much difference in fouling; grease up the cylinder axle pin and it helps a lot in keeping you shooting longer between clean-ups. Emery
"Well done is better than well said"
Ben Franklin0 -
go ahead and use it.....no biggy on the grain size between 2f and 3f...cannon grade...diff story....i buy 25 lbs at a time of 3f and use it both in my 44 revolvers and my enfield...all comes out in the wash...oops muzzle..have fun!
it is good that we meet in the struggle of life or death.. .....it shall be life!0
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