Fffg powder in .50 rifle?

reduce by 10% should give you same point of aim. that has always worked for . And gives me the group size also. do it w 3 different arms

Absolutely. Some people even use 3F in 12ga shotguns, though I’ve read it often deforms the shot and disrupts the pattern.

From what I’ve seen the max charge according to the manufacturer is often 10 grns less than the 2F max.

Some have claimed better groups using 3F in larger calibers and everyone has noticed less fouling.

Being a hunter and having a couple of .44/.45 cal revolvers I like to keep things simple needing just one powder flask and wanting to stock up on one type of powder so I opted for 3F and use it in my .50 cal rifle (and .54 when I get one).

I’ve read that a 10% reduction should produce a similar enough velocity and POI as sharps said.

In my Lyman Black Powder Handbook all they show is 3F for the .50 cal rifle with either the RB or bullet. With the RB their loads are from 50 to 170grs [ ahhhh ] , and with the 370gr bullet from 49 to 90. This book was published in 1974 - a bit before all the new inlines and 150 gr charges for bullets, or three pellets as some like to do. I use 3F in my 12 and 10ga shotgun shells. It takes less powder so it's cheaper. In the 12 or 10 I load only 70grs and 1oz of shot. One can deform patterns by loading too heavy whether it's 2F or 3F. In rifles I've found in the past that 3F is cleaner burning than 2F, but top accuracy is obtained with 2F. That was with a 54 cal. - might not matter as much with a 50. I use 3F in the 62 cal flint rifle I made. It only has a 20" barrel so using 3F in the short barrel has more of a complete burn. Load whatever gives you the best groups. As rodwha says, one powder keeps it simpler.

I think Lyman has gotten more conservative. I'd guess lawyers were involved.
My 2017 Great Plains Manual has the following:



I didn't fully read my manual till a couple months ago, after shooting my GPR with 120gr of 3Fg. Didn't have any problems.

Ya, it's just CYA lawyer crap. Those are all pretty good maximum loads, or should I say no need to use more powder. I can't see hurting anything but your wallet and shoulder if you were to load more.

I use FFFG or Pyrodex 'P' that way I can use one type in stead of two. I've found the loads are around 10% less. My hunting load is 83 gr. (avg.) Pyridex 'P' measured with a .50 AE case.

3F will work fine. I'd try 70 to 75 grains.

3f is all I use, in pistols and rifles. Never had a problem. Most of my 50s like around 65 grains.

Yep I use 3Fg for .54 on down. I use 2Fg in 20 and 12 gauge shotguns, and 1Fg for stuff that's 10 gauge or larger. No reason when shooting a heavy shot load or reallllly big round ball to have a "sharp" recoil when it isn't needed eh? I like from 70-80 grains depending on the gun. Although for target work I might go up to 95-110 in my musket to reduce the "lob" effect on the ball.

LD

I use FFFg in my 50 caliber flintlock.

In my Lyman Black Powder Handbook all they show is 3F for the .50 cal rifle with either the RB or bullet. With the RB their loads are from 50 to 170grs [ ahhhh ] , and with the 370gr bullet from 49 to 90.

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If you check I think that 170gr load was with Curtis & Harvey powder which must have been a very low energy powder. I have never seen any of that brand of powder and only heard of it in the Lyman manual.

The powder listed was G-O, 3F, in a 43" test barrel and had 15,000 CUP, 2354 FPS, and 2212 muzzle energy. The two powders they used back then was Curtis- Harvey and Gearhart - Owen. It sure isn't a load I would have used. C-H quite making BP in 1931. Ned Roberts rated Curtis and Harvey's "Diamond Grain" BP as the absolute "very best" powder, "as it burns moist, easily wipes clean after each shot, doesn't burn-on at the breech" and was consistent lot-to lot. Major Ned H. Roberts (1866 Goffstown, N.H. -- 1948), was an American hunter, competition target shooter, gun writer & editor, ballistician and firearms experimenter. Roberts was a prolific contributor to sporting publications, including Outdoor Life, Outers, Arms and the Man (later renamed as American Rifleman,[1] and to Hunting and Fishing magazine, for which latter publication he served as Firearms Editor. His work on cartridge design in collaboration with Adolph Otto Niedner, Franklin Weston Mann, Townsend Whelen, and F.J. Sage led to a commercialized version of his own original .25-caliber wildcat cartridge introduced by Remington in 1934 and named the .257 Roberts. And I always thought GOEX was the best. Little did I know.

milemaker13 said:

I've always used ffg in my rifle or pyrodex. I'm out of those but have a can of fffg that was used in a revolver my dad has. Can I use fffg in my .50 rifle? If so, what would be a safe load on the range? I would normally use 80gr or ffg...

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90gr with prb is usually very accurate. I noticed a slow decline in accuracy as I went up from there. I consider 120 as max.

I've used 3f at 80 grains in my .62 flinter with a .610 ball, No issues.

I use 100gr of 3F in my 12 Ga reloads for .72 cal round musket balls and Buckshot (1.25oz. No Choke) Nice loud hot load.

The plinking load for my .54s is 50 gr of 3F. I have failed to grenade my rifles thus far.

drobs said:

I think Lyman has gotten more conservative. I'd guess lawyers were involved.
My 2017 Great Plains Manual has the following:

View attachment 794083

I didn't fully read my manual till a couple months ago, after shooting my GPR with 120gr of 3Fg. Didn't have any problems.

Click to expand...

lawyers and insurance co. are the bane of mankind. I shot fffg out of my cav hawkins for years before i learned better with no apparent ill affects to me the rifle or accuracy.

paul harm said:

Ya, it's just CYA lawyer crap. Those are all pretty good maximum loads, or should I say no need to use more powder. I can't see hurting anything but your wallet and shoulder if you were to load more.

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WOW I agree with Paul.

I have gotten a pass through shot on a deer, broadside at 110 yards with 70 grains of 3Fg and a .530 ball. The MOST I'd ever up my load to would be 90 grains, and then only for moose, and I'd use an alloy ball instead of a soft lead. But otherwise, because white tailed deer down my way are on the small side, so say I was up around Pittsburg or a little West into WVA...., I'd at the most up to 80 grains of 3Fg..., again in a .54...., so the same load in a .50 would be fine as well (imho)

LD

All this lawyer stuff makes my head spin!

I never use any guidelines when it comes to black powder just as long as you fill the case slightly higher than the base of the seated bullet - hear the crunch when you seat the bullet! Sometimes I use ten or twenty percent of the fill volume filled after the powder with Cream of Wheat. When loading 50-seventy Government (seven key not working) I have always loaded using Fg or FFg powder. FFFFg powder probably okay but I might be inclined to load two thirds FFFFg and a third Cream of Wheat to start. My understanding is that it is unlikely if you load such that there is no air pocket that you will blow up anything, except I have heard that a Colt Walker back in the day would rupture a chamber if filled to capacity with black powder so if you fire one of those definitely use Cream of Wheat; then again, if you have one of those, congratulations, and probably shouldn't be firing it due to rarity and value.