new to the forum

[jpw23]

A friend of mine suggested this forum......lots of info here! I hope to pick up a few tips from you all...in the meantime, here's a pic of my baby

 

[Brian Williams]

Welcome, put your feet up and sit back and enjoy.

b

 

[jpw23]

Curious as to know how lite can I load this thing...would 20 grains be too little?

 

[Snaggletooth]

I shoot alot of 20 grain loads when I'm just plinking at cans etc, I shoot mostly 25 grain loads at 25 yds at targets. Is that a .44 ?

 

[jpw23]

yeah...its a 44. I was wondering about a 20 grain load for the wife....the gun is heavy and kicked a bit much to suit her.

 

[Duncaninfrance]

I was wondering about a 20 grain load for the wife....

Be careful, it might look like a good deal but her mother might not agree
Welcome to the asylum!

 

[dwave]

I use 15 grs in my .44 1858 for target loads, BUT make sure that you have no air space in it.

 

[O.S.O.K.]

target loads

Yeah, 20 grains would actually be the best load for that for ongoing shooting - just use two lubed felt wads over the powder charge and that should allow your loading ram to fully seat the ball with proper compression. You could use two of the "lube pills" (do a forum search) as well - these are neat little wax paper and hard lube concoctions that you make yourself.

You can also use cream of wheat or ground corn meal as a filler over the charge - you just want to eliminate the air space as mentioned already.

That frame, being a 58 with a top strap is fairly robust even though made of brass, but I would still keep the loads in at the "target" level for most of the shooting.

 

[jpw23]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Starter52]

+1 to using under-the-ball wads. If you don't mind the expense, Wonder Wads have always worked for me.