Pistol load for .50 cal ?

[ontarget]

Bought a 50 cal Kentucky pistol from an elderly friend yesterday. It's a percussion Traditions pistol. I shoot BP revolvers and love shooting my percussion rifles but never tried a 50 cal pistol. So can anyone recommend a load using GOEX 3F and a PRB? Or even 2F with a PRB? Will these shoot well with a Minie ball?

 

[arcticap]

The current models are listed as having a 1 in 20" twist.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

20 to 25 grains of 3f will work well, you are gonna have to play with it and find the best load for accuracy. I have a scratch built pistol that I have knocked bowling pins over with at 100 yards using 25 grains of 777.

 

[ontarget]

Yes this one is 1:20 twist.

I was thinking 25 gr. The previous owner swore he used 90 gr but I figured he was going senile. The barrel might handle it but I bet that would be a fireball straight from Hades.

 

[arcticap]

This Traditions manual has a loading chart for their sidelock pistols on page 48. --->>> https://www.traditionsfirearms.com/data/product_owner_manuals/CURRENT - FIT 7 Revised Final FINAL_1477335832.pdf

It lists 20 - 25 grains of 3F as the most accurate load, and the max. load as 45 grains of 3F.

 

[ontarget]

Thanks for the info guys. Hope to pull a few front stuffers out soon and make some smoke.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Rule-of-thumb …, starting loads = 1 grain per caliber for rifles so a .50 rifle you start with 50 grains. 1/2 grain of powder for pistols, so as mentioned above, 25 grains.

LD

 

[paul harm]

I've shot from 20grs to 60 in my heavy barrel 50 cal pistol I made. The 60 was for deer hunting.

 

[whughett]

I have two percussion single shots, one 44 and one 45. I’ve gone as high as 35 grains in both, but like most they seem more accurate at around 22 to 25 grains. Wouldn’t think the calibers would be that different.

 

[OrangePwrx9]

I have a .50 Lyman Plains Pistol that I fired for the first time this week. Load was 30 gr. Of Pyrodex P behind a .490 PRB with .010 patch. Accuracy at 25 yards was poor. Could not get anything resembling a group.

However, using the same load, I tried TC 240 gr. Cheap Shot sabots and older lead 290 gr. Power Belts (package said Black Belt). Accuracy with both was excellent at 25 yards. I believe the Lyman's twist is 1:30.

 

[Gordon]

I too use my .50 Lyman Plains pistol as a Back up to my .50 rifle when hunting. For that use I load 40 grains FFFG and those 290 grain power belts too . A great load for 25 yard wounded deer.
For fooling around I use 30 grains of FFFG and the .490 ball with a greased patch. It cando about 3" at 25 yards with not too bad recoil.

 

[grter]

One of the problems with these older designs to consider is will the stock crack or break under heavy recoil. I would want to load that with anywhere from 40 to 60 grains. I have read in the old days they used to load these things with heavier charges for field use than todays paper punchers. There were not made be loaded with powder charges so low that lead balls would bounce off of pine logs but if loaded too stout the stock could break and injure the shooter.

I wonder if the woods used in the old days were of a more premium quality with the grains properly lined up to make breaking less likely. In the old days carpentry was very important and wood work was done by experienced skilled hands with personal human quality control. Woodwork was in very high demand and I figure any carpenter would quickly gain all sorts of experience with woodwork pretty quickly as an apprentice.

I wonder if modern reproductions have wood stocks of the same quality and manufactured, fitted, and installed with attention to proper grain alignment and durability to withstand the recoil impulses of that design of pistol as well withstanding regular use over a long period of time.

 

[ontarget]

I wonder if modern reproductions have wood stocks of the same quality and manufactured, fitted, and installed with attention to proper grain alignment and durability to withstand the recoil impulses of that design of pistol as well withstanding regular use over a long period of time.

My guess is probably not. Modern mass production can't allow for such attention to details. An unskilled worker drops a wood blank in a CNC machine and viola a new stock. No fitting necessary.