Is it brass, steel or stainless? Brass frame guns require lighter loads, as the brass frames will stretch and loosen with heavy loads. I personally wouldn't carry one for bear defense. I carry a Ruger B/p as a back up and finishing gun during B/p season. In Ky. it's legal. I've personally had my Ruger loaded for up to a year without any problem, but it's stainless and for prolonged loaded storage I place a fiber wad under the ball and top lube with bore butter. With bear, even black, you want a large hole and penetration. The B/p pistols make a large hole, but lack the penetration for bear. They all seem to shoot most accurate with round balls, due to the twist rate of the rifling. The round balls are lighter than most conicals. Welcome to B/p and enjoy your buffalo gun. If you cast; b/p can be cheaper than shooting 22's, with a lot more bang.
