I load a lot of BP cartridge and I think i can give you a few pointer based on my experience. First, the bullets will perform best if cast from a led/tin alloy without any antimony at all. I like a 1/30 tin to lead alloy. The reason for this is that this alloy will bump up and fill the bore upon firing. Size them to exactly what your bore is. If .452 then cast and size at .452. Second, the best lube for BP hands down is SPG. It's soft enough to keep fouling soft and it lubes well enough to prevent leading. Third, you need to use a card wad of about .030 thickness between the powder and the bullet base. This will help prevent eroding of the bullet base. You can get them cheap from buffaloarms.com. Again, get wads that match your bore size, in this case, if you're shooting a 45 cal get 45 cal wads. Fourth, use a course grade powder. In pistol, 3f is good. To get a good charge in the case you will need a 24 inch drop tube. Any 24" length of copper or brass tubing will do. Charges should be dropped into a funnel and into the case via this tube. If using triple 7 you should not use a drop tube though. The tube will allow a great deal more powder to be placed into the case. A good thing with BP, a bad thing with Trip 7. Finally, all bullets should compress the powder slightly, say 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch with bp or pyrodex. With Trip 7, the bullet should just touch the powder. Crimping should be very light. Now, as to the powder measure. Plastic will eventually cause a problem. All of the makes will tell you so if asked. Lyman makes a metal measure for this and a Belding and Mull measure can be obtained from ebay. however, until then just scoop charges using a case cut to the appropriate length. Try making a few hundred rounds. If after this you still want to go with BP or Trip 7, buy a BP rated measure. If all of this sounds like a bother, then I'd steer clear of BP and use smokeless. If however, all of this intrigues you and adds to the mystique, then Hallelujah and Jubile, you're a BP shooter! Welcome to the club.
