Loads for your smoke wagon?

[El Gringo]

Sorry if this has been asked a zillion times. I tried the search, but I'm not too savy yet.
Anyhows...I have a 1860 Army and a 58 Rem.  The flask I have throws a 24 gr of powder, and I'm thinking of getting another spout to up it to 30 grs.

I'm pretty sure the Rem can handle this with ease, but what about the 1860?
What do you guys load at?

I went shooting the new Remmy at my brothers place last weekend and had a hoot of a time!  I just wish it wasnt so damn cold tomorrow or I'd be out there again.....maybe, we'll see.
Still planning on ordering some new nipples...is Ampco worth the extra $??  And I was planning on getting the 30 gr spout while I'm at it.

Here's a pic of the 1860 just for the heck of it.


Thanks all!

[Flint]

Yes, the 1860 can take it.  I usually shoot 27-28 gr of fffg, as that is a good load, and I have more than one spout for the flasks I take with me.  30 gr might be too much if you want to fit in an over powder wad, but it depends on your cylinder, some hold more and some hold less, depends on the brand and when the cylinder was made.

Ampco or Treso nipples are much more carefully made than the Italian stock nipples, and have a smaller flash hole, so there is less blowback, which in the Colt often blows fired caps into the action or jam the cylinder when you recock the gun.

That Ted Cash capper is good, but you might have discovered it doesn't work very well on the Remington, it fits the Colt nipple openings fine.  Some shooters take a mill or Dremel and open up the Remington's nipple access openings to let the Ted Cash nose in.

[Fingers McGee]

+1 to what Flint said with the exception that my normal .44 load used in SASS competition is 24-26 grains of fffg.  On the rare occasion that I'm shooting over 25 yds, I'll jack the load up to 28-30 gr fffg.  That is with Pietta 1860 Armies.  And, I'll probably do the same with my newly acquired 2nd Gen Colt 1860s.

FM

[coyotejoe]

Just as a side note, I've often found those flask spouts don't throw the weight for which they are marked, most generally several grains light.

[El Gringo]

For my Rem I got a CVA straight line capper that works good...but the negatives are that it only holds 15 caps and takes a bit of time to load them one by one; unlike the pour and shake till theyre all upright like in the Ted Cash, but I'm ok with that.

I'm thinking now that I'll order the 30 gr spout and pour in 28 grs from my measuse. Then I can mark a line and cut it at the appropriate length.

I also noticed that the balls in the Rem dont shave the ring of lead like they do for the '60 Army which means that I'll give it a go with a larger ball dia.  I was shooting .451 which is perfect for the Colt copy.
I guess the next step up would be .454 ( I was hoping they would take the same ).

On a side note I took my dry lubed wads and in my hands worked some Bore Butter into the batch then put them into a Altoids tin.  Dont ask me why....I just felt that they should be 'wet'.


I'll get the Ampco nipples also;  now I just have to wait to get the ok from the Boss / wife.

[ZVP]

 I normilly shoot .454 and preferrabily .457 balls in my Remington.
 I think most Remington replica's go a little o the large size on cylinder bore and depending on the brand of your revolover the rifling might be shallower or not.
 I get the best results with a 30 gr Pyrodex load with a agreaded Patch and a .457 ball. No filler. The Remington seems to prefer to not have it's balls up close to the forcing cone by means of filler pushing it there. Accuracy across the board has been good with this load and It's also worked in my '58 Sheriff's model.
 HTH,
 ZVP

[Rebel-1]

You meant Greased WAD and not PATCH didn't you?

[Gatofeo]

I shoot my Uberti-made Remington with 30 grs. of Goex FFFG, greased felt wad, and.454 inch ball. It's not a maximum load, but I don't need that to put holes in paper and cans.
For my Pietta-made 1860 Colt, I use 25 grains for plinking, and 30 grs. is a maximum load.
I load my wads separately, and firmly, on the powder before I seat the balls. This ensures a more consistent feel to the wad, and to the ball that follows.
I don't use .451 inch balls. Gave up on them years ago. I use .454 inch balls because I've found them slightly more accurate. And it's easier if I standardize at .454 for all my .44s. I even use .457 inch in them, without a problem.
Yeah, it's a little more effort to seat the ball but not much. Not enough to strain the rammer, to be sure, especially if you seat the wad separately so you're not trying to ram the wad and ball in one action.
I believe in using balls larger than normally recommended. The slightly larger ball, when seated, creates a wider ring around the ball. This holds the ball in the chamber during recoil, and gives a wider bearing band for the rifling to grip, often enhancing accuracy.