Traditions Kentucky Pistol Kit .50 cal Percussion Loads

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03mossy

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I got this kit a few years ago and finally will have it done and ready to shoot in a few days. Will be using 777fffg and round balls. Anyone have any recommendations on loads?
 
Since black powder subs are more energetic than regular black powder, I would start with a 30 grain charge by volume, a 0.495" pure lead ball, and a tight fitting patch, perhaps 0.010" thick.

Your barrel probably has 0.005"-0.006" deep grooves. A 0.010" thick patch should fill the grooves COMPLETELY, and imprint its weave pattern into the soft lead of the ball.

One way to tell if this is happening is to seat the ball/patch about 3/8" below the crown. Then, carefully drill a hole most of the way through the ball, stopping just short of breaking through. Then take a long sheet metal screw that will stick out of the barrel approximately 1/2", and screw it into the lead ball. It must be tight enough to pull the ball/patch out of the barrel, WITHOUT DEFORMING THE SEATED SHAPE OF THE BALL.

Now examine the ball. You should see an EXACT impression of the fabric's weave imprinted into the lead, as deep as the fabric is thick.

This is what you are striving for.

Unless you get real lucky, you will probably have to adjust the powder, most likely down, for best accuracy. Perhaps, the patch thickness as well.

How long is the pistol's barrel?

Use a short starter. If the crown looks sharp, then gently radius it with your thumb and some emery paper. Plug the barrel with a wad of cloth that you can retrieve with a tweezer. That keeps the metal filings, and emery dust near the muzzle.

If you so feel inclined, perform the Lee Shavers barrel break-in procedure.

Cut patches usually start with a sharp crown, and can continue with sharp factory lands.

It seems counterintuitive to most people, but a tightly fitted patched ball will in 99.999999% of all cases provide the best accuracy.

Even though a frontiersman/mountain man was not in the military, he had to load his rifle as if he was, because he was in fact at war with the Indian tribe/s through which land he was passing.

Therefore, their rifles WERE NOT loaded with the tightly patched balls that we use today. They loaded with a much looser combo that allowed for rapid reloading without ball starters. Just the ramrod under the barrel.
 
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My CVA Mountain Pistol seems to shoot pretty good with 30 grains of 3f Goex black powder. .490 round ball with a .15 patch.
From what I've read, you really don't want to over charge these pistols as you could possibly crack the stock. I would guess that 40 to 50 grains should be about the limit.
 
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