If you are shooting real BP in a .44 try some ffg. Generally works a little better. The Pietta manual really isn't to useful. A 51 Navy in .36 might use a 15 grain charge, but that is awful light for a .44. I tried the Pyrodex pellets to see if it would speed things up in big matches. They say 30 grains on the label but FEEL more like 50. They have quite a bounce to them. Trying to cut them in half isn't really a good idea. They don't cut well and crumble and you will never get two equal charges.