Loading 44/40(44WCF) How much filler have you used?

[Twelve Bore]

I am going to start shooting BP again for CAS. I have 73 year old hands and would like to develop a light recoiling load for my Uberti Smoke Wagons. Using 2f and cream of wheat filler, how light a charge of BP can I use? When I did this before I was loading 25gr 2f.

[Cap'n Redneck]

In order to qualify for participation in one of the blackpowder categories in SASS Your ammo have to produce smoke equal to a .38 Special cartridge loaded with 1cc of GOEX 2Fg blackpowder behind a 145 grain bullet lubed with SPG. 

My guesstimate is that You can reduce Your .44-40 loads to 15 grains and still be within standards.

Another tip is to exchange Cream-of-wheat for Sesame Seeds.  Sesame Seeds contain about 50% oils, and a lot of BP-shooters have had good results with it in reduced loads.  It will keep BP-fouling soft and help keep cylinders rotating and cartridge elevators working.

[Froogal]

Sesame seeds. Very interesting.

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[Abilene]

My 44-40 BP load for CAS is 200gr bullet, ~25gr FFg (1.6cc dipper) and heaping 0.5cc dipper of grits.  Also have used 180gr bullet, ~20gr FFg (1.3cc dipper), 1cc dipper of grits.  All are pleasant shooting for me.  As Coffinmaker says, lighter bullets make for less recoil.

[David Battersby]

This paper wad takes up space equal to 10gr of Swiss 2f. I put a wad in the case mouth and compress the powder with the wad in place. Very easy and I don't have to take the case of of the turret press. I also shoot full power loads . The only adjustment is the amount of powder dropped in the case. The compression die setting doesn't have to be touched.

[Coffinmaker]

  Hummmmmmmmmm 

I'm confused, I think.  How does one drop the powder charge by 10Gr, stuff in a Wad and still call it a "full power load???"  Does Not Compute.

[Abilene]

Hummmmmmmmmm 

I'm confused, I think.  How does one drop the powder charge by 10Gr, stuff in a Wad and still call it a "full power load???"  Does Not Compute.

I think David is saying that he loads both reduced loads (with the wad), and full power loads.

[David Battersby]

What Abilene said.

I am not a communications major. Sorry
My 44WCF loads are    Starline Brass, CCI #300 primers, Accurate mold 43-220CC in 30-1 alloy, DGL (lube) and Swiss Black Powder
Full Power Load is 37grs of Swiss 2F
Reduced load is 27grs of Swiss 1.5F with the Circle Fly wad on top of the powder.
In my Uberti 1873 Winchester both loads are very accurate and I can easily shoot more than 120 rounds with only a blow tube in between relays.
I shoot Lever Action Silhouette . While I have never damaged an animal it was obvious that the full power load was not necessary.  Forty meter chickens would imbed into the berm like an axe into balsa wood. At one club with short berms an occasional chicken would fly over the berm and knock over a fifty meter pig. Fifty meter pigs hit high centered would tumble head over feet two or three times.   Impressive but not necessary.
 I came up with the reduced load using C.O.W. Ballistic Filler (cream of wheat). This was time consuming and a pain trying to produce ammo on a turret press .  I don't remember how I found the shotgun paper wads. I do know that they work great and only  add about one or two seconds to every cartridge produced.  After the powder drop stage I put a wad in the case mouth and compress before moving on to the bullet seating die.   
 Special thanks to Mr John Kort . He turned me on to CCI #300 primers and Swiss Black Powder.    He is missed.

[Coffinmaker]

   OK. 

[Bryan Austin]

Notwithstanding original 1,325fps black powder loads between 1873 and 1877...and 1,300fps smokeless loads from 1895....

Full Power- should be a load that produces at least 1,245fps from a 26" barrel with a 200gr projectile, which is not suggestive if using original published BP velocities from 1886 to 1904. Some may even say, and rightfully so, that Full Power loads should be at least 1,325fps for black powder charges and 1,300fps for smokeless powder charges.

Case Capacity - should be a suggestive load simply referring to a full case of powder where the bullet sits "firmly" on top of the powder, regardless of velocity, and is suggestive since the capacity can be fulfilled by different weights of the same black powder, i.e. compressed or not compressed.

examples:
While a 35gr or 37gr charge of a black powder (no powder compression) may be a case capacity load, it may or may not not be a full powder load.
While a 9gr charge of Unique is not a case capacity charge, it is certainly a full power load since it can produce over 1,245fps (1,305fps from a 26" barrel).
40gr of a compressed black powder is not a full power load if it only produces 1,200fps from a 26" barrel.
38gr of black powder is not a full power load if it does not produce at least 1,245fps from a 26" barrel.

In 1925, Winchester World Standard Guns and Ammunition lists the rifle velocity for the 44-40 smokeless standard loads to be 1,300fps with a trajectory of 3.2" @ 100 yards, 15.9" @ 200 yards and 42.3" @ 300 yards. Revolver loads, black powder lead, smokeless powder full patch or soft point, produced 920fps.


John Kort's test chart