OOPS ! Wrong charge ?

[Razor]

Re .32 PRB by Swamphunter.
About the load for a .32..
My flinter is a H&A Minuteman.
It's 'called' a .36...
The actual ball is a .346
My question is about the same, "what powder charge would be a good place to start" ?
Years ago I had been told that to figure a BP charge:
for a pistol, 1 gr of powder for each 'caliber' ..  .36 cal = 36 gr etc
for a RIFLE ..you take the caliber number, double it, and that is your charge...I.E.  .36 x 2 = 72 gr (FFFg) 
(This conflicts with what I think you fellers are saying..)
That's what I've been doing since..Shooting about 70 gr.
I never really tried for any  accuracy before..Just satisfied to get real close...
Now you got me wondering...
Am I way overloading ??

Comments and advice, PLEASE..

Razor

Razor

[Dryball]

In the small caliber rifle I use a one to one ratio or less...for your .36 this would 36 gr. max. I would start at about 20 gr. and work up to max. by 5 gr. increments.

Ned

[Razor]

Thanks Ned, that was quick.

20 gr of FFF ...correct ??

Razor

[Dryball]

You got it. Now if you start to get much superior accuracy as you approach 36 gr. a bit more wont hurt...I would not exceed 45 gr. as an absolute max. though.

Ned

[FrankG]

My old MinuteMan .36 liked 30 grs FFFG .340 RB and .015 patch. I could spend a whole afternoon dusting ground squirrels without having to clean . Won several turkey's with it too.

[Razor]

Got it.. 20 to 45gr FFFg ...5gr increments.. :)

Thanks for the help fellas..
Gotta go cast up some RB tonite.
Got to locate my spare flints....ain't seen'em in a year or two.
I never did slug the bore  :-[..I'm gonna pull the barrel and breechplug and give it a go.

With my OLD, fuzzy eyeballs, I did notice the sights were somewhat more visible on that looong barrel.
mebbe I can post a range report tomorrow ??

Razor

[Dryball]

Razor, unless you've pulled a breech before I'd advise against it. That's a very good way to trash a barrel.

Ned

[Razor]

Ned, over the past 40 yrs, I've pulled the breechplug 3 or 4 times..
It's an allen headed thing..
but thanks for the caution..

Razor

[Dryball]

Depends on a lot of things. Bore size in relation to barrel diameter, caliber, quality of gun, barrel length. Generally small calibers up to about .38 take up to one grain per caliber for most accurate...if you have a longer barrel then one and a half grains per caliber can work well. Larger calibers usually will use up to two grains per caliber. Of course there are always exceptions.

Ned

[Smokin_Gun]

how do you know when you are at max

When you start burnin' patches is when you know to stop and back off a few grains of Holy Black.

Tearin' patches and be an indication of sharp riflin' or a burr/check crown.

SG