I'm new to loading for my C. Sharps 1874. I read Mike Venturino's book and tried some of his loads but so far I've been limited to Goex Cartridge. Using a 530gr Postell bullet I can only get 83 gr of "Cartridge" powder into the shell, and that's with about 0.20" compression under a Walters 0.30" wad. Of course the older thinner walled cartridges allowed 100gr of black powder, but not the new ones. Problem is, even using CCI 250 large rifle magnum primers, I'm only seeing about 1150 - 1170 fps, which is way less than Mike V.'s and others' observed 1250 - 1300 fps. My lower observed velocities seem to be more in line with 45-70 black powder speeds. I know I have to put ideas of higher velocities behind me with these types of rifle, but still, an extra 200 fps might help a bit with bullet drop at extreme ranges, cross-wind issues, and downrange impact energy.
Anyone got any ideas? Would a change to, say, Fg or FFg or ??? make a significant diff in velocity given the same powder weight? Are there significant differences in the density of powders as the "F" count goes up? That might well bump up the "V" number, right?
Thanks!
Anyone got any ideas? Would a change to, say, Fg or FFg or ??? make a significant diff in velocity given the same powder weight? Are there significant differences in the density of powders as the "F" count goes up? That might well bump up the "V" number, right?
Thanks!