Henry Rifle Forums

Hi all
I am playing a bit with a pietta 1858 in .44 at the moment, totally new to me and i wondered if anyone had any info. I used 20 gns by weight of triple seven, then a wad and a .454 ball. This load looks very low in the cylinder to my inexperienced eyes and there is no kick at all, like shooting a .22. I read somewhere that max load by volume would be 25 gns and by weight this is the 20 gns i am using if my calculation is correct. It just feels like a very weak load but I am ever cautious with these things . Any one know if this load is as high as i should go? The gun is the stainless target model btw.

I used to shoot the HECK out an 1851 in .44 by pietta with a good friend who had a ‘58. We used some 777, and would load around 27 grains by weight with a folded wonder wad under .454 balls. This load worked quite well for us. With pyrodex P, our preferred charge was 27-30 grains by weight with very good accuracy out to around 30 yards. A good way to tell that your load is getting too hot is when the pistol tourques in the opposite direction of your rifling. Load about 3 or so grains less than that point, and that should be the about the hottest you want to load. I hope this helps.