1858 New Army Target .44 Caliber Revolver-Pietta

MileHigh

Let me start by saying I am a complete newbie to cowboy shooting. This gun was a gift I had planned to use during blackpowder season with no thought it could be used for anything else. In reading around though, I found out that I could get an R&D Drop in conversion cylinder and I did.

The problem is that I am just not clear about what type of cartridge is appropriate - the directions say "This ammunition is loaded for a maximum muzzle velocity of 750 to 850 fps and these are the specs we recommend."

Can someone dumb that down for me so I can properly use the caliber/bullet charts on site like www.cabelas.com for products like Ten-X ammo and Goex?

All help is greatly appreciated.

R D Henry

Black powder or smokeless? With the conversion cylinder, you can slide either way.

If you're getting store-bought smokeless, look for the loads that say something to the effect "Cowboy Action" or "Cowboy Loads". Those are usually the ones that are safely downloaded to be ok in your gun.

44caliberkid

Goex 45 Colt loads would be perfect, either the real BP ones or the substitute. They only have about 27 grains of powder and the rest is filler. If you handload, use about 35 grains of black powder and compress the load with a 200 - 250 grain lead bullet. Big boom, big fun!

MileHigh

Thanks for your help - appreciate it.