Today I loaded 10 rounds with 40 grains of Pyrodex RS (By weight, as I don't own a volume measure yet) under a 530 grain Postell target bullet with SPG lube, with a 0.060" over-powder wad.
This bullet did not stabilize when pushed by a light load of Red Dot; But this charge of Pyrodex is just about all I can shove in the case, so it should be moving along fair good.
Yup, she stabilized them big slugs now!
Taking out the fouling shots, the groups run about 1.25" center to center, and even at the shorter range I was shooting that's promising.
I found powder fouling to be negligible, with nothing but a moist patch needed to leave the bore bright for the next group. Leading did not appear that I could notice.
Cleanup at home was a snap, taking only 10 minutes or so. I used a brush wetted with CLP for a few runs, and then moist patches for a few, and then a dry patch. I'll keep the rifle out of the safe for the next few days and check the bore several times a day for any issues.
I do not own a drop tube... yet.... so I filled a case with Pyrodex, and between tapping it down and dumping bits out, I arrived at an idea of what the case will hold. The .060" over-powder wad, and the massive bullet being seated served to compress the load about 1/8".
Having weighed that first charge, it was so close to 40 grains that I settled on that as the starting point. Each charge was weighed, and then slowly funneled into the case. The case was then tapped on the bench till inertia had done it's will with the charge column, and then the wad was pressed home.
The bullet was enough of a loose fit after seating that I elected to use a bit of roll crimp on the case mouth.
After firing, each case showed extruded SPG lube at the case mouth. I take this as a good sign, and noted no issues at all with overly fouled or leaded bore.
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