Ok guys, as a former reenactor and now a black powder competitor with Civil War arms, here's the skinny.
Yes 1.5f is a thing, it's mainly used in cartridge guns like a 50-70, 45-70, etc. In competition, I've found 3f yields best results in accuracy and fouling control in all my arms, musket, smoothbore, carbine and revolver. It also takes less powder per shot for those results so it's less expensive as well.
Next, I've used pretty much every brand available for the last 50 years. Hands down, Swiss is the best for live fire, followed closely by Old Eynsford (Goex premium). If you like your guns and want them to last a long time, forget any subs, especially Pyrodex. I know some folks swear by it, but I've seen it since it came on the market and it's ruined more guns than you'd think possible. That's due to the chemical composition of the residue being pretty much the same as the "corrosive primers" from older center fire ammo. If you insist on using it, be resigned to having to clean that gun several times over the coming weeks if you don't like rust. Elephant powder- dirty, weak, inconsistent- suitable only for blanks (sometimes). Past that, regular Goex or Scheutzen are fine for reenactors. So what exactly is "reenactor powder"? It's the same regular Goex you see that sells for a couple more bucks. The difference is the "reenactor powder" isn't sieved through screens as well as the better grades so the sizes of the individual granules vary quite a bit. That's not a problem for blanks but a huge issue if you care about accuracy in live fire. So less refinement, lower price. Choose your comfort level. Jumping ahead to what I said about burn rate. If your powder granules vary widely in size, your pressure in the barrel will be inconsistent and net result- kiss accuracy bye bye.
Now for another secret- black powder of a given composition has ONLY ONE BURN RATE. Read that again. What changes is the size of the granules (the "F") exposing more surface area to ignition. It's similar to lighting just one match or the entire pack at once. The speed doesn't change, only the amount burning at the moment. If your powder granules are inconsistent size, the pressure in the barrel will vary and that's very detrimental to accuracy.
Reenactor powder charges- yeah, I remember attending events that said charges are to be limited to 60g, but nobody ever checked and there was nothing ever about what "F" to use. I used to use 70g 3f Goex because at 60g, it was more of a "whoof" but at 70g, it became more a "bang". Regardless, it's likely no blank you fire will ever sound quite like a live round. Live fire has more of a "pop" and "crack". Not always the case, but in every case I've been around that's been my observation. That said, I know of guys who loaded as much as 120g just to feel some recoil as well. A guy in my unit had also drilled out his nipple for "better ignition" and he used 120g all the time. I was next to him in the line for only one reenactment. I got a large chunk of a cap embedded in the side of my nose from him. Made it a point to never stand next to him again when we fell in.
So can that musket be accurate if you pay attention to details and do some homework? You tell me-
Parker Hale "musketoon" 100yd. Load data (YMMV) RCBS Hogdon minie, 43g 3f Old E, beeswax/lard/coconut oi/lanolin lube
Bringing the