I 3fg in everything from my cap and ball revolver to my .54 great plains hunter, and think it works great, plus by shooting the 3fg in my rifles I don' t have to have a seperate stash for my revolver. Typically I keep my loads for my rifles 5% to 10% under the max recommended load, because as you pointed out 3fg will create higher pressures.

I took my .54 to the range this weekend and tried some 3fg triple 7, I was very pleased. I' ve got to spent a bit more time working a my load but I was impressed by both velocity and fouling (or lack thereof). BTW don' t think you don' t have to clean your gun after shooting T7. but I was able to load and fire with no between shot cleaning. Something I haven' t been able to do with black powder and Pyrodex. When I cleaned my guns there was still a noticable amount of fouling.

From a budget standpoint, since you' ll be shooting less 3fg than 2fg for the same velocity you' ll get a few more shots per pound with 3fg. Not enough to make a difference unless you' re burning through lots of powder.