Pyrodex powder, i forget what i bought last time but it. While i have never tried it, i am sure that load will be more than enough at that distance. The 4045cal were the preferred deer round ball in the eastern half of the usa. Round ball loads i became interested in round ball loads and multiple round ball loads several years ago and experimented with them off an on for about a year in both rifles and revolvers. Midsouth carries everything from the muzzleloader, rifle, or pistol you want, to the black powder, sabots, lead balls, and bullets that go in it, in stock and for sale, from great brand like lyman, cva, traditions, tc, pyrodex, blackhorn 209, and many more. A billionth of a second is the time it takes light to travel 12 inches.
The lightest projectile in this caliber is a patched round ball. So, my load for all round ball shooting is 80 grains of fffg goex, a. Precision shooting patches for round ball track of the wolf. Not true, as my turkey hunting experience has shown. Precision swaged to eliminate air pockets and deliver optimal accuracy. This seems to be your minimal patch thickness, but in fact it is not. Of the larger bore round ball rifles suitable for taking big game, more have probably been sold in this caliber than any other. I take a flange micrometer to the fabric center and mike rolls of cloth till i find my item. I settled on a 60 gr ffg load in my 50 cal a long time ago.
You can buy good quality patches in your local blackpowder shop, but you can also make your own. I used 80 grs 3f with a patched round ball in a lyman great plains rifle, and about 80 or 90 grs of 3f with a lyman 450 gr 5070 bullet in an early 50 cal shiloh sharps carbine. One of my favorite patched round ball rifles of the early 1970s was a copy of. Precision shooting patches for round ball precision shooting patches. The first round ball i ever shot from a smoothbore was actually done with a double barrel sidebyside flintlock shotgun, a twenty gauge.
Jan 06, 2018 please note that what patch thickness you use will also play a part in what ball size to use. Loaded with 45 and 50 grains it starts to approach the power of a lightend. Loaded with a light 28 grain load and a round ball, it rivals a modern. The patch round ball challenge long range hunting forum. I have taken two black bear with a patched round ball and black powder, one with a 58 and the other with a 62. A round ball doesnt touch the rifling itself, the patch does. It is easy to determinate the minimum thickness of the material. Loaded with 35 to 40 grains it rivals the modern 9mm and. My first shot with the new load for the rifle was taken at a 4inch. A good patch is made of good quality, dense natural material.
At that velocity, the midrange trajectory is very similar to my previous note. When i went to load the rifle i found the patched bullet to be an. In 50 caliber, charges of 5070 grains black powder or pyrodex equivalent seem. Round ball loads specify tc patch material lubricated with tc no. That was long before the current craze of smoothbore shooting had come about, and getting information about round ball loads for one was essentially impossible. It might be helpful to know what rifling twist your rifle has, to determine whether a prb patched round ball or a conical would work best in your rifle. Douglas barrel at 50 yards it will shoot 5 shots into a inch. I grew up shooting whitetails with a 50 cal round ball over about 60gr of powder. Bumping a round ball to the proper diameter is the only way to get any accuracy from them. Will 1 50 grain pellet kill deer out to 50 yards in a. A yard of cloth makes a lot of round patches when cut with a 1 gasket punch. Bullet weight is one thing you might consider though. Precision made from special tightly woven cotton, to insure uniformity.
The trick is to load them down to levels where the patches are not torn up. The elk in the picture was shot with a 50 cal round ball. My wife and i shot some informal muzzle loader competition many years ago with 50 cal. It is no secret and most books and manufacturers recommend the same loads. Traditional hunters in ca appreciate having a patched roundball option for.
With 6070 grains of powder it took an evilly tight patch and ball combo that was heck to load to get reasonable accuracy. Muzzleloader wads, rifle wads, cap and ball pistol wads and. All that i use is the plain round ball with prelube patch. Apr 30, 2008 how to load a round ball into a muzzleloader. Point blank zero for a 12 diameter target at 140 yards would be 125 yards, the rb rising no more than 6 inches and a bit and being a tad more than five low at 140. Grains listed after projectile type represent bullet weight. In the typical lightweight rifles that a young hunter can handle 67 lbs. After that, there seems to be just not enoughspin to get good enough accuracy. Shot a lot of matches and killed a lot of game with this load. It was by far the most accurate load in that gun, and while labeled light by a lot of guys, it killed with alacrity. As a defensive weapon, the fowler could be easily and quickly loaded. When i went to load the rifle i found the patched bullet to be an extremely tight fit. My jackrabbit load is now 30 grains of alliant mz over a thinpatched round ball seems good out to 5060 yards. Maxiball loads specify the use of maxilub as a lubricant.
Now im not sure if the patch gets spun off the ball or if patch and ball just skims the rifling but either way a round ball wont shoot for squat out of a fast twist barrel unless you cut the powder down to an absolute minimum which makes it impractical for most purposes. Single ball loads single round balls can be loaded in almost any caliber without much fuss and bother with good results. Maybe not exactly what youre looking for, but my buck and ball load is plenty accurate at 30yds using remington sts premier hulls, winchester primers, 23 gr. Oct 05, 2009 i settled on a 60 gr ffg load in my 50 cal a long time ago. I was invited to attend a competition type shoot this springsummer that is round ball only, i have 3 different stock 1. More modern bullets are deffently more effective, but the round ball still works. What kind of accuracy can i expect out of this gun with round balls. Jan 14, 2018 my jackrabbit load is now 30 grains of alliant mz over a thin patched round ball seems good out to 50 60 yards. The rifles case hardened lock features a vtype mainspring for faster lock time. What distance do you sight in and what grouping do you get with your chosen load. Typically, loads of about 55 grains of ffg and a patched round ball are about right in.
Dec 25, 2010 the lightest projectile in this caliber is a patched round ball. The type of rifle and twist rate and patch have little or nothing to do with trajectory calculations. My first muzzleloader deer came in ny back when only a patched round ball was legal. As for accuracy, a man carrying a smoothbore loaded with a tightly patched round ball was virtually equal to a man with a rifle at distances of up to 50 yards. Maxi ball loads specify the use of maxilub as a lubricant. Round balls are effective on close range big game animals. Major ferguson of the british army was killed at kings mountain by a 40 ball. We load one of our precision long rifles with a patched round ball.
As i recall as i was working up the load all i got over 60 gr, was more recoil and less accuracy. On this page, north american muzzleloader hunting will bring you the loads and ballistics for the. Despite this fact, fast twist barrels will shoot round balls accurately. For deer, the round ball is imho, a terrible choice. I generally save the patched balls for new shooters not hunting loads. Minimum deerkilling muzzleloading loads for young and. My forty ball shooter has taken many deer with 65grs. Nov, 20 i used 80 grs 3f with a patched round ball in a lyman great plains rifle, and about 80 or 90 grs of 3f with a lyman 450 gr 50 70 bullet in an early 50 cal shiloh sharps carbine.
I seated the bullet into the bullet chamber part of the chamber with a short starter, then poured the powder in til full, which turned out to be about 80 or 90 grs. Traditional hunters in ca appreciate having a patched roundball option for their old slowtwist rifles my jim chambers isaac haines flinter was not made to sit on the rack during hunting season. Please note that what patch thickness you use will also play a part in what ball size to use. For me, round ball loads tend to shoot higher than point of aim in a revolver and lower than point of aim from a rifle. Traditionalmldata1 north american muzzleloader hunting. Patched round ball gun and game the friendliest gun. For me, round ball guns are best considered 100 yard guns for deer. I chose to start with patched round balls to get a feel for the rifle before i decide if i want to experiment with conical bullets. A billionth of a second is the time it takes light to travel 12 inches behind every great man. Serious target competitors commonly load with a ball thats just. Round balls in fast twist rifles white muzzle loading. However, with the 12inch barreled stainless steel version of the gun sold as.
Muzzleloader round balls lead round balls for sale. These lowvelocity loads shoot very accurately out to 75 yards and are effective on turkeys. Muzzleloader wads, rifle wads, cap and ball pistol wads. In other words an equal amount of powder especially for target shooting. Offered as dry, oiled, wonderlubed, or premium lubed on select sizes. A 50 round ball and 80 to 90grs of powder is plenty for black bear. Minimum deerkilling muzzleloading loads for young and small. It could be loaded with shot for birding or with a round ball for deersize game. Patches are available in 10, 15, 20, and 25 thou thicknesses in most good muzzleloading stores. Round ball accuracy at 50 yards in a modern inline. Also, traditional muzzleloader only shooting orgnizations generally require the use of patched round ball only during official muzzleloading target competition. Light muzzleloader loads for patch and round ball, a lot of ole timers used to tell me that for a patch and round ball all you really need was just enough powder to cover the ball in the palm of your hand. Round ball accuracy at 50 yards in a modern inline muzzleloader.
I have taken deer with both but never studied the numbers on these. Constant thickness, weave, diameter, weight and thread count help eliminate these variables from your shooting. Shot loads and snake loads can be loaded in revolvers using wool wads. Out of a quality bore, a properly loaded patched round ball can prove deadly accurate at the ranges it was truly intended for and that is 25 to 50 yards. Loading the plr or muzzleloader with a patched round ball. The patching material is the key to be accurate with a round ball load.
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