Range Test: .45Cal Double PRB deer load

roundball · Sep 16, 2013

.45cal DOUBLE PRB RANGE TESTS

EQUIPMENT
.45cal Early Virginia
Rice 42” x 1:66” x .016” round bottom groove barrel
Chambers Deluxe Siler / Fuller black English flints
Davis DST
Rifle sights zeroed at 50yds for existing 90grn Goex 3F PRB deer load

DOUBLE PRB TESTS USING SAME SIGHTS / SAME SIGHT PICTURE3grns Goex 4F prime
Tested 100 and 80grns Goex 2F main (skipped 90grns)
.028” precut square / prelubed pillow ticking
Hornady swaged .440”/128grn balls

SHOOTING SITUATION
Bench rest
Short started 1st PRB, then 2nd PRB, then seated them down together as a single unit

TRIALS
Started with 100grns Goex 2F like T/C originally listed for their .45cal double PRB loads
Shot 3 pairs at 25yds, got single oval shaped holes barely larger than a single ball
Tried 100grns at 50yds but due to extra muzzle rise they were above the 3” aim point sticker.
I had no interest in changing my sights so I adjusted the powder charge down.
From experience I suspected only dropping back to 90grns would still print too high.
So I dropped back to 80grns Goex 2F and it shot 3 pairs of figure-8’s basically dead center.

FIELD TEST
Will try to take a deer with it this fall and see how it does first hand.

(photo of example target is a little soft)

BrownBear · Sep 16, 2013

nchawkeye · Sep 16, 2013

Yep, that will work..."Loaded for bear"...

mooman76 · Sep 16, 2013

It key holed. :rotf:

AWsaddles · Sep 16, 2013

Your 50 yard groups are better than mine :wink: I was surprised when I experimented with my 40 at just how well I grouped. Do you know how much your velocity changed ?

Vaino · Sep 16, 2013

You now have a "Magnum .45 MLer"....w/ that tight a shot w/ 2 PRBs, the deer won't go far. Hopefully you'll kill a deer and post the results after you perform a necropsy. Of course you checked to see if a 2 PRB load is legal?...Good luck....Fred

roundball · Sep 16, 2013

ALW said:
Do you know how much your velocity changed ?

No idea...but I'll be sitting on the side of an oak flat with the longest shot no more than about 50yds so it should be fine for that.
I just want to try it for the hands on experience of it...don't plan on routinely hunting it.

Loyalist Dave · Sep 17, 2013

Just don't use it during muzzleloader season in VA, as the wording in the VA book seems to indicate single projectile only.

I'm suprized by that for VA tends to be both succinct and logical in its laws, at least compared to Maryland.

LD

roundball · Sep 17, 2013

I don't live or hunt in those places.

Loyalist Dave · Sep 17, 2013

OOOPS sorry, missed the "south of" and only saw the "Virginia". :redface:

LD

BrownBear · Sep 17, 2013

You've kicked me off dead center. For years I've been thinking about seating a second ball when I come across fresh bear sign, but didn't have a whole lot of faith in what that would mean when I kept on hunting with that second ball down the pipe.

Now I'm encouraged to get off my hiney and give it a go. I figure if a couple of .570 balls would be an advantage for bear, they oughta slap the snot out of a deer.

Thanks!

roundball · Sep 17, 2013

BrownBear said:
You've kicked me off dead center. For years I've been thinking about seating a second ball when I come across fresh bear sign, but didn't have a whole lot of faith in what that would mean when I kept on hunting with that second ball down the pipe.

Now I'm encouraged to get off my hiney and give it a go. I figure if a couple of .570 balls would be an advantage for bear, they oughta slap the snot out of a deer.

Thanks!

No reason they wouldn't work...a pair of 279grn balls is basically like a large .58cal conical...and I'd suspect the bear you'd be worried about would be fairly close...possibly getting closer, LOL !
(I always thought the double PRB was what the old saying "loaded for bear" referred to).

As I'm sure you already know, everything I've come to learn about double PRBs is to absolutely ensure they're physically sitting on top of one another...no separation of course.

And for deer at distance, do check the POI of a double ball load on the original powder charge...with more projectile weight, there's a little more recoil, meaning more muzzle rise, and higher POI at distance...at least that's what I just experienced at 50yds.

BrownBear · Sep 17, 2013

roundball said:
And for deer at distance, do check the POI of a double ball load on the original powder charge...with more projectile weight, there's a little more recoil, meaning more muzzle rise, and higher POI at distance...at least that's what I just experienced at 50yds.

Excellent. Thanks! :thumbsup:

Britsmoothy · Sep 17, 2013

Hmmmmmm....wonder how it would do in a smooth'n!

B :hatsoff:

roundball · Sep 17, 2013

Britsmoothy said:
Hmmmmmm....wonder how it would do in a smooth'n!

The only difference I could think of is that without rifling to help hold the balls wedged in place, you'd really need to ensure you used very tight fitting PRBs so there's NO chance of them gradually separating in the bore...maybe even add a couple of very snug OS cards on top of the pair of PRBs

gmww · Sep 17, 2013

Love your research. Just to be sure. It's powder patch and two RB's right? Not patch in between the RB's.

roundball · Sep 17, 2013

NO !

"...Short started 1st PRB, then 2nd PRB, then seated them down together as a single unit..."

Two complete...SEPARATE...PRB's

PRB stands for "PATCHED" round balls

dbutch · Sep 17, 2013

Good Data RB!...will you chrono this load?

Bill have you gave any thought of using a slighlty smaller second ball to assure there is no air pocket between them?
I had issues using the same size second ball.. :slap:

Whats the differance in recoil verus single ball load?

Those whitetails down south are in big trouble..
Now Go whack a big one! :thumbsup:

roundball · Sep 17, 2013

No, there is no air pocket the way I seat them.
My personal outlook on this is not to introduce any odd variables that I'd then have to keep up with.

I keep it simple...its simply a matter of loading a rifle with a patched round ball, business as usual...and oh by the way, have a second patched round ball sitting on top of the first when I seat them down as a single unit. Done.

To be honest I didn't noticed much difference at all in "felt recoil'...its a fairly heavy Early Virginia in .45cal...but I'm sure the rifle had to have some increased recoil because there was increased muzzle rise, which raised the POI a few inches at 50yds.

Stumpkiller · Sep 17, 2013

BrownBear said:
I figure if a couple of .570 balls would be an advantage for bear, they oughta slap the snot out of a deer.

Armchair quarterbacking here - but two balls sharing the same amount of powder mean each one is doing less than one ball with the same amount of powder would be able to do. That's just physics. Though, combined they do cover more vitals. If they're hitting that close wouldn't one be better? You get a hole on each side instead of two on one side. :idunno:

If they were far apart a miss from one might not be a miss from the other.

If more was better we'd all be using shotguns and avoiding rifles . . . no?

Range Test: .45Cal Double PRB deer load

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