40 caliber good?

[roundball]

Wish I'd thought to try that...when I ran my tests, the sights were set for a 40grn Goex 3F powder charge.
When I went to a double ball load, I bumped up to 80grns Goex 3F and POI turned out to be the same as single balls at those distances with 40grns. 25/50yds are such short distances the little fast moving balls seem to cover them like a laser.

 

[hanshi]

Are BOTH balls patched; or is it just the first ball?

 

[roundball]

Are BOTH balls patched; or is it just the first ball?

BOTH...REPEAT...BOTH BALLS MUST BE PATCHED to ensure they stay in place.

If not, and the top ball moved up off the bottom ball through normal walking / gun handling...then a "separation" of the two balls will have occurred and the top ball then becomes a bore obstruction.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

I do wonder why two balls at lesser energy each would be better than one at full energy, anyway. :idunno: You're moving twice the mass with the same powder. I'd rather have one good shot placed where I wanted it.

When done correctly/safely, you do actually gain more energy out of given powder charge. In the four single- vs. double-ball loads that Herb presented data for in this thread, the muzzle energy increases ranged from 17%-29%. He worked up a double-ball .40 hunting load so a friend could meet a minimum-projectile-weight regulation for deer, and it took the deer.

Also, I've seen a number of terminal-ballistics discussions that suggest that multiple impacts give disproportionate increases in stopping power, so two balls each hitting at 58-64% of the single-ball energy could easily be more effective than the single ball, assuming adequate penetration. Given that the higher the velocity, the faster the rate of slowing, I'd expect that the percentage of difference in energy would be increasing somewhat downrange compared to at the muzzle. Ain't a lot, but it is something to consider.

Regards,
Joel

 

[dbutch]

Both patched...But I would use a sligthly smaller ball for the second one(top) to allow the air forced down while loading to escape.
These loads require both balls to be touching before ignition.
Don't ask me how I know this!
Can you say shortened barrel?

 

[nkbj]

When loading double ball aren't we supposed to seat both balls into the rifling (patch-ball-patch-ball) and then move the two of them together (as a single projectile) down the barrel and onto the charge?
I didn't try some .397" this weekend like I wanted to due unusual wet stuff falling out of the sky... but, I plan on it real soon.

 

[Rifleman1776]

When loading double ball aren't we supposed to seat both balls into the rifling (patch-ball-patch-ball) and then move the two of them together (as a single projectile) down the barrel and onto the charge?
I didn't try some .397" this weekend like I wanted to due unusual wet stuff falling out of the sky... but, I plan on it real soon.

What you describe is the least dangerous method. The "supposed to" part is when you are supposed to load only one ball. Two ball loading is fraught with issues that are not desirable, mostly safety.

 

[nchawkeye]

Not necessary in MY rifle, but I also use .390s instead of .395s...With a 13/16 barrel there is plenty of metal, as I stated earlier, this gun use to be a .45...

 

[hanshi]

Several precautions come to mind but I definitely will be trying double balls in my .40. Seating both as one projectile makes sense.

 

[FishDFly]

40 caliber good?

I have read all the posts, please define "good"?

According to ISO 9001 standards, what is good, it's conformance to establish standards, what are they?

Seems like what is good scotch or bourbon?

 

[jamesthomas]

Bourbon!! ff . Jim Beam if you please.

 

[roundball]

When loading double ball aren't we supposed to seat both balls into the rifling (patch-ball-patch-ball) and then move the two of them together (as a single projectile) down the barrel and onto the charge?

Absolutely.
In essence you want double ball projectile seating to be the same as if it was a single PRB being seated.

 

[Semisane]

Bourbon!! ff . Jim Beam if you please.

Nah! Knob Creek. :wink:

 

[nchawkeye]

When loading double ball aren't we supposed to seat both balls into the rifling (patch-ball-patch-ball) and then move the two of them together (as a single projectile) down the barrel and onto the charge?
I didn't try some .397" this weekend like I wanted to due unusual wet stuff falling out of the sky... but, I plan on it real soon.

Who made that "rule"???

Much of what we think are rules are wives tales handed down from the 1940s and '50s when muzzleloading started getting popular again...

I send them down individually, so there isn't excessive strain on the ramrod...Works for me... :hatsoff:

It's a pretty common practice when building a rifle to check the barrel, double charge, double balls...So it's not like this is something new...

 

[roundball]

Who made that "rule"???

Speaking only for myself, I've always heard it in the context of eliminating any possibility of there being any ball separation due to the chance of compressed air between them causing the top ball to rise up off the bottom one, etc...And having felt such a thing occur when seating them separately, I personally only seat them down together.
I use strong brass ramrods so its never a problem for me to seat them together.

 

It is true that smaller balls really suffer in the wind but the 40 has a slightly better chance than say the 32. But not much. And when I mean wild dogs, I am talking coyotes and coy-dog mixes.

 

I use the term lagging popularity loosely. I am simply comparing loosely with all calibers considered. Generally when people go for blackpowder its the 50 or 54, and maybe a 45. For big game hunting generally. The 40s heyday was long ago. But atleast it is still available. It seems that some companies are starting to drop squirrel rifle caliber barrels which makes it harder for makers like me to make these fine soft shooting guns.

 

So let me get this straight? you double loaded your 40 and killed a deer with it?

 

[AWsaddles]

Not really double loaded so to say. It was a single powder charge of 65 gr 3f and two patched round balls over the top. I used it to take a deer a few years ago and it proved very effective. The range of the shot was somewhere in the 40 yard range. The pictures of the targets were taken while I was working up a load for the rifle before that seasons hunt. I'm still looking for the pics of the deer I took after I had him hanging. As stated earlier I am not advocating the use of double ball because if not done properly it can be very dangerous. I am just showing some results of my testing.

 

Any comment on the wounds inflicted on the deer as if it would have made a difference between a clean kill and a bad wounding? I sure would not want to be the one to short start one of those balls by accident.