.58cal Trajectory Tests - Surprising Results !

[roundball]

Outstanding trajectory !!!!!

I check zeroed the .58cal GM Flint barrel this morning to ensure it was dead on at 50yds...then put the target up at 100yds, and my drop was only 3".

100grns Goex FFg
Oxyoke wonderwad
Prelubed patch
Hornady .570 ball

Really underscores the point of how much better a heavier projectile retains energy compared to a lighter one.

Most of my deer hunting shots are in the 40-60 yard range due to heavy cover, so I'm going to keep it zeroed at 50yds...but if I hunted in more wide open areas where longer shots were probable, a 1.5" high zero at 50yds would make a pretty narrow plus or minus 1.5" trajectory path the whole distance.

PS: Those .58cal hunting loads will work on you... I normally shoot 40 rounds of whatever it is I'm playing with on a given day, but after 30 of those 100grn hunting loads with that big heavy .58cal ball, I was ready to stop...but lord that barrel is accurate...can't wait for Deer season!! :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

 

[Ironwood]

A few years back and ol' friend of mine gave me a .58 caliber Mini he had cast. Well, my ol' friend is long gone but I still have his bullet. Every now and then I take it out of the cabinet just to remind myself how big a .58 caliber really is! The more I look at that bullet and the more I read on these forums the itchier I get. If that big ol' bullet does proportionately better on deer, than the 320 grain REAL bullet does, it should be one more great deer slayer!

Doesn't it feel good when something works out better than you expect?

 

[roundball]

It's definitely a big ball...the .570 weighs about 280grns and will be devastating on Deer...I needed to get a .58cal like I needed a case of the flu...but...well, you know...you have the sickness too or you wouldn't be reading this :: ::

 

Ironwood, I'm assuming you are comparing the .58 ball to the .50 R.E.A.L. bullet. I believe I saw 320gr. for a weight listing in .50 REAL bullets sometime ago.
: Yes - the.58 in a .570 or .575 ball(484gr.) is quite a bit more potent than a .50 ball or bullet(175-180gr.), especially on larger animals than deer, or rather harder to kill animals than deer. So for deer, yes, it should be quite a smacker. I knwo brothers .60 Jaeger(Steutzen)does well on Mule Deer of large size.
: Another thing about big bores, is that if the sights are right down on the barrel, your point-blank range will be extended. I'm referring to the range at which the ball is neither more than 1" above or below the Point of Aim. This was spelled out quite emphatically in Forsyth's little book.
: He was speaking from experience, and once I had my own .69(14 bore), I proved it for myself. With very low sights, the centre of the front sight bead is no more than 1/8" above the barrel, and the rear sight barely 3/16". My Point Blank range using the hunting load was from the muzzle to 100 yds. with the 480gr. ball. With the same sighting, the 82gr. load was point blank from the muzzle to 75/80yds. and 2 1/2" low at 100yds. I had trouble believing that as a fact until I tried it myself. That big ball, travelling so flattly in trajectory was amazing. I then noted the BC of the big ball was in the neighbourhood of .105, almost identical to the 35gr. Vmax in .224 cal. The .50 bal is aobut 1/2 that and has much more drop. Using his 14 bore double, Forsyth claims to have dropped a Sambur Stag at some 250yds. using a light load of 2 1/2 drams,(about 68gr.)using a hardened ball. In those days, they hardened lead with murcury - don't try it- very dangerous) I've read that the hardest you can get with murcury is aobut equivalent to WW metal or 12BN.
: The reason for NEEDING a long point-blank sight is so the sights can be forgotten to about 125yds. range, and for charging dangerous game, you know the ball will never be higher nor lower than 1".
Daryl

 

[Ironwood]

Roundball...I hope you don't mind, I thought I would post a photo of the .58 caliber Mini. I don't have a .570 ball or I would have put one of those in the photo. At any rate the posters should get an idea of how much bigger a .58 caliber is than a .50 caliber. That big ol' bullet just dwarfs my REAL bullet. I'm sure the same would be true for the .570" Ball compared to the .490" ball.

Left to right: .580" 500 grain Miniball, .500" 320 grain Lee R.E.A.L. bullet, .490" 177 grain roundball.

 

[NoJacketRequired]

How did that old rock 'n roll song go?

"Who's got the biggest... Balls of them all?" :haha: OK, OK, everybody's got to be a joker once in a while...

I just can't imagine being anywhere downrange of the big-bore .69 and .75 rifles. Nor can I imagine behing behind one of those monsters. "Ouch" is all I can think of!

 

[musketman]

I just can't imagine being anywhere downrange of the big-bore .69 and .75 rifles. Nor can I imagine behing behind one of those monsters. "Ouch" is all I can think of!

I shot both, they don't kick that bad, even with a stout load...

The long length, moderate weight and wide butt section of the muskets help control the recoil you feel...

A few extra heavy sweat shirts won't hurt either... :winking: :haha:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Oh, they ain't so bad. I onst shot all 24 rounds out of my belly box in one standing on a Sunday afternoon when wearing just a shirt, and by the following Wednesday I could focus well enough to read traffic signs. By Friday it was even easier when my right eye had drifted back over onto the proper side of my nose.

About the same kick as a 12 ga shotgun firing a 2-3/4" max load rifled slug. Both launching about an ounce of lead. That heavy, brass buttplate digs a nice hole to settle in like a hound on a hot day. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif The trick is to pull back with your left hand to snug the stock up good and tight and lean into it a bit. I try to keep my right hand relaxed so as not to jerk the trigger. You're doing it right when you have a misfire "click" and the gun stays on target instead of jerking; not that anyone on this honorable sight would f-f-flinch, or have a misfire, even.

 

[Rocky Johnson]

Stumpy If you let one hurt you very often your going to flinch.. Rocky