60 g of 3fg

[mligon]

I have a Lyman .50 cal Trade rifle. I get hole in hole accuracy @ 50 yards with 60g 3fg. I am using a .490 ball,.015 ox-yoke patch. The rate of twist is 1:48 and the barrel length is 28 inches. Is this enough of a load to take a deer @ 50 yards?

Sincerely,
Shooter

 

[Dphar]

I have a Lyman .50 cal Trade rifle. I get hole in hole accuracy @ 50 yards with 60g 3fg. I am using a .490 ball,.015 ox-yoke patch. The rate of twist is 1:48 and the barrel length is 28 inches. Is this enough of a load to take a deer @ 50 yards?

Sincerely,
Shooter

Shot placement will be the only issue.
Shoot the deer right it will run 0-60 yards and fall dead. Just like if you shot them with 120 gr.

Dan

 

[wattlebuster]

What Dan said :hatsoff:

 

[mligon]

Dear Sir: Thank you for that information!
60 g of 3fg is very comfortable to shoot and it is very accurate in my rifle. 40g of 3fg is also very accurate and is my target load. I plan to keep my shots within a close distance of a max. of 50 yards. I have not tested the 60 g 3fg load @ 100 yards yet, but I will!

Thank You!
Shooter

 

[Ron_T.]

I have a Lyman .50 cal Trade rifle. I get hole in hole accuracy @ 50 yards with 60g 3fg. I am using a .490 ball,.015 ox-yoke patch. The rate of twist is 1:48 and the barrel length is 28 inches. Is this enough of a load to take a deer @ 50 yards?

Sincerely,
Shooter

***********************************************

I have an older CVA Hawken with the same "specs"... and found the load you're using very accurate, but also found a 70 grain load of Swiss FFFg was just as accurate and had a higher velocity.

However, within 50 yards or less, your 60 grain load should be sufficient with good ball placement.

Make "GOOD" smoke... :thumbsup:


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Yes.
Pic of ded deer mandantory. :grin:

 

[William O.]

I have a Lyman .50 cal Trade rifle. I get hole in hole accuracy @ 50 yards with 60g 3fg. I am using a .490 ball,.015 ox-yoke patch. The rate of twist is 1:48 and the barrel length is 28 inches. Is this enough of a load to take a deer @ 50 yards?

Sincerely,
Shooter

Yes, put the RB where it needs to go and this will be a fine deer slayer.

 

[Trench]

From experience, but with 60gr of FFg, my .490 ball dropped this buck at 40yds. Pass-through shot.

 

[mligon]

Dear Sirs: Thank you all for the information!

Sincerely,
Shooter

 

[Huntin_Dawg1215]

Nice Deer and nice rifle. Was that one taken this year. That load should get the job as you have proven.

 

[George T.]

I don't dispute what others have said here! But if time allowed I would try heavier loads up to around 90 grains. If it shot well you would have a flatter shooting load that would likely expand more.

I killed several small Texas deer with a 40 cal. loaded with 90 grains of FFF. The ball was under the hide on the off side expanded to a curved flat object. I shot a couple of deer with a 50 loaded with 100 grains of FF. I never recovered a ball but the exit hole was quite a bit larger than the entrance wound.

These were Texas hill country deer that were between 80 and 90 pounds. I guess my point is that if I found a accurate load that was a fasrer load I would probably go with it! Geo. T.

 

[William O.]

PS- I've owned 3 Trade Rifles and they have all been great shooters. One of the best "bangs for your buck" out there, glad you are happy with yours.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

If it shot well you would have a flatter shooting load that would likely expand more.

Trajectory, probably, expansion..., how dead does the deer need to be? :haha:

I use 70 grains of 3Fg with my all lead .530 round ball which according to GOEX is doing about 1400 fps..., and I get pass through hits out to 110 yards when the deer is broadside to me. Never shot a deer farther than that so can't comment beyond that range.

LD

 

[ebiggs1]

I don't dispute what others have said here! But if time allowed I would try heavier loads up to around 90 grains. If it shot well you would have a flatter shooting load that would likely expand more.

And of course this is the correct answer. Sure any load WILL kill deer,............if the right conditions exist. But when actually deer hunting those conditions may or may not be in play. The little extra oomph and flatter trajectory is always better. A little mis-placed shot and so on, etc.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Nice buck.
But, I don't think thet deer is ded enuf. You need a bigger powder charge to kill it dedder. :wink:
Seriously, if your shots are kept to apx. 40 yards the 60 grains, as you showed, will do the job. But, personally, I would use more for longer and/or questionable shots and the possibility of less than perfect placement.

 

[George T.]

I should add that not only were the deer that I shot small but the longest shot was 55 yards and several were in the 40 yard area.I always shot my hunting combinations at 100 yards to get the point of aim.In real world hunting conditions , such as bad light the open sights make 100 yards a long ways. As for how dead these deer were well with the 40 cal. they went 30 yards or less and with the 50 they dropped right there! Still I shot the bigger loads for the just in case! Geo. T.

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

My opinion is that you should find a load that gives you the most speed with the least amount of accuracy degradation you can tolerate. If 60 grains meets that criterion and you maintain shooting distance discipline than more power to you.

 

[hanshi]

Noticed you got some "yes, it will work if..." answers. The real answer is YES! Sixty grains of 3F should be giving you somewhere around 1400 to 1500fps. That's roughly the same velocity & energy you'd get from a good .44mag load. I've killed several deer up to 90 yards with a RSBH .44 with that type load. I know others who've killed them well beyond that distance.

Your prb is larger in diameter than a .44 plus it is SOFT. If you loaded your rifle with 100grns of 3F deer won't drop any more surely and will run just as far as with your 60grn load. If your load is accurate there is no reason to change it. You'll get more recoil with a heavier load and accuracy is likely to be affected.

Since you won't be shooting much past 50 or 60 yards, trajectory is not an issue. You'll probably get pass through and the ball will expand as well.

 

[Matt85]

i love when people mention ball expansion... its just silly! in this case hes shooting a .490 diameter ball and people are worried about expansion?! a .490 ball will make a larger hole then any modern legal hunting bullet. (this is not accounting for high velocity blowout on the exit wound which you wouldnt want anyway.)

sure if your shooting a .25-.30 diameter bullet you might wanna consider expansion. but, at best your going to expand the bullet to a size that is still smaller then the .490 ball the OP is using.

-matt

 

[David Wittkopf]

I just bought a 54cal Trade rifle, used but in new condition, plan on shooting it Friday. My plan is 70FFF, 530 ball and .018 pillow ticking.