.62 Cal. Smoothbore w/ball..what is your load?

For those of you shooting a .62 calibre smoothbore with a roundball, I have several questions:1. What is your barrel length?2. What is your powder charge, and granulation?3. What brand powder do you use?4. What patch?5. Pros and Cons of your load?Any information will be GREATLY appreciated.THANKS!

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

42' barrel
80 grains GOEX ffg .600 ball
.010 patch with beeswax and tallow lube
This is an accurate load, yet it loads easily. I can generally hit a tin pie plate at 75-80 yards with it, and have hit at 100 yards. I should probably add that this is a flint fowling piece weighing just over seven pounds and carries nicely. The bore was lapped in before use.

 

[harrys]

Try http://members.aye.net/~bspen/index.html There are parts here that deal explicitly with loads for .62 round ball,powder/wads/patches/overshot wads ect., I used for loading an old Manton 19 gage, just had to size the patch a little different, the shotshell loads work well also.

Good Luck
Harrys

 

[ReSmiley]

Hello all

I shoot a 42" barrel Tulle, 75 gr 2ff/3ff Goex mix, .600 rb, 10 to 12 thou. patch. I shot a 2 liter pop bottle dead on at 75 yards. Best thing to do is try different loads your gun will tell you what it likes.

Hope this helps

Take care

Smiley

 

[LeeRoy87]

Thanks for raising this question, and thanks to everyone who answered it.

On a trade I got a .54, 1" Thompson/Center roundball barrel some idiot had ruined by improper cleaning, and I had Ed Rayl freshen it out to 20-gauge (61 caliber). But since I was forced out of my home and had to move back to a city about the same time I got the barrel (July 2004), I've haven't had a chance to shoot it yet. And now, since I no longer have my own backyard range, it looks as if I'll never get a chance to test this barrel. (There are NO informal ranges anywhere in Washington state anymore -- all closed as a result of 21 years of Democrat rule and the inevitable associated anti-gun fanatacism. And on most of the the formal, pay-to-shoot ranges, various moronic restrictions severely limit where and how you can shoot muzzle-loaders. This is especially frustrating but not a surprise; I had belonged to one of the few genuinely black-powder friendly gun clubs in the area -- was a member for 12 years -- but my forced move back to the city made it an absurdly long drive, so I let my membership expire.) Anyway, I'll keep hoping. And again thanks for the information.

 

[Ridge]

46 inch barrel
.600 roundball
.10 patch
70 grains of 2f Goex

Works for me. At 60 yards it hits deer like Thor's hammer.

 

Hey, thanks for the responses so far. OldGrayWolf, sorry to hear of your situation. I'm still fairly new to this area, but it has indoor ranges all over the place, which works when I am shooting the modern stuff. As a guest, I just tried out a pricey members only outdoor range, and it is actually pretty good. I'm going to try out a public outdoor range probably this coming weekend.

 

[LeeRoy87]

Longbarrel, if you're in the Knoxville area, check out the Volunteer Rifle and Pistol Club. My late father was a club officer during the '50s and '60s and I shot there often as a teenager: rifle ranges of 500 and 1000 yards, a 50-yard pistol range big enough to accommodate about 50 shooters, skeet and trap facilities too. Literally the best club range I've ever seen anywhere; don't know what it's like today -- haven't been anywhere near the South since '69 -- but I suspect if anything (given shooter-friendly attitudes in Tennessee), its better. I believe the club has a website too. Good luck!

 

[Wes/Tex]

Agree with Harry's post about Bob Spencer's loads. .020" ball size under bore size with .017" lubed patching works well in anything in the 20 guage/.62" bore size. The reason I mention bore/ball size is that .62's can very from .600" to .625", at least. The 80 grain load has worked well in several I've shot with barrels from 42" to 48". Good luck.

 

[FireMaker]

.595 ball
.15 lubed patch
70 gr. 3f Goex
42 inch barrel fusil

 

41 1/2 inch .618 barrel
65 grains of 3Fg Goex
.600 round ball (Rapine Mould)
.018 pillow tick from Joann Fabric with Buffler Spit on it.

plenty of power, plenty of control.

 

[dodgecity]

42" barrel, .600 ball, .010 cotton patch, Old Zip lube, 70 grains fff.

 

[Deadeye]

42" Fucil
70 gr. 2f Goex
.600 ball
.015 pillow tick spit patch

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Hey, Longbarrel, ain't it interesting how many different loads everybody has come up with for the same bore? And everybody is happy with his load. Now if you want some really long answers just how many different loads we tried before we came up with the one we stuck with....

 

[Black Hand]

.60 cal RB, 70ish grains of FFFg Goex, 0.012 patch (Jo-Ann fabrics) lubed with Yellow stuff. 36inch barrel on NSW Early English.
Black Hand

 

Hey, Longbarrel, ain't it interesting how many different loads everybody has come up with for the same bore? And everybody is happy with his load. Now if you want some really long answers just how many different loads we tried before we came up with the one we stuck with....

ahh, but grasshopper, not all 20ga barrels are built alike. I have seen 20 bore go anywhere from .614 to .625, depending on who makes it and how. Heck, I know a feller who has a ".62" pistol that is actually .630!! Then it comes down to barrel length, your powder, your patch material...not all things are created equal. Just like different moulds make different sizes, even though they say ".600". I know that a Lee .600 ball won't fit the way I like it in my gun, but Lyman and Rapine work great.

You're right, it's all in working with your gun and asking her what she wants. Given time, she'll let you know.

 

[Henry]

Anybody uses the old dtyle paper cartrige ?

 

[LeeRoy87]

Re paper cartridges: I used them routinely back in the 1950s, when you could buy saltpeter for nitrating cartridge paper (which I made from tough brown wrapping paper), but those days are long gone. As I understand it, BATF regs make it illegal to make black powder -- even tiny chemistry-set amounts -- and the pharmacists and chemical supply houses are no longer allowed to sell saltpeter or potassium nitrate.

(Don't know what they do these days to ward off chiggers in the South. No insect repellent I ever heard of would deter these voracious little critters. The standard remedy -- always 100 percent successful the many many times I employed it -- was to dust your boots, sox and skivvies with sulphur.)

 

[FireMaker]

Yes I use the paper as well. Works better with the .595 than the .600 just because you can load longer with the fouling. I have had no dif. in the accuracy.

 

With exceptions, I've noticed that most of the guys using FFF use 65-70grs. (sometimes a bit more), whereas those who use FF use 80grs. on average.I bought this gun late last year, and just got a chance to shoot it a couple of weeks ago (had quite a bit going on IN ADDITION to my relocation). Anyway, mine has a 48 inch barrel, and the guy I bought it from said that 80grs. of FF worked best.Well, the load I used when I fired last week was:.600 ball.015 patches pre-cut w/1000 plus lube.80grs. of FFG.Standing off-hand at 25 yards, the first group was low. After I cleaned, my next group was point of aim. Still, it wasn't as tight a pattern as I would like. For example, my Brown Bess will literally tear a ragged hole at 25 yards off-hand, but the group with my .62 last week was about 3 inches. Now, I'm not one of these folks who use a 'light load' for practice, and a separate load for hunting....I like to shoot my 'service load' all the time, and I can accept the accuracy that such a load gives me...even if an ultra light load would shoot tighter. The thing is, I just feel as if I can do better than that 3 inches. The first thing that I'm thinking of doing is switching my patches. Rather than the pre-cut (store bought) patches, I will simply pre-cut them the way I do for my Bess...out of .015 pillow ticking. I tend to get good accuracy with those patches. I will work on the patches before I consider doing ANYTHING else....I definitely don't want to raise the powder charge, but I don't want to lower it either. If I have to lower it, I can see going maybe 70grs. at the lowest.....I will also consider switching to FFF, but I will see how all of this other stuff goes first, and I will keep you all posted.