70 gr FFFg

[tx50cal]

In my .50 is this enough powder to take deer at up to 75 yards? It seems to be my best accuracy load. Thanks for the help.

 

[Stringbean]

You bet!

 

[cynthialee]

From all I have read...yes.
Accuracy is most important.
That is only 5 grains less than I use for a PRB in my .50 which is plenty powerful.
Fella I hunt with on occasion used a PRB with 80 grains of 3F at 65 yards and it dirt napped the Bambi in short order.

 

[tx50cal]

Oh yeah, this is with a .490 rb and pillow ticking. Thanks guys. Now I just need to be able to see to line up the sights better.

 

[Patocazador]

That's what I use in my .45 flinter. I use 75 gr. in my .50 Hawken because it is slightly more accurate.

If you hit a vital spot, the deer is a goner.

 

[hanshi]

70 grains of 3F is a very powerful load in a .50. It may be my best load at 100 yards. I've been testing 60 grains which may be all I need under 75 yards; that's the load I use in my .45s. In my .50 70 grains produces 1700fps while 60 grns of the same powder gives 1569fps.

 

[BrownBear]

My wife uses only 60 grains of 3f in her 54 with its stubby 24" barrel. She won't take a shot past 50 yards, but we've never recovered a ball from a deer. Meanwhile it really slaps the snot out of them! :grin:

 

[longcruise]

My deer this year was a good sized mulie Doe taken at 75 - 80 yards with PRB over 60 gr (by volume) of fff. Ball exited the far side and made a mess of the lungs.

I don't know the velocity of the load, but the same gun made 1475 fps with an 80 gr charge of the same powder. The 60 gr charge was probably around 1300 to 1350 fps.

We don't need near as much powder to do the job as we seem to think. I'm NOT advocating light loads. Don't want anyone to think they should reduce their loads just because it works. OTOH, if someone has a physical condition that requires light loads or a gun that shoots particularly accurately with such, then there is no reason, IMO, not to use it.

Heavier loads give an accuracy advantage due to flatter trajectory.

 

[faste350]

thats what i shoot in my 62 smoothbore and always get pass throughs out to 100 yards.

 

[trent/OH]

My first ML deer was a medium sized doe. I shot her with a patched .490 roundball atop of only 50 grains of 3Fg Goex, at a distance of 130 yards. It was not a pass through, but she definitely fell over dead after running about 50 yards.

Nowadays I'd use more powder for such a distance, but I never expected a 130 yards shot on that property.

 

[tenngun]

I use 60 t0 70 grains in my .50. Dixie gunworks Tennessee rifle in the 70s and 80 was made for a 60 grain charge.

 

[jamesthomas]

I use 70 grns. of 3fff in my .50 cal. Less than 2 inch groups at 50 yards and around 3 at 75. This is out of a 33 inch barrel. .022 pillow ticking patch with Hoppe's #9 black powder patch lube.

 

[azmntman]

My elk load is 75-80 grains in a .54 so yer good to go! SHOT PLACEMENT

 

[Rifleman1776]

Yes. Enjoy the hunt.

 

[RunningBear]

I use 3f 60 grains in both my 45 and 50 that just what
i been using for years.
:thumbsup:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I used 70 grains of 3Fg in my .50 Blue Ridge Hunter (and used it to prime too - simple = good), and when I went to a .54 I used the same load as a starting point. Liked it so much with the .54 I kept it. Tends to go through a deer with either caliber.

LD

 

[tx50cal]

It is actually a tighter group with 60, I guess that this would still be a good powder charge from what I have read.

 

[gunner69skmc]

For my .45 I start with 70gr of FFF, then find the "sweet spot." For the 50 I start with 75gr of FFF and find it's "sweet spot." These are my way to find a Hunting Load.

 

[mr.flintlock]

Definitely yes! I have a 50 caliber that I built a few years ago and it has a 32 inch barrel and I shoot 70gr FFFG and have killed several deer with it out to 50 yards and it has never failed me. Clean kills every time. I think that sometimes, people become too obsessed with trying to make these rifles perform as a high powered rifle. I have a 45 caliber that I use a 50gr load of GOEX FFFg and a patched round ball and it kills cleanly. Accuracy is more important than power. (within reason)

 

[Roguedog]

70 grains of FFFg is the charge I use for my .54 cal. So far, I have yet to recover a ball. Works pretty well for me. At one time, I would have preferred to use a bit more powder but my gun seemed to like the 70 grain charge and it's getting the job done. So now I'm like, why change?

Jeff