CAN A .45 DRIVE TACKS?

[oldwood]

In the 1980's shooting a 9 + lb , 44" D-wt. , .50 cal. Pa. long Rifle got a little heavy for me , so built a light wt. .45 cal. 36" brl . . 7/8" st. brl. Pittsburgh rifle. ... On paper from a bench w/ appropriate round ball ,both the .50 and the .45 were equal in accuracy ,the .50 liked 80 gr. FFFG , and the .45 settled on 62 gr. FFFG. Was able to continue to shoot silhouettes out to 200 yards. The target was a cub bear steel knock down target. The difference was the.50 would put the bear down with every hit on the target , but the .45 would ring the target , but only occasionally knock the bear over providing the hit was high on the upper edge of the bear. .45 would hit just as accurately as the .50 , but w/ less power. This is just a comparison of .45 vs .50 round ball . Tried to juice up the .45 w/more FFFG , but it wasn't accurate enough for the 200 yd. target. Each caliber has it's sweet spot and if the wt. of the ball will fit the mission , good to go , if not , find another caliber. ......oldwood

 

[flashpoint]

First, there’s no law saying you can’t replace the sights that came on your rifle. A peep sight with a finer blade would be one way to go. Perhaps even taking a file to the sides of the blade on your rifle. Go easy here though, you need to be able to see that blade in low light conditions too. Second, you may want to experiment with different patch materials and thicknesses, it’s a key component and often overlooked. T/C‘s often like a thicker patch and sometimes benefit from a wad behind the ball. See if you can locate any of the fired patches down range and read them for clues. Third, you may need to try different powders in addition to different charges. Along those lines, if the rifle has been shot a great deal it may need a new nipple in order to realize it’s best accuracy.

edit: I’m curious about your definition of accurate. 1 moa? 2? 3?

Woodnbow, thanks for the info. As far as accuracy goes, the "bull" is 2" in diameter. At 25 and at 50 yards, both shots hit within that area. The patch material I use is .018 pillow ticking. Actually, that's the only thickness I've ever tried shooting shot out of the gun. The nipple is new.

 

[flashpoint]

Awaiting replies on this one...

Troy, seems you knew what was coming.

 

[flashpoint]

OK, in reading through everything there is some really great advice and I appreciate everyone taking the time to help me out. As far as the 100 yards go, I would never take that shot on game with a ML. My accuracy at this point as I mentioned to Woodnbow, is that at 25 and 50 yards, both shots were within a 2" bullseye circle.

 

[flashpoint]

I think I am going to try using Swiss FFg as Arcticap mentioned, a thicker patch and a heavier load to see how that combo works out. My goal is to be accurate out to 60 or 65 yards with at least 800 FP of energy.

 

[A34]

Great answers above. I'll just say that this guy is generally accepted to have been shot by a .45 Whitworth.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/general-john-sedgwick

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have a friend who shoots what I would consider a very light load for deer. He shoots a .40 loaded with about 48 gr of 3F. The last doe he shot was 90 yards away, he got a complete pass through and put the doe down in short order.

Like Paul Harvey said, "now for the rest of the story"; His group of shooters have met up for years on Wednesdays and shot all morning out to 100 yards, he knows his gun and can put them where he wants them.

 

[mooman76]

Yes, placement is #1. Bullet or RB can have all the power in the world but if it doesn't hit in the right place, it won't do it's job.

 

[Professor flintlock]

I have carried and shot a 45 caliber TC Seneca since I believe the 1970's. The original TC "maxi ball a three ring was 245 grain hunting bullet that literally dropped into the Seneca barrel supposedly stabilized with the grease you were supposed to apply. They had a bad habit of developing wobble and or tumbling at about 75 yards. This I believe gave the Seneca a bad rap as a short range gun. In the early years I paper wrapped the Maxi with brown waxed paper after greasing with extra heavy duty automotive grease. The fit was much improved and I set my 2x7 scope to a 0 drop of about 100 yards with 10 grains of FFF topped with 80 grains of FF. All well and good for the first shot but follow ups were very slow. Over the years I have experimented with nearly every new 45 caliber offering including Hornady 45 cal pistol rounds and the various muzzleloader variations. Over time I have settled on the following the Barnes 195 Grain 45 caliber expander Sabot backed with a 10 grain drizzle of Goex FFF topped with one Triple Seven 45 grain pellet and one Triple Seven 44 cal 30 grain pellet. My zero point is out to 150 yards and drops about 7 inches at 200 yards. It will shoot 5-7' groups at 150 yards. The twist of the barrel and the small load limits knock down power to about 900-1000 FP at 150 yards. I also have a 45 caliber Knight inline that will take a 200 grain load it isn't any more accurate that the old Seneca but the knock down power is definitely in the 1500-1800FP range.

You might try a drop in barrel from Green mountain . If they are still available it makes a good shooting round ball gun.

 

[Greg Blackburn]

Can a .45 drive tacks?

Yes it can, but it's never a good idea to use a firearm as a hammer.

Sorry guys, slow and boring day here.

 

[COTNTOP]

This thread has the most honest remarks I ever read in the shooters world. THANKS

 

[Kansas Kid]

Mainly a figure of speech.

 

[mjpchief]

I’ve got a .44 revolver that will drive tacks. Kinda hard on the grip frame but will drive them with one smack.

 

[Chief Ten Beers]

Of course it can, but the question is can you?

 

[hanshi]

My favorite rifle is a 36" .45 flintlock. It's much more accurate than I am and always hits where it's aimed. My go-to deer rifle.

 

[FishDFly]

In all honesty, I bet there are more line shooters who use a .45.
There are more match records held by T/C Hawken's with .45 GM 1 in 66" twist barrels.

In summation, a. 45 can be a tack driver give that the .45 rifle is capable of doing it's job and the operator is a competent shooter.

 

[flashpoint]

In the 1980's shooting a 9 + lb , 44" D-wt. , .50 cal. Pa. long Rifle got a little heavy for me , so built a light wt. .45 cal. 36" brl . . 7/8" st. brl. Pittsburgh rifle. ... On paper from a bench w/ appropriate round ball ,both the .50 and the .45 were equal in accuracy ,the .50 liked 80 gr. FFFG , and the .45 settled on 62 gr. FFFG. Was able to continue to shoot silhouettes out to 200 yards. The target was a cub bear steel knock down target. The difference was the.50 would put the bear down with every hit on the target , but the .45 would ring the target , but only occasionally knock the bear over providing the hit was high on the upper edge of the bear. .45 would hit just as accurately as the .50 , but w/ less power. This is just a comparison of .45 vs .50 round ball . Tried to juice up the .45 w/more FFFG , but it wasn't accurate enough for the 200 yd. target. Each caliber has it's sweet spot and if the wt. of the ball will fit the mission , good to go , if not , find another caliber. ......oldwood

Thanks Oldwood, good advice. When you were out to 200 yds., were you using iron sights?

 

[oldwood]

Hey Flash.......We were using NMLRA rules on open iron sights. On both rifles , I used flat top single vertical slot on rear sight , and front sight vertical .050 ths. wide . Both sights were vertically high to cut mirage as much as possible. Wish you well..........oldwood

 

[flashpoint]

Hey Flash.......We were using NMLRA rules on open iron sights. On both rifles , I used flat top single vertical slot on rear sight , and front sight vertical .050 ths. wide . Both sights were vertically high to cut mirage as much as possible. Wish you well..........oldwood

Great shootin'.

 

[Mike in FL]

I would never ever ever accept 9 inches at 100 yards.