Chronographing loads

[azmntman]

^ Hope I look that good at 83. OMG its getting closer! :shocked2: I'm 17 on the inside though :wink:

 

[newtewsmoke]

I chrongraphed the loads I used in the .58 flint plains rifle...This was so I would know how to hold out to as far as I would shoot at a deer.

not questioning your obvious tried and true method but i don't follow... and a question for all...say i want to know my ball fps @ 100 yards, what good is a 15' reading? Again, NOT arguing, just wanting to understand.

 

[rodwha]

I've seen the BC values of various balls posted online, and entering that and the velocity into a ballistics calculator will give you the info.

 

[azmntman]

Or if yer really good just shoot into the chronny at 100 yds and be SURE. No mines broken....

 

[Grumpa]

I just hope I can shoot that good at 80. OMG! - I better get practicin'....

But now that I know more about your rifle, I have a built-in excuse. :grin: You did a beautiful job on it, Herb.

Richard

 

[Billnpatti]

Really, it is just simple ballistics. If you know your muzzle velocity, the ballistic coefficient of the ball and the air density, you can pretty accurately calculate the exterior ballistics such as the trajectory and kenetic energy of the ball at any given distance.

A good understandable book on the subject is "Underestanding Firearm Ballistics" by Robert A. Rinker. I have a copy in my bookcase and refer to it pretty often.

This is a good calculator. Go to the bottom wher it says "NEW" and use that rather than downloading the whole thing. Besides, it may not download on your computer but the part where it says "NEW" will. http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments/rbballistics/rbballistics.html

 

[Herb]

newtewsmoke, a "muzzle" velocity, even though at 15 feet (the difference is meaningless) gives you a starting point. Go to Hornady Ballistics Calculator on your browser, and when the page comes up, click on Ballistics Calculator-Hornady Manufacturing. Plug in your caliber, ballistics coefficient (a measure of air resistance or streamlining) (for .50 roundballs it is .068, for .54 .075 and for .58 .080). Next your muzzle velocity, and you can estimate it with your powder charge from black powder loading manuals such as Lyman's, or from postings of velocity of similar loads on this forum. Choose interval, such as 25 yards, and a zero range (say 100) and how far you want to shoot (say 200 yards), hit "calculate" and there is your bullet drop for all ranges. You don't need to know velocity or energy, just drop. You will see at what range the ball drops so much that it would be hard to hit anything with it. Adjusting a zero to 125 yards would help in the open sandhills, if you have full power loads.

Another way to learn bullet drop is to sight in at your yardage, say 100, then when shooting with the same sight picture and target hold from a bench at longer measured yardages, say 125 and 150, measure the actual group center drop from line of sight. Then practice field shooting at these estimated ranges. You probably don't have rocks to shoot at, but shooting at yucca or gopher mounds within your comfort zone will help in estimating range and drop. That is what I did in my last mule deer hunt, when I should have been practicing jump shooting deer!

 

[Grumpa]

That is what I did in my last mule deer hunt, when I should have been practicing jump shooting deer!

:haha: That tells the whole tale.

 

[hanshi]

I've owned and used a chronograph for many years, now. I, too, have fired thousands of rounds through those screens. But they were 99% centerfire rounds. I've chronographed only a few prb rounds. Normally when I've found a particular load and am satisfied with it and have used it for a good while, I'll sometimes run it through the screens out of curiosity. Only a few have been speed tested over the years as that's mostly irrelevant with prb.

 

[M. De Land]

Yeah, shooting through a hole in a plywood baffel out in front of the bench will usually separate the patch and most of the lube from the ball or bullet before it goes over the screens.

 

[Greenjoytj]

I read that while chronographing shotgun hand loads a plywood board with a small rectangular hole (for the shot to pass through) is placed in front of the chronograph.
This board increases the odds of shielding the detector screens from the shot cup and wad strikes.
This same shield set up should work well to protect the chrono from hits from patches an OP wads.

 

[FishDFly]

Guess for the same reason folks argue over the definition of what is a Hawken.

 

[FishDFly]

It certainly is, yet you talk about sissy loads filled with cream of wheat. Guess we need to delete a bunch of your posts, eh? They sure didn't use those pre 1900's...

Since you do not know my father, nor have I mentioned him to you I have no idea why you like to talk about him. Not really sure what sort of response you are looking for.

Sissy loads win in line matches.

Brady is in June, you are invited again for 2 years in a row to shoot in a State Shoot.

 

[rodwha]

Indeed they do and yet to bring them up when the topic is hunting as though that's all they are good for and then lambast them.

And then you've also gone on about HC and yet talk at length about using cream of wheat loads which is far from it.

Maybe you ought to try relaxing a little...

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Yessir, one of those lessons that is learned right after you need it most, like not loaning out expensive gear.