FFg versus FFFg

[Jerry Reichert]

:wink: FFg versus FFFg. I have a great amount of FFFg Goex powder and would like to use it in a Green Mountain .54 cal. barrel for 100 yard target scooting. Has anyone ever tried this and if so how much powder is a good light load? Send me your recommendations directly please. Thanks, Jerry

 

[bavarialand]

three f [ fffg] will work in a .54 but you should use two f [ffg].

as for a "really" light load, i think 30 to 50grns in a .54 would be really light.

just my opinion.

good luck.

Dave

 

[Headhunter]

Jerry,

I use FFF-G Goex on everything up to 58 Caliber. In my 50, my light target load is 50 grains.

I don't think I even own any FF-G.

Headhunter

 

[Swampman]

I use 3F in everything (even my .72 caliber.) I only use 2F for blank charges, and only then if it's free. It's just too dirty, and inefficent.

In a .50 or a .54, I normally use 60 grains of 3F under a PRB for hunting and targets.

 

[longcruise]

When shooting with the identical barrel you described, I shoot 80 grainsof goex 3f for target work which chrono's about 1650 fps (32 inch barrel). I tried 100 grains over the chrono and they ran about 1850 fps. I'll use the 100 grains for hunting if the accuracy tests on it pan out.

This is a fairly new barrel for me so there is not much accuracy data put together yet. I'll be trying some lighter loads for target work just for the sake of economy.

These gm barrels are great all around barrels and seem to shoot well with a broad range of loads and powders.

Good luck with yours

 

[roundball]

:wink: FFg versus FFFg. I have a great amount of FFFg Goex powder and would like to use it in a Green Mountain .54 cal. barrel for 100 yard target scooting. Has anyone ever tried this and if so how much powder is a good light load? Send me your recommendations directly please. E-mail [email protected] Thanks, Jerry

Goex 3F is all I use in several calibers except .58 & .62...and that's only because I still have a few cans for 2F left to use so I leave the .58 & .62cal sighted in with 2F like they are now.

I use 50grns 3F as a target load in my 54cals, and 90grns 3F for deer hunting.

 

[john12865]

I shoot 60 grs fffg of Goex in my .54 cal. all day long and don't get all thumped up. It's been a very accurate load for me. I'm 5'-6" and 175 lbs. if that helps you out.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Marmotslayer: Please do some comparison penetration tests with your rifle before deciding on using more powder. That extra 200 fps is gone at 100 yards. But it will kick you more because you used it.

I don't think you will find any difference in penetration from the one load to the heavier one, no matter what medium you use to test. Its the weight of the ball that indicates penetration, and not Muzzle Velocity. In a .54, the ball weighs 230 grain, or about 1/2 oz.! That is a lot of lead to move. 1600 fps is more than enough velociy to send a ball completely through a deer, and probably any elk you might shoot broadside. You can actually do as well with even less velocity, given the weight of that ball. Test the loads, and then, for the heck of it, test your even slower target load. I think you will be presently surprised.

The only reason I have found to justify shooting more powder for a few hundred fps velocity is to flatten the trajectory some. However, at the longer range, with open sights, I don't know anyone who can hold the gun close enough to take advantage of the slight flattening of trajectory. Most hunters are lousy estimators of range, and do nothing before hunting season to improve that skill.

If I am hunting from a stand, I will blaze marks on trees to tell me the distance from my stand in several direction, using a tape measure to give myself an accurate reading on 50 yards, 25 yards, and, if its possible, 75 and 100 yds. Even having one set of marks will train your eye to make more accurate measurements of distances out to those marks. In open fields, I have used ranging stakes to tell me distances. The game I am hunting could care less.

 

[Sully]

I use 80 grains FFFG GOEX with .535 ball with .017 patch cut at the muzzle lubed with mink oil (or Lehigh if shooting targets). This seems to be a accurate load out of my Hawken (Getz barrel w/1-48 twist) with little recoil. You could drop down to about 50 grains for a very light load. Why not work up a good accurate load and settle on that for plinking and evaluate it as a hunting load ?

 

[billk]

I also have a .54 hawken style rifle that I am shooting and trying to work an accurate load for it. Some one at the range the other day suggested that I use FFFg powder as it will burn cleaner and provide less fouling. I have only used FFg Goex powder so far. What do you think?
Thank you,
Billk

 

[MikeChapin]

I use 50 gr. fffg in my .53 for 25 and 50 yards. I up it to 80 grains for the same POA at 100 yards.

That 80 grain load will drop an elk within 100 yards so I'm not worried about it being too light.

 

[paulvallandigham]

All you can do is try both the powders, using a bench rest to see what kind of groups you get with both. If the gun shoots better using 3Fg powder, and its easier to clean, then use it. Remember that most guns you buy are not lapped at the factory. They are pretty coursely finished on the lands, and this contributes to retaining powder residue. After you have shot several hundred balls through it, it polishes out a bit, and then the residue diminishes.You can also lap your barrel using lapping compound on a tight cleaning patch( you may have to use two of them on your cleaning jag) to polish the barrel. Run the lapping patch down to the bottom of the barrel, and then come up 1/4th of the length of the barrel. Do 50 slow strokes back and forth just in this bottom 1/4 of the barrel. Change the patch or add more lapping compound any time you feel the stroke becoming easier. After those 50 strokes, mark the half way point on the barrel, and this time stroke from the breechplug to the half way point, 50 times. That will polish the back 1/4 100 times and the second 1/4 50 times. Again, all compound, or change your patches any time you feel the strokes becomeing easier. Then mark the 3/4 point on the barrel, and stroke from the breechplug to the 3/4 mark 50 times. Finally stroke the entire length of the barrel 50 times. You may find yourself adding lapping compound as often as every 10 strokes, doing this last stretch.

What you will accomplish is to put a slight choke in your barrel, which always helps accuracy, while polishing the lands, and to a lesser extent, the grooves in the barrel. You will feel the difference the next time you run a PRB down the barrel. You should also see a difference in your used patches, and in your group sizes. Clean the lapping compound out of the barrel using both soap and water, and denatured alcohol. Then oil your barrel for storage until you get back out to the range to shoot it. Always clean the oil or lube out of your barrel before you get to the field or range. Make sure there is no congealed oil or lube in the breech, and if you are shooting a patent breech system, that uses a powder chamber, by all means, rinse this out with alcohol to dissolve the grease and oil and get it out of you barrel. Check the flash channel and nipple to see that they are also free of grease and oil. Denatured alcohol is a wonderful, powerful solvent for this kind of work, and makes short work of this chore.

 

[billk]

Where do you buy denatured alcohol?
Billk

 

[paulvallandigham]

Both paint stores and hardware stores carry it. So do the big Home improvement stores, like Lowes, Home Depot, etc.

 

[billk]

Thank you