How meticulously do you measure powder?

[Rifleman1776]

At the range I use a cut-off type brass measure. In the field I use an open tube and don't fret if I'm one or two grains over/under from what I want.

 

[hanshi]

Yep. It's been a long time since I've had to dump a redcoat officer off his horse at 250 yards. These days it's just a deer up to - usually way, way under - 100 yards. It doesn't take 1-2 moa accuracy to do that even if I could (not even close) shoot that well. To me, at this stage of my career, a small saucer at 50 to maybe 75 yards makes me happy.

 

[Wes/Tex]

I'm a pour it in the measure to a tad over full, give it a couple light taps with an off finger and swipe it level with whatever I can use. Gets the job done. Only once did it have to go 'by guess and by God'...the hog was dead but didn't know it and pretty honked off for having been shot. I kept jumping across a fallen tree while he kept having to circle around. Thank the Lord hogs can't jump fallen trees...and whoever started the old line about "If you only wing him just stand still, he won't know where it came from" needs a good smack! He damn well knew it was me! :shocked2: :wink: :haha: :rotf:

 

[Stumpkiller]

The fine gent who introduced me to blackpowder shooting in the early 1960s was a renowned marksman. He filled his powder measure slightly over full and "struck it off" level with his finger. No shaking, no tamping, no nothing. i do the same thing today and it's very consistent.

That's a process called "carding" and goes back to the alchemy days. Also reloading with the Lee scoop measures that came with the dies.

 

[mooman76]

I know your suppose to kinda shake the powder container so the fine grains and large grains of powder don't separate and your volume is consistent.

Not really. The fine gent who introduced me to blackpowder shooting in the early 1960s was a renowned marksman. He filled his powder measure slightly over full and "struck it off" level with his finger. No shaking, no tamping, no nothing. i do the same thing today and it's very consistent.

That's the key. Consistency. It goes the same for reloading smokeless powder cartridges and you can usually get within .1of a grain if you stay consistent. If you tap the powder measure once or even twice, do it every time. If you don't tap the don't tap every time.

 

[Billnpatti]

After having read all of the posts on this thread, I think that most all of us agree that it is not how you measure your powder but the consistency with which you measure it. Tap or not tap your measure, it makes little to no difference so long as you do it consistently.

 

[BrownBear]

I may be cutting red tape lengthwise (done that many times before!), but I've found the need to tap is different with fine powders and coarse, as well as with skinny measures or fat measures. Not that I've found it makes any difference in accuracy that I can detect, but I most certainly HAVE weighed charges from measures filled using various methods and measures.

Here's what I found:

Skinny measures vary more in the charge they drop than those with a wider chamber. Doesn't matter much which I use with 3f, but I like a larger diameter measure for 2f and especially 1f.

Goex 3f and Pyro P don't change much, whether tapped to settle or not.

Goex 2f and Pyro RS do settle a little, and the charges vary a little if you don't tap them.

Goex 1f settles a lot when you tap the measure, and it can vary a lot in skinny measures if you don't tap.

I don't bother tapping the 3f and 2f, but I do so with 1f if I happen to be using a skinny measure.

 

[ZUG]

You hit the nail on the head :hatsoff: -- no more to be said :v :wink: .

 

[Artificer]

"Hunting -good enough" loading will never carry over to fine accuracy. Match style loading will carry over to hunting.

Exactly!! :thumbsup:

And has been stated it is the groups shot at various distances. For that reason, I have markers at various distances from my hunting spots going out the shooting lanes. It may be just a rock or a slash on a tree. Generally out to 150 yds. However, I rarely shoot pure offhand when hunting. There is normally a tree to use as a rest. A big difference between eastern woodland and out west.

It is always wise to use some kind of rest or even a more solid shooting position than Offhand for hunting, unless you have no other choice.

It is also extremely important in hunting that you know where the first shot out of a cold barrel will hit at different ranges AND at the outdoor temperature during hunting season. I've seen way too many people "sight in" ML and modern rifles when it was warm to hot and missed when it was very cold in hunting season, because the colder temperature can or will affect where the first round hits out of a cold barrel.

Also, thicker clothing worn when hunting in the cold can change your cheek position on the rifle/gun and that will DEFINITELY change where the rifle/gun will hit on the first round.

Gus

 

[hanshi]

I have never seen a game miss that could be traced back to the inaccuracy of a rifle.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Some time ago, about 2001, I spent a long day weighing powders with an assortment of measures the I had on hand and powders.

All measures were set on the 100 grain setting.

I weighed 10 charges on an Ohaus balance beam scale.

Gostomsky - Tap Gostomsky Nikky Finial (No Funnel) Hawken Shop - Tap Hawken Shop Can Valve
Average 108.35 Average 107.02 Average 99.07 Average 98.34 Average 102.04 Average 100.15 Average 102.28
GOEX ffg 02-66 99N019C

Gostomsky - Tap Gostomsky Nikky Nikky - Tap Finial (No Funnel) Hawken Shop Can Valve
Average 106.64 Average 104.95 Average 98.24 Average 98.96 Average 97.08 Average 99.05 Average 101.22
GOEX fffg 03-77 99N001C

Gostomsky - Tap Gostomsky Nikky Finial (No Funnel) Hawken Shop - Tap Hawken Shop Can Valve
Average 118.74 Average 116.87 Average 107.73 Average 106.93 Average 111.5 Average 109.23 Average 111.17
Elephant fffg Lot 056 Date Code 25/99

To best read these results, you could cut and paste this into an excel spreadsheet.

What it tells you is that each measure is slightly different. Tapping will get you about 1 to grains more powder in your measure. 3fg will weight out about a grain less, at least for the lots I measured. The differences ran about 2%. This is probably not enough to make a difference in accuracy.

The take away is to use only one measure. Pour your charge the same way every time. Tapping the charge before leveling off reduces the measure to measure differences. My measure with the largest diameter (Hawken Shop, 0.512") had the smallest standard deviation.

Practice will improve your on target accuracy more than the differences from consistently measured charges.

 

[jrmflintlock]

SO one thing I noticed after reading all the post is no one, at least that I saw, mentioned finding the right load for your gun.

I knew a guy who was a avid Cartridge reloader who was meticulous about finding the perfect load/powder/bullet combination for his suppository rifles. But when he moved into Muzzle loading just took a recommended amount of powder and RB with the first package of patches he could find and called it good. He was getting 6-8 inch groups at 50 yards and said Minute of dear accuracy and was happy and had been happy hunting like that for many years with the ML.

When I met him he said he figured ML just were not as accurate as Suppository files. When he saw my 2 inch groups from a flintlock (which is me not the rifle, The rifle is capable of much better) at 50 yards he was very impressed!

So I watched him go through the loading process and he was doing everything everyone said to do and was very consistent. When the gun went off it was like a cannon! I asked and he said he was shooting 110 grains of FFg for hunting. I asked him if he tried "lighter" loads and he said No cause he was going "hunting" I told him I only use 70 grains for hunting and get better accuracy and have never had a deer complain that it was not enough powder. He settled on 80 grains and reduced his group to 3 inches!

Anyways, my point is every gun has a sweet load. some are hot and some are not. once you find the sweet spot, then consistency is the key to repeatability.

I suspect your 6 inch groups are not a product of how you are loading but what you are loading. As with suppository rifles there are a lot of variables that can be changed. Bullet size, patch thickness, powder types etc.

Just my 2 cents. Good Luck!