Oh yes, by all means. There's never any predicting what a gun will like and respond to. I'd normally recommend experimenting with different lubes and or patch thicknesses but if you only have 30 balls left, finding the right combo may be chancy! At least you have a back up option. IF you do get ole Bambi, I've got a grand smothered venison steak over noodles recipe! All the very best luck! :thumbsup:
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Hunt starts Sept. 30
- Thread starter cynthialee
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My season starts in a month so maybe I beg the recipe too?
My business had died for last 10 yrs and this is the busiest month in like 3-4 (or more?) years so :redface: I haven't even shot yet. Been slow so long I forgot how to be busy! Gotta kid comin Sat to help me get my 7 loads of aspen outta the driveway and stacked then the lovely lil lady might drop "the look" when I mention a trip to the woods with the gun! Has too, tree rat season in a week or so!! :thumbsup:
Good luck Cindy Lou.... be praying fer smothered venison over noodles at yer place in a few weeks!!!
My business had died for last 10 yrs and this is the busiest month in like 3-4 (or more?) years so :redface: I haven't even shot yet. Been slow so long I forgot how to be busy! Gotta kid comin Sat to help me get my 7 loads of aspen outta the driveway and stacked then the lovely lil lady might drop "the look" when I mention a trip to the woods with the gun! Has too, tree rat season in a week or so!! :thumbsup:
Good luck Cindy Lou.... be praying fer smothered venison over noodles at yer place in a few weeks!!!
I think I may have figured out why the .535 were working better. I got them all properly dimpled and looking like golf balls and I forgot to do that with the .550 balls.
When I dimpled the .535 ones they started to hit in a better group. Been so long since I made all them .535 balls I had completely forgot a dimpled ball works better in a smooth bore.
When I dimpled the .535 ones they started to hit in a better group. Been so long since I made all them .535 balls I had completely forgot a dimpled ball works better in a smooth bore.
I'll have to try that too one of these days. So far smoothies have been kicking out minute-of-Bambi-boiler room accuracy so I just go with it. I also got creative and was using chamois weight leather for patches. When lubed with mink oil, they compress better than cloth but still seal like crazy and never smolder on the ground. Besides they usually look so good you could lick them clean and reuse them! Then the old eyes went south along with my common sense and I'm hosing the world down with a fowler! Spray and pray mateys! :wink: :haha:
So I stumbled into my best load with my CVA .50 caliber rifle
50 grains of 2F an over powder wad a .490 roundball with a .015 patch lubed with a trace of bear grease. I was having a hell of a time finding a group. I started at about 75 grains and things were bad. Then they got worse...Well I ran out of powder and grabbed a can and refilled. Thought to myself that I used to use 50 grains when the barrel was in a plastic stock so I would go back to square one. Well I had a really good group. Better than the past with that gun. Started going over everything and the difference was I grabbed ffg instead of my normal fffg powder. So at 50 yards or less with that CVA .50 I need 50 grains of 2f and it is a tight group.
Is 50 grains of powder pushing a .490 ball enough whompability at 50 yards and under?
50 grains of 2F an over powder wad a .490 roundball with a .015 patch lubed with a trace of bear grease. I was having a hell of a time finding a group. I started at about 75 grains and things were bad. Then they got worse...Well I ran out of powder and grabbed a can and refilled. Thought to myself that I used to use 50 grains when the barrel was in a plastic stock so I would go back to square one. Well I had a really good group. Better than the past with that gun. Started going over everything and the difference was I grabbed ffg instead of my normal fffg powder. So at 50 yards or less with that CVA .50 I need 50 grains of 2f and it is a tight group.
Is 50 grains of powder pushing a .490 ball enough whompability at 50 yards and under?
It'll do. A bad shot wont matter either, still gotta day of trackin n cussin. 50 gr at 50 yds is 50+ lil white packages in the chest freezer :thumbsup:
50 grains of 2Fg powder in your .50 will give a muzzle velocity of about 1250 fps.
At 50 yards a .490 diameter ball shot at that MV will be down to about 1000 fps with about 400 ft/lbs of energy.
That's more than enough to kill a deer.
At 50 yards a .490 diameter ball shot at that MV will be down to about 1000 fps with about 400 ft/lbs of energy.
That's more than enough to kill a deer.
That is what I was thinking, but I have never shot a hunting load less than 70 grains. My Hawken needs 80 grains of 3f for a PRB or 100 grains of 3f for a 275 grain T/C Maxi-Hunter. While that conical knocks the snot out of me, it has been a good choice. The fella who sold it to me used 100 grains of Pyrodex and a huge 370 grain conical. I tried a couple of them at that load and I wore a huge purple bruise on my arm for a couple weeks.
I had taken that barrel and put it in a wood stock to hopefully change the center of gravity and weight thus enabling a heavier charge and maybe not be such a cheek slapper. I fixed the cheek slapping issue and I could hunt with the CVA confidently. But the powder charge needed didn't change in the least. The barrel still hasn't had more than 150-200 rounds put through it. Still cutting the occasional patch. Not as bad as the day I got it. The dude who sold the gun that had the barrel I used didn't shoot it much at all. Said after a few shots it was slapping him so much he gave up and wished me better luck. The barrel certainly looked really new and when I first started shooting it a few years ago it cut up patches something fierce.
Tomorrow is the Hawken's turn. Will also try some more shots with the hunting pistol.
And then I have to stop shooting and chose a rifle. Starting to get sore from the shooting. Guess that is what happens when you don't shoot for many moons then burn a couple pounds of powder in a couple afternoons. I think in my retirement I'll apply for mineral rights downrange and mine out all the lead and copper we have shot down range over the years. :youcrazy:
Tomorrow is the Hawken's turn. Will also try some more shots with the hunting pistol.
And then I have to stop shooting and chose a rifle. Starting to get sore from the shooting. Guess that is what happens when you don't shoot for many moons then burn a couple pounds of powder in a couple afternoons. I think in my retirement I'll apply for mineral rights downrange and mine out all the lead and copper we have shot down range over the years. :youcrazy:
I was not able to do any shooting today. Fibromyalgia has me sidelined and I fear I may be coming down with something.
This is not a good time God! Spare me for a week big guy?
I did do a few minutes of mock target acquisition and holding the rifles at the ready today.
Planned on going out with a shotgun this afternoon looking for turkey and see what the deer have been doing. Scout and what not.
I did herd a cow back to the cow field today. She was in my front yard enjoying a feast of clover and grass. My big dog didn't know what to do. He had that super excited look but he was glued to his spot. I think that cow was too large for him to test. Usually I call the rancher when one of his cows gets loose but he is 40 minutes away and she seemed to be a nice enough cow. If it was one of his steer or his bull I would have let the beast tear up the yard. lol
This is not a good time God! Spare me for a week big guy?
I did do a few minutes of mock target acquisition and holding the rifles at the ready today.
Planned on going out with a shotgun this afternoon looking for turkey and see what the deer have been doing. Scout and what not.
I did herd a cow back to the cow field today. She was in my front yard enjoying a feast of clover and grass. My big dog didn't know what to do. He had that super excited look but he was glued to his spot. I think that cow was too large for him to test. Usually I call the rancher when one of his cows gets loose but he is 40 minutes away and she seemed to be a nice enough cow. If it was one of his steer or his bull I would have let the beast tear up the yard. lol
:You're a wise woman Cynthialee...sometimes those bovines just get a burr in their britches and can be downright unpleasant! :wink: :haha:
Have not tried it on fibromyalgia since I don't have it...one of the few things, but Arnica gel is outstanding for aches, pains, sprains, bruises, etc. No smell or hot sensation, just works on everything from bumps to arthritis. If it hurts, rub a little on. Should be able to get it at Wallyworld, CVS or Walgreens. Any of the larger stores with pharmacies!
Have not tried it on fibromyalgia since I don't have it...one of the few things, but Arnica gel is outstanding for aches, pains, sprains, bruises, etc. No smell or hot sensation, just works on everything from bumps to arthritis. If it hurts, rub a little on. Should be able to get it at Wallyworld, CVS or Walgreens. Any of the larger stores with pharmacies!
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