A barrel will burn powder EFFICIENTLY at a rate of 11.5 grains per inch. For a 42", .40 caliber bore, that is 60.69 Grains of powder. The Match shooters try to stay with powder charges Under or AT that level, for best accuracy. Hunters often put more powder in their guns, seeking more velocity, and giving up some accuracy, for very small gains in flatter trajectory. :youcrazy: :nono: :surrender:
I shot a new .40 cal. rifle using 65 grains of 3Fg powder(Goex) that was very accurate. I don't recall the barrel length, but it was over 40 inches.
Stick with cutting your patches at the muzzle. Sharpen that edge, as I see some irregular shapes and edges to your spent patches.
Until you know how to center and Seat a ball in a patch in the crown of THIS GUN, stay away from pre-CUT patches. Different guns have different crowns, and it takes time to learn what you have to do to consistently center a ball in a patch and run it down the barrel.
We all think its a minor deal, but I learned this lesson years ago when I sold off my first factory built gun, and began shooting my semi-custom made rifle. It was a different caliber, and the crown was different.
I had a bit of trouble centering a ball properly on a pre-cut patch for awhile, and spoiled some groups in the process. Since I was doing all my load development work off Sandbag rests, It was clear what caused the ball to "fly" wide of the group. When I switched to cutting my patches at the muzzle with a straight razor I had bought years before for this very purpose, those flyers stopped. :v
I have since used Pre-cut patches, but I purposely buy a larger diameter patch size just to make sure I have enough fabric on all sides of my lead ball if I manage to get that patch off-center a bit when I seat the ball in the muzzle. :hmm:
Spend the money to acquire a Dial caliper. Harbor Freight sells them. And you can buy them from the suppliers you will find using the Links on this forum, too. You will find lots of uses for such a precision tool, including measuring the OUTSIDE diameter of your RBs, the Inside diameter of your bore, and grooves, and the thickness of your patch materials. It should cost you around 20-25 dollars. :hmm:
Do NOT buy a DIGITAL caliper. You won't use it often enough to justify the substantial difference in cost, and it then becomes just another place to store DEAD BATTERIES! :shocked2:
:nono:
All rifles tend to have a "Sweet spot" where the harmonics of the barrel's vibration come together to give you tight groups. Working on target loads for accuracy involves finding that MV that causes this all to happen. If you have access to a chronograph( You can buy a Chrony for less than $100; Competition Electronics chronographs start at under $200, and have more whistles and bells), to use in load development, it will cut your range time down and point the direction you need to go to tighten groups.
When you find that "Sweet spot", you can record the velocity in your notebook on that gun, and from then on, when you buy new powder, or a different brand of powder, you can achieve that same group size, and Point of Impact with your fixed sights, by finding a powder charge that generates that same MV.
Most guns have at least 2 sweet spots, BTW. One will be with a relatively Mild Target load of powder; the other will be reached by loading a higher load of powder- often more than is efficiently burned in that barrel length. The Barrel vibrates, like the string on a violin when plucked( Harmonics).
Even when you are burning powder outside the muzzle, the weight of that powder will change the harmonics of the barrel as its being pushed down the barrel. Again, if all the various factors that come together in a given barrel stabilize the ball at the muzzle in the same location, you get a consistent release of the ball and a small group.
The POI may change, of course, because you have little control over where those harmonic waves are as the ball leaves the muzzle. But, you will find that "other sweet spot" that gives small groups. :shocked2: :thumbsup:
The .40 caliber makes a very fine Target caliber with BP. Its a good medium and small sized game gun for hunting. It shoots relatively flat. Its only restriction is the WEIGHT of the ball, which causes it to lose velocity quickly. Many whitetails have been taken inside 35 yards with this caliber gun. But, generally hunters use these rifles to take small game and varmints up to the size of coyotes ( 35 lbs.approx.) out to 130 yds. or so. After that range, the ball has run out of gas, and is dropping so much that its difficult to hold over the correct amount using iron sights, to compensate for the falling trajectory of the ball. :thumbsup:
Comment: Its not important if you NOTICE the flash of a flintlock. Regardless of rifle, or action, if you don't see fire and smoke in front of that front sight as the gun is fired, you either have "flinched", or are failing to follow through, usually, by lifting your head off the stock in anticipation of recoil.
Lifting the head is very often caused by a stock that does not fit you properly when shooting off-hand, so that you are looking out of the top of your eye socket, and your head is Laying on top of the comb of the stock, you neck twisted back to lift your head up to see the sights.
All that muscle strain works against you. The more erect your neck and head can be with the cheek Next To the comb of the stock, while seeing your sights, the better your off-hand shooting will be. :hmm:
When your head is erect, you eye looks through the center of the orbit( socket), relieving eye strain. When erect, the neck muscles are not required to strain to hold you head up in a forward, lay-down position( think of doing push-ups, and how much your neck hurts after doing 100 of them). :hmm: