just how accurate should a 1in48 twist be

[Halftail]

I know this isn't a flintlock but neither is this thread.This little fella died of a one shot group right in the neck :blah:
I not sure weather he knew it was 1:48 or 1:66!

 

[flaming canvas]

I think the bad rap these barrels get comes mainly from inexperience. Many of these rifles, TCs and Cabellas Hawkens, are bought by first timers as a first kit or off the shelf. When they shoot them they just throw in what seems like a nice load, some off the shelf patches and a some round ball.

Probably pretty close to the mark with this. When I bought my first rifle, .54 Renegade, many moons ago I just picked up a box of 530 ball and a pack of pre-lubed .015 patches because that's what the manual said. I finally found out that it wouldn't consistently hit a 12 by 12 target at 100 yards.

After fiddling around around with the combination I found out that .018 pillow ticking, spit patch and cut at the muzzle with a 535 ball would shoot a whole lot better.

Muzzle loading is more art than science, which is why a lot of us find it so fascinating.