Loads for a .49 cal 1 turn in 48" W E Rayl barrel

[Dick The Ranger]

Just ordered a Don Steth 1792 Lewis & Clark rifle. Not sure what might shoot well in it. Any suggestions for light target and Deer hunting loads. Any body shooting there's? How is it working out? :hmm:

 

Two quick thoughts on it. First give Don an Email and ask him, He will be more than happy to give you some help, and that beauty of a gun is one of his babies. Secondly, you really need to work up your own load. The starting point would be one grain per caliber, so I would start with say 50 grains of FFg or FFFg, over a .480 patched ball. then work up in 5 grain increments, til you get your best, and most consistant accuracy. By the way WELCOME to the Forum. Bill

 

[paulvallandigham]

Do this over a chronograph. You will find that long before you reach the limit of the gun's strength to take larger powder charges, you reach a point where the extra powder just does not produce much more velocity or energy DOWNRANGE. In the current issue of Muzzle Blasts, the Bevel Brothers publish a chart from Lyman on .50 cal. rifles, showing various powder charges, velocities, energy figures, at both the muzzle and at 100 yds. The difference between shoot 60 grains, and 120 grains is telling. The extra powder is basically a waste of our money. I think you will find that FFg, SIFTED, will give you consistent velocities and results, where even sifted FFFg powder will give you a wider SDV.

As for patch and ball combination, take the recommendation above, and start with standard, .015 thick patches, which you can buy from a number of suppliers who have Links here. When the gun arrives, by all means measure the bore diameter. Even a few thousandths can cause problems with the choice of patch and ball. Why this gun was not made in a standard .50 cal. escapes me, as it will force you to mold your own bullets, or find someone who does mold this odd size. These are replica guns, and not the real thing. No one is going to be confused into thinking they are the real guns. There is therefore no reason to make them an off-sized caliber for " historic reasons ". This is the equivalent of making a .44 Hnery replica in the original .44 Rimfire cartridge, instead of .44-40. The first is not available except occasionally in limited runs, while the second cartridge is.

Paul

 

Actually the reason for the Caliber is Historical accuracy. Don Stith copied in minute detail, an original Lewis & Clark contract rifle of 1792. The Ed Rayl barrels are accurate copies, as the original barrel was slugged. Yeah Don coulda made it a fifty, but he wanted it to be an accurate representation of the original. He's known for his correct Hawken kits also. Bill

 

[paulvallandigham]

Of course the reason for the odd caliber is historical accuracy. I just think it is damn silly to build a 21st century replica of an early 19th century, using parts made from new metals and alloys never dreamed of at the time the original guns were built( some say as early as 1792 ) with wood that obviously can now be dated to this century, rather than 200 years ago., and then hamstring owners by making it in a caliber, that while historically correct, is so close to a commonly used caliber today, that it makes no sense at all to do so. I am an American Historian, with a degree and everything. But my common sense comes home when I see this kind of thing being done by gunmakers. I guess the marketplace will determine whether they sell a lot of these or get stuck with them. That is what free enterprise is all about. I won't be one of the people buying this gun.

I have a good friend who owns an ORIGINAL 1840's vintage slug gun in .48 caliber. He did some minor repairs to the gun when he bought it to bring it up to shooting condition, and then had a special mold made to shoot conicals in the gun. It is a very accurate gun. If I had an Original gun, I would spend the money to restore it to shooting condtion too, and I would order the special mold. Hell, I spent lots of money restoring an antique powder horn given to me by a friend ! I still have it, and have no intention of letting anyone get it away from me.

Sorry I bothered folks with my comment. Does anyone think that a .49 caliber rifle can do someting that a .50 caliber gun can't do just as well? Does the shooting world really need a .17 caliber cartridge for anything that a .22 caliber gun won't do just as well? Or a .204 caliber gun?

I understand that manufacturers take gambles in the marketplace, because that is how fortunes are made and lost. But this one is right up there with the .204 cartridge brought out a couple of years ago. Or the .45 GAP cartridge. Not since the Gyrojet pistol got rave reviews in the gun mags almost 40 years ago have I seen such silliness.

 

[Java Man]

Paul,

I have no intention of getting a Conttact Rifle like this, but would like one if the $ was there. And I would not mind the odd caliber at all. I like being different. :grin:

.480" RB's are available from TOTW, and with a thin patch, .490's might work fine.

JMHO.

Java Man

 

Paul, don't apologize, I was just explaining why the odball caliber. I agree with you whole hardedly, but thyere is a group out there that wants repro's exact, some like the oddity of it, and are willing to pay for it. Bill

 

[paulvallandigham]

The boys who use teflon patches and oversized balls would love that .490 ball idea, provided no one objects to them using their mallets to pound the balls down the barrel every time they reload. Personally, listening to someone pound on a PRB gives me the shivers. But, they do it in the chunk gun shoots all the time. Only a teflon patch will stand up to that kind of treatment, and, of course, the ball becomes an elongated short slug when they get it down on the powder. With hefty powder charges, they get it to the 60 yd targets before the velocity decreses to the trans-sonic range at about 1400 fps. Great accuracy, but I don't see them doing this in the woods while deer hunting.

 

[Wes/Tex]

No point being like the rest of the flock! Though the gun and mold are gone, I still have some .465" balls in a can...just for old time's sake!! :hatsoff:

 

[John Taylor]

Many years ago I worked in a shop where we were making 50 cal. BMG single shot rifles. No one needs one but there are a lot of shooters out there that want to be the only one on their block to own one. I get orders all the time for something that no one ells has. Just got done with a Winchester mod. 90 with a 30" half round 17 caliber barrel. For some it is a need to be different. Some put Chevy engines in old Ford cars. If a person has a desire to own a gun as close as possable to the origonal then he will make the effort to have the right size ball to fit it. For some it is the feeling of having something special.

 

[paulvallandigham]

John : I absolutely agree with you , and understand the desire of shooters to own something " different", and special. I am guilty of that also. This also keeps the firearms companies selling guns when the rest of the market forces are down, rather than going out of business. Just look at how many variations of Kimber semi-automatics are offered by that company, as an example. There is a huge, world wide market for guns and knives that are specials, or limited production runs. I have a client and friend who made custom grips for a limited run of Colt Peacemakers that were all sold overseas. Not one has ever been seen in N. America! Colt did very nicely on that run. So, we should expect companies to take the risk of offering a limited run of historical rifles- even when historians can't agree on which model gun was actually used- when a BiCentennial event occurs. I truly understand. And, I am sure the company will sell them all, and make their profit. I just think people have more money than brains, some times, and I have been equally guilty of doing this. As I have aged, I have acquired breaks on my " wants ", and now turn away from those special things " I just have to have", because I really don't.

 

[John Vaccaro]

Here is a group I shot with a .49
Ryal barrel. I had the .470 mold but Hornaday is making a .480 ball that would work just fine. Good luck with your rifle they are a fine gun.John

 

[rich pierce]

That's a useful reply and nice group too! Good shooting.