Long Range Roundball Accuracy?

[Smokey Plainsman]

Anyone out there shoot targets or steel with round ball past 100?

Would a .45 caliber ball still be capable of accuracy at 100 or would the wind be blowing that little ball all over? Would a .54 be more accurate at that distance?

 

[yonderin]

A .54 should work better. But the .45 could work quite nicely as well. Gotta try it for yourself.

Not a good comparison given you're comparing two balls with a relatively significant difference in size as well as weight, but; throw a golf ball and a ping pong ball. Which has better ballistics?

 

[yonderin]

What I was referring to in my example was the difference between your two calibers. One much heavier (and larger) than the other. Never measured them but I would think the golf and ping pong balls would be a lot more similar in caliber.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Anyone out there shoot targets or steel with round ball past 100?

Would a .45 caliber ball still be capable of accuracy at 100 or would the wind be blowing that little ball all over? Would a .54 be more accurate at that distance?

The NMLRA steel silhouette rifle targets are distanced from 50 yards to 200 yards. Round ball is the only projectile used. The targets when properly set will topple when hit with a 45 caliber ball. I shot the silhouette course for quite a few years with my 45 caliber rifle. Yes, the 54 caliber is more likely to knock a target from its stand, but I have also seen a target hit with a 54 caliber ball spin on the stand and not fall (scored as a miss).

I used a 0.445 ball, 0.015" linen patch, spit lube, and 90 grains 3fg GOEX to regularly topple the bear target at 200 yards. I also was known to miss a few but generally if I hit the target, it fell.

 

[52Bore]

Grenadier1758 post reference.
My son walking back after resetting (only to the bears) and painting.

 

[ohio ramrod]

The 45 caliber round ball is very capable at 100 yards on targets. For deer at that range I would prefer a mini.

 

[204ruger100%]

As long as the gun is slow twist they are both very accurate.

 

[fleener]

Check out a wind calculator to see what wind drift does at the various yardages and calibers.

The farther you are out, the more impact wind has on the ball.

Fleener

 

[S.Kenton]

Grenadier1758 post reference.
My son walking back after resetting (only to the bears) and painting.
View attachment 62990

That looks like fun! I shoot a 4” gong at 50Yrds and an 6 and 8” at 100 yrds at my own private range behind my house. I recently sold my 45 caliber, I could constantly ring the 100 gongs with that. I recently picked up a GPR in 54 and am still working up a long range load for that, I try and practice once or twice a week when the weather is descent.
Really it all boils down to your load accuracy and your own limitations rather than a caliber size per say... although, I’ve never owned a rifle under 40 caliber.

 

[nhmoose]

You will have to learn to read the wind. Yes that is a big deal.

 

[tnlonghunter]

I just joined a local club with a 200 yard range. I really want to see hiw my .54 will do. I'll report back when the weather clears enough.

 

[Art Caputo]

I think the 45 LRB is very capable in terms of accuracy and energy out to 100 yards for steel targets. While it can work out to 200 yards, performance falls off beyond 100 yards, largely due to the much lower ballistic coefficient of the smaller/lighter 45cal ball. Looking at my 58 cal(279gr) load at 1400FPS compared to my 45cal(133gr) load at 1700FPS you can see the effects of the 40% higher ballistic coefficient of the 58ca(.09BC) to the 45cal(.06BC). Both rifles will produce comparable accuracy/precision. Using a 50 yard zero, the difference in drop between the two at this range is less then an inch, 45cal(4.9”), 58cal(5.7”), The initial gap in velocity evens up at 100 yards with the 45cal at 997FPS compared to the 58cal at 992FPS, even with the 300FPS difference at the muzzle. Additionally, with a 10mph crosswind, the 58cal drifts 8.5”, compared to to the 45cal at 12”. The energy difference at 100 yards is 45cal(280FPE) about half of the 58 cal(610FPE).
At 200 yards the drop between the 45cal and 58cal is the same(45”) with the velocity of the 58cal(830FPS) passing the 45Cal(760FPS). The heavier 58cal has almost 3X more energy(425FPE vs 170FPE) at this distance. The wind drift performance of the 58cal widens further with the 58cal at 30” compared to the 45cal at 43” in a 10MPH crosswind. While the OP is comparing a 54cal, its values are roughly within 10%(less) of those shown for the 58cal.
Apologies for all the ballistic mumbo-jumbo. Given all this, I have a great deal of success and fun shooting steel/targets both my 45 and 58 cal rifles at the longer ranges. Regardless of which is used, IMO, far more influential in hitting at the longer ranges is distance judgement, hold-over skills, and the ability to read and hold for wind correction. I would have to say that, all things being equal, my on target hits and knock downs on steel at long range are notably more frequent when I use the larger caliber LRB/rifles due to the ballistic advantages. The disadvantage is greater recoil....a consideration with some shooters.

 

[Col. Batguano]

A 45 is really just a dyslexic 54. You should be fine.

 

[hanshi]

Various .45s have always done everything I've wanted done. .50 and .54 can certainly do it al least as well.

 

[Kansas Kid]

The .45 is a wonderful all around caliber. I probably would not hunt anything larger than white tailed deer and use a smaller REAL bullet. No caliber is the best at everything and one needs to take into account the things a smaller caliber does better than a larger one. Less recoil, less powder usage, higher velocity and probably a lighter and sleeker rifle that’s easier to shoot. You mention shooting long range and no doubt a good portion will be done using some sort of rest. Shooting large calibers from a rest gets old pretty fast.

You’ll get in a lot more quality practice and shooting with a 45 than you will a 54-58. It’s not a macho man competition, hitting the mark matters the most.

 

[LME]

I worked on tuning up a table saw that had been neglected by the previous owner. I finally got it in excellent working condition. I did make a stupid mistake when I tried it out I found I had put the blade in backwards. When I tried it out I uncut three boards before I caught my error!