As I was running low on .530 dia balls to feed my toys, I went to one of the few gunshops that sells muzzleloading stuff here in Phoenix.
In addition to 200 balls I bought the Lyman BLACK POWDER HANDBOOK & LOADING MANUAL 2nd Ed.
I have seen this book and the 1st Ed., but never bought one.
I can say, to anyone who is interested in Muzzleloading, or thinks they might become interested in Muzzleloading, You should have this book.
It set me back about $20, but IMO it is worth the price of admission.
About 1/2 of the book deals with the guns, shooting, cleaning, accouterments, casting bullets, and about anything else you would want to know. It was written by Sam Fadala, and IMO he did a good job of it.
Of course, it can't go into real depth on many things like we do here on this web site, but for introductory information its well worth having.
The other half of the book lists loads for round ball, bullets, and sabots.
It is broken down into loads by caliber, twist rates, barrel lengths, powder types and projectile types. It ranges from .32 roundball in a 26 inch, 1:66 twist barrel thru .75 caliber smoothbore shooting round balls, with slugs and sabots sprinkled in between.
Also covered are muzzleloading pistol, Cap and Ball pistol, Black Powder cartridge and shotgun loads.
In other words, it has a LOT of information.
Being a nerd type (Engineering Designer) I found the velocity and pressure information interesting.
For instance, did you know for a .50 cal rifle shooting a .490 ball thru a 32 inch barrel with a 1:66 twist and a .015 patch, the pressures and velocity for a 100 grain powder load are: Goex FFg =9900 PSI V=1842, Goex FFFg =12700 PSI V=1949, Pyrodex RS =13000 PSI V=1839, Pyrodex Select =14300 PSI V=1789 and Pyrodex P =14000 PSI v=1830 FPS.
For those of you who like to take things to the factory max., for this same gun, 120 grains of powder gives the following pressures and velocity: Goex FFg =11500 PSI V=1991, Goex FFFg = 16800 PSI V=2045 Pyro RS =17600 PSI V=2033 Pyro Select =16100 PSI V=1991 and Pyro P =16500 PSI V=2018.
Additional food for thought: with the same test barrel as mentioned above, between 50 grains and 100 grains of Goex FFg, each additional 10 grains of powder adds about 600 PSI pressure in the barrel.
Each 10 grains of Goex FFFg powder between 50 and 80 adds about 1000 PSI, but from 80 thru 120, it adds about 400 PSI.
With Pyro RS, each 10 grains of powder between 60 and 120 adds about 1000 PSI.
Anyway, it is a very interesting book and for anyone interested in more than "what is the maximum I can load in my rifle" it is well worth having.
:front:
In addition to 200 balls I bought the Lyman BLACK POWDER HANDBOOK & LOADING MANUAL 2nd Ed.
I have seen this book and the 1st Ed., but never bought one.
I can say, to anyone who is interested in Muzzleloading, or thinks they might become interested in Muzzleloading, You should have this book.
It set me back about $20, but IMO it is worth the price of admission.
About 1/2 of the book deals with the guns, shooting, cleaning, accouterments, casting bullets, and about anything else you would want to know. It was written by Sam Fadala, and IMO he did a good job of it.
Of course, it can't go into real depth on many things like we do here on this web site, but for introductory information its well worth having.
The other half of the book lists loads for round ball, bullets, and sabots.
It is broken down into loads by caliber, twist rates, barrel lengths, powder types and projectile types. It ranges from .32 roundball in a 26 inch, 1:66 twist barrel thru .75 caliber smoothbore shooting round balls, with slugs and sabots sprinkled in between.
Also covered are muzzleloading pistol, Cap and Ball pistol, Black Powder cartridge and shotgun loads.
In other words, it has a LOT of information.
Being a nerd type (Engineering Designer) I found the velocity and pressure information interesting.
For instance, did you know for a .50 cal rifle shooting a .490 ball thru a 32 inch barrel with a 1:66 twist and a .015 patch, the pressures and velocity for a 100 grain powder load are: Goex FFg =9900 PSI V=1842, Goex FFFg =12700 PSI V=1949, Pyrodex RS =13000 PSI V=1839, Pyrodex Select =14300 PSI V=1789 and Pyrodex P =14000 PSI v=1830 FPS.
For those of you who like to take things to the factory max., for this same gun, 120 grains of powder gives the following pressures and velocity: Goex FFg =11500 PSI V=1991, Goex FFFg = 16800 PSI V=2045 Pyro RS =17600 PSI V=2033 Pyro Select =16100 PSI V=1991 and Pyro P =16500 PSI V=2018.
Additional food for thought: with the same test barrel as mentioned above, between 50 grains and 100 grains of Goex FFg, each additional 10 grains of powder adds about 600 PSI pressure in the barrel.
Each 10 grains of Goex FFFg powder between 50 and 80 adds about 1000 PSI, but from 80 thru 120, it adds about 400 PSI.
With Pyro RS, each 10 grains of powder between 60 and 120 adds about 1000 PSI.
Anyway, it is a very interesting book and for anyone interested in more than "what is the maximum I can load in my rifle" it is well worth having.
:front:
