new IBS 40 cal

[charlie45]

:grin: My new Green Mountain IBS 40 Cal. arrived today from TOW. What a beauty it is. I think this well work better then my Renagade 54, which by the way is at the gun shop fore sale.
I ordered .389 balls and .01 patches but after measuring the bore & grooves I wished I had .395's.
Anyhow I have .010, .012. .015 & .018 patch material so something well be snug.
As soon as super is done I am off to the range and I well be back with the rest of the story.

 

[john12865]

Why did you get rid of the .54 cal ? Are you really going to hunt moose with a .40 cal bunny gun ? :rotf:
That Moose is going to get really ****** off when you shoot him with that, so practice reloading really fast!!
You guy's in Vermont just come up with the crazyiest ideas. :grin:

Your friend across the boarder in NY. Just having fun. :hatsoff:

 

[Otter]

I ordered the same barrel to replace the .54 barrel on my Cabela's Hawken. Was out last week and shot it for the first time in about 2 years and was pleased with the results . . . again. I was checking the sights and loads to see if they needed any fine tuning. Got a 10 shot group (@ 25 yds) of just over 2 1/2", but 5 of the shots were all touching (@ 1" group). Obviously operator error. Load was 40 gr Goex 3f, .010 300ct cotton patch, spit for lube and .395 ball. You'll like the barrel. Keep us posted on your experiences.

 

[charlie45]

Well I got a good one. I will not bore you with stories till I have photos. You will have to trust me when I say this is a whole new level of black powder shooting. Goex 3f burns much cleaner in the 40 then it ever did in my 50 or 54 cals.
I started with 40 gr. of Goex 3f, .389 ball & .015 lubed pillow tacking. Not a Moose load for sure but sure fun to shoot.
The best part is that the stock & lock I picked up for $25.00 :grin:

 

Charlie what you now have is a T/C match grade rifle. T/C sponsored Chad Cleland, eight-time National Muzzleloading Champion and Thompson/Center Pro Staff Advisor. His set up? A T/C with IBS .40 cal using 65gr of 3F .400 ball and .015 patch. I shoot this same combination with great sucess in local mataches. 65gr really boxes the wind and has a muzzle velocity of around 2500 fps. Hideyho you got a keeper. I shot a large deer last year with mine at 75 yds the ball passed complety thru the deer. The impact knocked it off its feet and it never got up!!!

 

[charlie45]

Thanks Kenny Cooper! I called the # in my GMinstruction booklet and asked what max load was for the 40 and a nice lady replied 120 max. :grin:
You know I think that 120 would fill half my barrel.
Your load sounds sweet and I will try it tonight!

 

[charlie45]

:thumbsup: Kenny Cooper! your load sure works in my rifle. See my post ITS WORKING and the photo that I took last night (had some help with the Photo posting.
I worked my way up,shooting @ 50 yds. from 50, 55, 60 and then the winner 65 grains of Goex 3f. I only have .389 dia. balls now so i used my thickest patch which is .018. The results are plain to see.

 

[JOHN L. HINNANT]

Good Morning Charlie45,

You might be interested to know that GM recommends a .400 ball for competition shooting and a .395 for hunting.

I Emailed a request for this information on all of their calibers 2-3 years back. They seem to uniformly recommend a bore size ball for target work and .005" smaller ball for hunting in all of their round ball barrels.

Best regards and good shooting,

John L. Hinnant

If you are not an NRA Member, why not? I am carrying your load.

 

[charlie45]

Thanks John L., I just picked up my .395's today but the wind is blowing like 60 mph gust and rain for tomorrow. But I will give them a try asap. I'll try to get some .400,s to try.

 

[JOHN L. HINNANT]

Good Morning Charlie45,

It has been my experience that the Speer balls shoot better for me, but some fellows swear by the Hornaday balls.

The .400 balls are usually a do-it-your-self casting project. The few commercially available cast balls I have tried have been disappointing.

I am very interested in the shooting results of your new 40 caliber barrel and hope you will continue to post updated information.

I am currently re-evaluating loads for a new, old 50 caliber barrel with a 1-48, .012" deep groove rifling.

Results have been mixed, but not bad,

Best regards and good shooting,

John L. Hinnant

If you are not an NRA Member, why not? I am carrying your load.

 

[jimeckersley]

...I shoot this same combination with great success in local matches. 65gr really boxes the wind and has a muzzle velocity of around 2500 fps....

What brand powder were you using? have you chronographed the 65gr load at 2,500 FPS?

The reason that I ask is that I'm using 3F Swiss in a .40 (32") Green Mountain Barrel. I'm sure that you're aware of the "diminishing returns" factor where more powder doesn't produce a proportionally higher velocity.

Here’s my chronographed loads (using a .395 ball.)

35gr: 1870 FPS
40gr: 1920
45gr: 2000
50gr: 2100
80gr: 2395

I just wondered what you’re doing to get an observed 2,500 FPS with 65 grains of powder. Has anyone else had similar results in a .40 GM Barrel?

 

[madbrad]

Are the results listed as 80gr realy 60gr or is that right. If so why did you skip the other loads? Just Curious :hmm:

 

[jimeckersley]

Yes, 80 grains is right. I used a chronograph with a tape print out. I don't have the tapes for the loads in between those shown. Next time I have the Chrono set up, I'll take the readings again. I have a .400 ball mould now and will see if there's much difference between that size and the .395 while I'm at it.

 

Sorry "around" 2500fps was a WAG (Wild Ass Guess) on my part I do not own a chronograph. I did however chrono a .40 flinter of mine with 50 grs of 3f at 2150fps.

 

[charlie45]

:grin: Well lets mix this up a bit! This afternoon the weather cleared up and I tried my new Hornady .395's with .015 lubed patch. I started @ 50 gr. of Goex 3f. I shot 3 plinking shots to establish a normal state of fouling, semi cleaning between shots as is my normal routine. FPS don't know or care but plenty fast enough to kill Mr. Bunny. The point is that a larger ball allows me to shot nearly as well with less powder.
55 gr.was faster and group tightened up some. About nickel size for 2 groups of 3 shots. Unfortunatelu I had left my .018 patches @ home so will have to try them another day.
The interesting thing is, that this barrel seems to shot well with a wide range of ball, patch & powder combos.
But when you hit the sweet spot it lets you know. I like that!