Powder charge at 25 yards

[rabjr]

Ya tone the gun down a bit and get to know exactly where its shooting. If you were shooting consistently at deer at or just over 100 yards then I can see stoking the load up but at the ranges your taking deer, you just need a good accurate load that will get the ball into the vitals everytime. :thumbsup:

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

40 gr, FFFG at 25 yards in my Thompson .50 cal Hawken. :thumbsup:

 

[Many Klatch]

At 25 yards, my .54 with 55 grains of powder puts the ball right where they need to be. At 50 yards I use the standard load of 75 grains of powder. If all you are trying to do is punch paper, 50 grains should be plenty of powder.

Many Klatch

 

[Walks with fire]

My TC 1/66 twist .50 loves a 60 grain charge of Goex 2f and has made a mess of groundhogs on several ocassions. It really does tear em up. I think 40 grains would be plenty for target at 25 yards if your gun shoot accurate with the low charge.

 

[Mike Brooks]

When I'm sighting in a gun I shoot what ever powder charge that shoots the tightest group. That is the only charge I use there after, 25 yards to 100, target or hunting. I used to have a TC back in the dark ages, it shot 60gr very well. They are mostly fast twist barrels I believe, 1 in 48? 120gr is probably a massive overload for accuracy as you're probably stripping the ball.

 

[roundball]

I know roundball likes a stout load so hes ready for any situation so hes probably close to 100gr in his .50 but don't quote me. If your majority of shots are under say 75 yards a good accurate load between 80 and 100 should do you just fine.Remember ball placement is key, make sure its in the vitals.

I use 90gr load in my .58 and 82 gr load in my .12 smoothie and keep my shots under 75 yards. My avg shots on deer are between 40 and 50 yards so mine are real thumpers at those ranges.

I use 90grns Goex 3F in my .50cal Flintlock...the published max powder charge is 120grns 2F.

 

[LittleMoe430]

My .50 likes 30 grains FFFg for plinking. The .54 also does well with 30 grains for targets and 70 grains for deer hunting.

 

[dodgecummins01]

Just curious on this formula?
This is what I calculate for a .50cal with a 36" barrel.
(11.5 X .25² X 3.1416² X 36)=255.39
(11.5 X .0625 X 9.87 X 36)=255.39
Or am I missing something?

 

[dodgecummins01]

Pi x radius squared times bore length times 11.5 I believe this is the correct formula?
(3.1416 X .25² X 36 X 11.5)=81.3

 

[roundball]

Just curious on this formula?
This is what I calculate for a .50cal with a 36" barrel.
(11.5 X .25² X 3.1416² X 36)=255.39
(11.5 X .0625 X 9.87 X 36)=255.39
Or am I missing something?

:grin:

 

[roundball]

Pi x radius squared times bore length times 11.5 I believe this is the correct formula?
(3.1416 X .25² X 36 X 11.5)=81.3

:grin:

 

[Snakebite]

At 25 yards, my .54 with 55 grains of powder puts the ball right where they need to be. At 50 yards I use the standard load of 75 grains of powder. If all you are trying to do is punch paper, 50 grains should be plenty of powder.

Many Klatch

Same here, except my .54 likes 60grs of FF at 50yds. 75grs with a 6 o'clock hold at 50yrds is dead center.

 

[renovato]

I would use whatever charge is most accurate in your gun and only you can determine that. Try starting at 35-40 grains and working up 5 grains at a time until you find the sweet spot. At 25 yards, you don't need a lot of powder if you're just target shooting. If you'll be hunting, you might start at 70 and work up. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you!

 

[Zonie]

Pi x radius squared times bore length times 11.5 I believe this is the correct formula?
(3.1416 X .25² X 36 X 11.5)=81.3

Yes. This one is right.
The you squared Pi in the one with the 255.39 grain load answer.

Keep in mind that this formula does not give the maximum powder load for the gun.

Loads over the calculated load will produce higher velocities. Usually though the higher velocity comes at the expense of accuracy and a lot of powder burning outside the barrel.

With Muzzle loading hunting and with Muzzle loading target shooting, accuracy is the primary quest. That is not to say that a little 40 grain load that is extremely accurate should be used for hunting.
Obviously common sense must be used so that loads that have enough power to down the game are also required.

For a .50 caliber rifle the best loads are usually found in the 75-90 grain area.
These give very good accuracy coupled with great knock down power on deer out to 100 yards.

The reason I gave such a wide range of powder loads is that each gun is different and each patch/ball or bullet will work best with one load somewhere in this range.
The trick is to find out which one works best in your gun. :grin:

 

[Trench]

I'd go with 50grns for plinking too. Once you take the time to work up an accurate load for hunting you'll find you'll need much less than 120gr to kill deer.

I've told some in-line guys that always use 150gr of pyrodex that I took my first deer at 40yds with only 60gr of 2F behind a .490 ball and they just can't believe it.

 

[roundball]

Killed a Doe and a 5 point while sitting squirrel hunting with a throttled back .45cal / 30grn Goex 3F squirrel load...in each case they came wandering through at about 20 yards in front of my boots and I was able to make a perfect heart shot both times.

BUT.....when I'm DEER hunting...20 yards is far different thing of course than one stepping into view on a loggers road 75 yards away...or is that really 110 yards down there in the early morning first gray light?
:hmm:
So personally I don't waste time shading slight differences in powder charges for deer hunting...when I go "big game hunting" I use big game loads and never look back...my feelings are if a B&C buck steps out onto that loggers road, I don't even want to pause to wonder if he's 75 yards or really 110 yards...

 

[hanshi]

I'm thinking I probably agree with your reasoning. I firmly believe in matching the load to the game. I've used up to 80 grains 3f in my .45 and up to 100 grains in my .50 for deer. I've also used 65 grains. All worked beautifully even with one shot over 100 yards with the .50. So far all my hunting loads are about equally accurate. I'm not sure I'm a good enough shot to fine tune a load in the 1" - 2" category. Frankly, I'm more interested in knowing where the ball hits at the various ranges I'll be shooting. I've used my .45 on both deer and squirrels. But if I specifically go after small game I'll take a small bore rifle & leave the .45 & .50 at home. I prefer my deer hunting load to be my default load. I also like the option of a lighter, short range load for plinking & bushytails.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Sometimes the third pellet is still burning as it PASSES THROUGH THE TARGET at 50 yards! I've seen it with my own two eyes :rotf:

Using three pellets at 50 grains each is a little pricey too, but the store owner laughs all the way to the bank :shake:

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I teach Boy Scouts how to shoot. For muzzle loading, the recommended load is 1 grain per caliber in the merit badge book. So a .50 uses 50 grains and usually hits near the center of the target if the scout holds the rifle still during the ignition . Smaller-framed boys get a little less, as do the Moms. My load for them is 25 grains, and they love it!

So Paul's brother's experience at the range isn't so far out of whack!

Dave

 

[J.D.]

the recommended load is 1 grain per caliber in the merit badge book.

The old rule of thumb that I learned is one grain of powder to 1 1/2 grain of powder for each caliber, for a starting load.

So for a 50, a beginning load could be anywhere between 50-75 gr of powder...or there abouts. :wink:

God bless