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powder charges
- Thread starter Xring
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The .45's usually like 3Fg powder a little better.
It usually reduces the amount of fouling when compared with 2Fg.
There's an old thought that a good starting place for any unknown gun is to match the caliber with the number of grains of powder.
Using this, a good starting place for a .45 caliber gun would be 45 grains. Likewise, for a .50 caliber gun, 50 grains is a good starting place.
As it turns out (at least for me), this is usually the low end of the loads. Although smaller loads will work (often with great success) if your shooting at various ranges, the smaller loads, because of their slower velocity will start to show considerable drop in their point of impact at the longer ranges.
Try to find some of your patches and check them for cutting marks or burn thru from blow-by.
If they are showing burn thru, increase the amount of lube a little, or try a thicker patch.
Green Mountain barrels, when new, will sometimes cut patches because the rifleing grooves are very sharp. Dulling these with steel wool on a cleaning jag often speeds up the break-in process. The other way of breaking in a new barrel is to shoot 200+ rounds thru it. :grin:
It usually reduces the amount of fouling when compared with 2Fg.
There's an old thought that a good starting place for any unknown gun is to match the caliber with the number of grains of powder.
Using this, a good starting place for a .45 caliber gun would be 45 grains. Likewise, for a .50 caliber gun, 50 grains is a good starting place.
As it turns out (at least for me), this is usually the low end of the loads. Although smaller loads will work (often with great success) if your shooting at various ranges, the smaller loads, because of their slower velocity will start to show considerable drop in their point of impact at the longer ranges.
Try to find some of your patches and check them for cutting marks or burn thru from blow-by.
If they are showing burn thru, increase the amount of lube a little, or try a thicker patch.
Green Mountain barrels, when new, will sometimes cut patches because the rifleing grooves are very sharp. Dulling these with steel wool on a cleaning jag often speeds up the break-in process. The other way of breaking in a new barrel is to shoot 200+ rounds thru it. :grin:
Toomuch_36
45 Cal.
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Zonie is right about the smaller calibers liking 3F better.
Again as a rule-of-thumb to work up a new load start with a load of grains=caliber, adjust up or down in 5 grain increments to get best grouping. For longer yardages or for hunting boost this by 20 to 25 grains and adjust again as above.
In most cases a .45 Green Mountain barrel will like a .445 ball with a tight patch .015 for target and competition, for hunting most will go with a .440 ball and same patch for easier loading in the field.
Toomuch
...........
Shoot Flint
Again as a rule-of-thumb to work up a new load start with a load of grains=caliber, adjust up or down in 5 grain increments to get best grouping. For longer yardages or for hunting boost this by 20 to 25 grains and adjust again as above.
In most cases a .45 Green Mountain barrel will like a .445 ball with a tight patch .015 for target and competition, for hunting most will go with a .440 ball and same patch for easier loading in the field.
Toomuch
...........
Shoot Flint
Ditto the above advice. For a low end, I start with a charge in grains of 3f equal to the gun's caliber. For a hunting load, I start with a charge of about 1.5 times the gun's caliber.
You say you will be using it for target shooting... at what range? For 50 yard targets, a load close to 50 grains will save you some powder and make for a nice comfortable day of shooting. Reaching out to 100 yard targets with that load (and zeroed at 50 yards) will have you aiming 5.5" above the bull.
If you are doing most of your shooting at 100 yards, a load of closer to 80 grains will probably be better. If you zero at 100 yards you can sight dead on for the longer targets and only have to hold 1.5" under for the 50 yard target.
(numbers derived from Lyman's Handbook and this cool gizmo:[url] http://www.norma.cc/htm_files/javapagee.htm[/url] )
You say you will be using it for target shooting... at what range? For 50 yard targets, a load close to 50 grains will save you some powder and make for a nice comfortable day of shooting. Reaching out to 100 yard targets with that load (and zeroed at 50 yards) will have you aiming 5.5" above the bull.
If you are doing most of your shooting at 100 yards, a load of closer to 80 grains will probably be better. If you zero at 100 yards you can sight dead on for the longer targets and only have to hold 1.5" under for the 50 yard target.
(numbers derived from Lyman's Handbook and this cool gizmo:[url] http://www.norma.cc/htm_files/javapagee.htm[/url] )
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Mine likes 40 gr 3F, .440 RB and .010 cotton (300 TPI Egyptian cotton) patch with spit lube. (.45, 42" GM, so not exactly the same barrel)bull shooter said:
paulvallandigham
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Try using a Walter's Fiber Wad under the patch and ball. Also, try lubing the barrel with a patch after seating your PRB. Sometimes these two things will help you gain consistency when nothing else seems to help. Most of us fiddle with patch sizes and Ball diameters forever to find the right combination for a gun. If you use a chronograph when working on loads, you will find more quickly what is working and what isn't, by the keeping track of the Standard Deviation in Velocity from one load combination to another. I have found that using fiber wads, or a filler gives me more consistent burning of the powder, a cleaner barrel, and more consistent velocity, with the resulting lower SDV that causes. Group sizes go down quickly. I was shooting 50 grains of 3Fg powder with a .451 ball in my .45 rifle, but it was made by a different company. That may affect your choice of ball diameter and patch thickness( I used .010" patching) but the powder charge should be good out to 50 yds. Recently, I was helping my brother with his gun, and we found a big difference in powder when we sifted his powder to remove all the fines. The 3Fg that remained gave much more consistent groups, although the velocity dropped a little after removing all the 4Fg "fines" from the powder, as would be expected!
I shoot 50yds 99% of the time and use the following:bull shooter said:
.50grns Goex 3F (40grns is also excellent)
.015" Oxyoke prelubed cotton for plinking (bought a couple thousand at a steal)
.018" TC prelubed pillow ticking for tighter groups
Hornady .440s
I shoot .45's most of the time, both flint and percussion. For target work, I shoot 40 gr at 25 yds, 50 at 50 yds, and 60 at 100 yds...I hold a little high at 100 yds...I use .440 balls and .10 imitation (printed stripe) cotton ticking..Hank
