Range of a .50 ball?

[jderrick]

Hey,
I'm looking for a place to fire my rifle, and I'm just curious of it's range.... If I'm firing a .50 lead ball from a rifled 33.5 inch barrel, horizontal to the ground, what do you reckon the range is with 40 grains of FFFg? How about 100 grains? I figure it'd be a mile or so.... Thanks!

 

[more powder]

That a little hard to answer but stright i would say 130yds before it glanced of the ground :hmm:

 

[jderrick]

See, I was thinking a couple miles because that's what I've generally know with other weapons -- but that may be with them aimed up at an angle or whatnot. My family has a cottage on a sound that's miles and miles across... and I'm eyeing it as a good place to fire -- you can see everything out there (nothing) and you've got thousands and thousands of yards of space. Any safety concerns there? I've heard to be careful of firing across water (richochets), but when you've got so much space is that an issue?

 

[Zonie]

Just out of curiosity I poked .50 caliber and 1850 FPS velocity into my ballistics calculator and set the aim point at 200 yards.

It only calculated to 380 yards but is says the ball is still going 480 FPS :grin:

Also, the drop at 380 yards was 318 inches so there is little doubt that the ball is going to hit the ground long before that distance is reached.
Hitting the ground will remove a lot of energy too so, to make a long story shorter, I would say if you have a mile downrange with nothing that can be harmed you will be pretty safe.

 

[harryo]

I've heard to be careful of firing across water (richochets), but when you've got so much space is that an issue?

Make sure it is legal to fire across the water. Here in Illinois, it is illegal to fire a firearm over, or across water, except for a legal shotgun during waterfowl season. I don't know what your laws are in North Carolina.

 

[Slowpoke]

The only way that ball is going a mile is if you put it in your truck and drive it. I guess about 200-250 yards b efore it hit the ground.

SP

 

[roundball]

Hey,
I'm looking for a place to fire my rifle, and I'm just curious of it's range.... If I'm firing a .50 lead ball from a rifled 33.5 inch barrel, horizontal to the ground, what do you reckon the range is with 40 grains of FFFg? How about 100 grains? I figure it'd be a mile or so.... Thanks!

I shoot a muzzleloader most every weekend on a 300yd dirt rifle strip...sitting in a chair, the rifle is horizontal, and about 3 feet off the ground.
I normally plink at 50yds with a 50grn charge of Goex 3F, and see the dust kick up out around 150 yards...a lighter 40grn charge would probably be a little less than that.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Don't forget, too, if you skip a round ball off a flat rock it could go another 1/2 mile or so. Best to have something like a berm or dirt filled tires as a backstop.

The ballistically dubious 12 ga. rifled slug will go 600 yards.

 

[musketman]

See, I was thinking a couple miles because that's what I've generally know with other weapons --

I could see this doing almost a 1/2 mile with a max load and the barrel elevated to 33 degrees, but not with the barrel flat, gravity will rob you of distance in short order...

 

[roundball]

Best to have something like a berm or dirt filled tires as a backstop.

(what I referred to ia a 300 yard long rifle strip the width of a bulldozer blade, with a huge bulldozed berm at the end of it)

 

[Puffer]

Any safety concerns there? I've heard to be careful of firing across water (richochets), but when you've got so much space is that an issue?

YES TO BOTH !! :nono: :nono: Not only violates basic firearm safety (& maybe state law) but Richochetes, off water, DO NOT go along the original flight path. They go where they D*%N well please & that includes side ways & back @ you. (A ball stricking the water @ 100 yd.s CAN richochete obiqugely & back & hit something or someone down the beach :cursing: )
By the way, I am a NRA Chief Range Officer & an Exec RO for a very Lg. Modern gun club ( We have 5 modern ranges - 50 to 100 yd.s wide, 50 - 600 yd.s long, with 30' end berms & 25' full side berms & we STILL have richochete prob.s :shake: ) And if you want to see the prob.s we have W/ richchetes (PM me me ) I am also a lead WDFW Hunter Ed. Instructor & if you want to see what "bird'shot richochetes do, again PM me

Oh, yeh. RANGE My tyron ( 32" bbl., .50 cal patched rnd.ball & 90 gr. of fffg, @ 300 yd.s has ONLY a 24" to 30" drop. my Mortimer ( 36 1/2" bbl., .54 cal.patched rnd. ball & 90 gr. about the same, But w / 100 gr. fffg 2" - 4" less drop) ( depends on weather)
Puffer

 

[jderrick]

Well, good thing I asked about firing over water :shocked2: . I'd imagined richochets carrying the ball farther (shooting over 20-miles of empty water, not such a big issue), maybe hooking or slicing a little off to one side or the other (ten miles to play with), but didn't expect complete 180's. Thanks for the info!

 

[Wehrmacht]

Some years back Lowel and Joel Gard,the Bevel Brothers,talked about this in their "Stump The Experts" column in Muzzle Blasts. I forget the details,but it seems to me that the maximum range of a patched .50cal round ball was about 1,200 yards and that was with the muzzle elevated at about 37 degrees.

 

[J.D.]

I would expect the maximum range of any muzzleloader to be about the same as a modern shotgun shooting slugs.
J.D.

 

[strongarm]

In Lymans' Black Powder Manual, 12th edition, published 1997, Sam Fadalia's stats show a .495 round ball sited in at 50 yards at your velocity to drop just under 6 feet at 250 yards and 8 feet at 275 yards. In addition it will also lose 2/3 of its energy by the time it travels just over 100 yards. Your ball started out at around 1550 ft/lbs and at 250 yards should be around 186 ft./lbs :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

In Lymans' Black Powder Manual, 12th edition, published 1997, Sam Fadalia's stats show a .495 round ball sited in at 50 yards at your velocity to drop just under 6 feet at 250 yards and 8 feet at 275 yards. In addition it will also lose 2/3 of its energy by the time it travels just over 100 yards. Your ball started out at around 1550 ft/lbs and at 250 yards should be around 186 ft./lbs :thumbsup:

Going by TC's manual, it should be closer to 1400fps/mv...yeah, it's just a light plinking load I use playing at the range on the weekends...you could probably catch it in your hat at 150yds :winking:

 

[Toomuch_36]

Some years back Lowel and Joel Gard,the Bevel Brothers,talked about this in their "Stump The Experts" column in Muzzle Blasts. I forget the details,but it seems to me that the maximum range of a patched .50cal round ball was about 1,200 yards and that was with the muzzle elevated at about 37 degrees.

You can't argue with these guys, they're so busy arguing with themselves nobody else can get another word in edgewise. :yakyak: But when you scrape off the dross and get to the bottom line they pretty much got the goods on whatever topic they are researching. :thumbsup:

Toomuch
................
Shoot Flint