Round Balls With Dimples
- Thread starter Archer 756
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
It's called barrel harmonics and is the very reason I advocate against resting the barrel on a rest for accuracy testing. Nearly all guns do it to some extent. If you extrapolate that "bending" for what it is, a vibration frequency, where that barrel is located in the vibration wave when the bullet exits the bore will control group size. Guys who shoot BPCR from cross sticks have known this for a long time. Think back to maths, X and Y axis where the X axis is the length of your barrel, and the Y axis is the motion during firing. There is a "null" point for every load where barrel motion is crossing back across the line of aim, or the X axis where Y=0. Mathematically speaking, the optimum time for a bullet to exit the bore is when Y=0 and X=Barrel Length. Make that "null" coincide with the bullet exit from the muzzle and that's a where that load will shoot it's tightest possible group. If you're shooting from a rest with the barrel on the rest, you interfere with this motion and alter point of impact and group size. If you grip the barrel as you would for offhand, be as upright as possible as you would offhand and rest the back of your forward hand on the rest, it will minimize the impact of a front rest on the barrel harmonic. A free floated barrel will behave differently and require a different technique.
One other way to think of this, anything you do that puts a force on the barrel will affect this vibration and change the point of impact. In another thread, I've spoken against using a "Lead Sled" for muzzleloading and this is the exact reason. Point of Impact will have no correlation to Point of Aim and group sizes will be different.
Last edited:
I usually shoot negative numbers while golfing. I also play "army golf"- left right left right. I keep score by the number of golf balls I've lost or found. Negative numbers, not so good. Positive numbers, I have more golf balls than when I started. Number of strokes is irrelevant.
And then there’s follow through…
Toklo Etee
36 Cl.
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2018
- Messages
- 89
- Reaction score
- 116
The Scottish deerskin trader James Adair observed the Southern tribes using "chewed bullets" in their smoothbore trade guns......
In his book "History of the American Indians" Adair was convinced that the Chickasaw & many of the other Southern tribes were defended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. His attention to detail in his notes is second to none.
From my perspective........It does work to help improve accuracy in a smooth bore when shooting in historical manner with wadding & bare ball.
David
In his book "History of the American Indians" Adair was convinced that the Chickasaw & many of the other Southern tribes were defended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. His attention to detail in his notes is second to none.
From my perspective........It does work to help improve accuracy in a smooth bore when shooting in historical manner with wadding & bare ball.
David
Spose shooting at the gophers and geese on the front nine didn’t help my popularity at the club either….
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2022
- Messages
- 905
- Reaction score
- 1,344
Took me to 10th place expert class my very first Nationals.
Steve
Ah yes, but what were the nine ahead of you using?
I guess that chewing lead, doesn't cause brain damage??
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2018
- Messages
- 669
- Reaction score
- 1,624
Watch a high speed video of an AK-47 sometime.
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2021
- Messages
- 824
- Reaction score
- 756
"Verily, it is written: cheweth thy balls that thine enemy be smote unto hellfire!"- 2nd Habakkuk, V.278
Just kidding, but it does sound like the kind of thing a scienti-gnostic Scots frontiersman might say, ya gotta admit. Or maybe a line from a fine Terry Pratchett book.
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2010
- Messages
- 5,353
- Reaction score
- 5,104
I think everyone who has shot round ball thru their smoothy knows each gun is a law unto its own.
Some do better with roughed balls, some with patched. Some with heavy charges. Some not so much.
IMHO, it's not hard to get a prb to shoot nice groups in a rifle, it's harder to get minies to shoot the same groups. But you gotta be on top of your game to get winning groups from a smoothy without a rear sight. But I'm far from an expert.
Some do better with roughed balls, some with patched. Some with heavy charges. Some not so much.
IMHO, it's not hard to get a prb to shoot nice groups in a rifle, it's harder to get minies to shoot the same groups. But you gotta be on top of your game to get winning groups from a smoothy without a rear sight. But I'm far from an expert.
What I’ve found rolling balls between two rasp roughing them giving a chewed appearance as mentioned enlarges the diameter..
Dimpled balls are not rough..
I prefer the dimples if shooting bare ball loads.
The reason being using a .648 Tanner mold it leavea larger sprue.. Tumbling or shaking helps smooth it somewhat..
Rasp balls are more forgiving when loading, they seem too help keep the fouling from building up as much as dimpled do.
Dimpled balls are not rough..
I prefer the dimples if shooting bare ball loads.
The reason being using a .648 Tanner mold it leavea larger sprue.. Tumbling or shaking helps smooth it somewhat..
Rasp balls are more forgiving when loading, they seem too help keep the fouling from building up as much as dimpled do.
Top 3 places is all that count.
Similar threads
