Roundball Ballistics, .54 cal.

[RussB]

A few days back I did a spread sheet on the ballistic performance of the .50 cal round ball.
I got several PM, and a few eMail, asking about the .54 round ball.

Well, for all those who asked, and anyone else who may be interested, I ran a program on the .54 Round ball using the following parameters. I do hope you find it useful. Copy it, stick it on your bench and memorize those drop tables, it could be very helpful.

(That is if I'm smart enough to transfer it, I tried to use a web host, but that fizzled out real quick :crackup

Caliber: .54
Muzzle Velocity: 1900
Projectile weight: 220 gr.
BC (Ballistic Coefficeint: 0.075
Boundries: 1900fps to 400fps.
Temperature: 59F
Elevation: 2,000' ASL
Humidity: 78%
Barometric Pressure: 29.53 Rising
Wind Direction: E


Range.......Velocity...........Energy........Drop.........Bullet Path
0

 

[RussB]

Well I see a lot of people have looked, but I don't see any comments.
Probably because it's something everyone already knew?? ::

I find such "trivia" interesting because it sheds a lot of light on the ranging abilities of our old smoke poles. Every time you hear about those 200 or 300 yard shots with a muzzleloader, think of the probability of that shot actually being made. :nono:

Even at 150 yds you have to be able to "estimate" the range awfully darn good to make the shot....while at the same time, a 100 yd shot doesn't require a lot of doing. :redthumb:


Russ

 

[Ohio Joe]

Russ,

Thanks for posting the charts. It is very good information to have and I will run a few copies to have on hand if you don't mind?

During our club gong shoots we sometimes shoot out to 300 yards and I'm forever in my Lyman Black Powder Handbook helping folks get an idea on the drop and path of their given patched ball they are using. Maybe if I hand these out it will save me some "search" work with a couple calibers, and then I can also have a bit more time to enjoy the match.

Thanks again! :thumbsup:

 

[biliff]

Been playing around with the RB calculator that was mentioned on another post. I found the wind drift and time of flight tables particularly interesting. A mere 5 mph crosswind will drift a .54 ball 6" at 100 yards. Makes the prospect of just sighting in on any given day kinda iffy at best at least at our range where a dead calm day is pretty rare. Not to mention trying to make a shot on game in a stiff wind.
Time of flight to 100 yards is also over 0.2 seconds. At that distance a deer doing only 4mph (a fast walk for a human) will move over 1 foot before the bullet gets there.
No wonder a 100+ yard shot is considered iffy. It ain't just the sights/ignition system we're using its all the other variables thrown in, too. Things have got to be pretty much perfect to pull it off. :agree:

 

[RussB]

Joe, if ya would like, I can do the 300, or even a 500 yd thing for you.

The only problem is my lack of knowledge in knowing had to transfer that data fron a stand alone disk to where it can be posted and read here on the forum....It is NOT a "cut & paste" process :crackup:

A few years back, I had just mastered the VCR when my wife came dragging a computer in the house, things have been downhill since...... :cry:

Russ

 

Many years ago when I was first getting into the sport, I was able to look at an original plains rifle in .60 caliber that belonged to a local collector. For lack of a better term, I'll call it a "Hawken" because that is what it looked like but it was unmarked. It had a heavy, long twist barrel - something like 1-80". He had fired it at the range with 120 grs or so of powder and a patched ball and remarked that it shot about 9-10 inches high at 50 yds. Could it be that the original owner had it sighted in at 150 yds - knowing he could hit a large animal (like buffalo) anywhere from point blank out to 200 or so?

 

[RussB]

Many years ago when I was first getting into the sport, I was able to look at an original plains rifle in .60 caliber that belonged to a local collector. For lack of a better term, I'll call it a "Hawken" because that is what it looked like but it was unmarked. It had a heavy, long twist barrel - something like 1-80". He had fired it at the range with 120 grs or so of powder and a patched ball and remarked that it shot about 9-10 inches high at 50 yds. Could it be that the original owner had it sighted in at 150 yds - knowing he could hit a large animal (like buffalo) anywhere from point blank out to 200 or so?

Anvil....You may well be right on the money there. I don't have the figures "plugged in" for anything other than a .50, and .54 caliber. But using a .54 cal, pushing a 220gr RB, at 2,000 fps, it would look something like this, for a 200yd zero.

BTW: 2,000 fps requires a very "hefty charge" in a .54 cal. and, at least in my guns, is not all that accurate. certainly not "hunting accuracy".....but anyway, this is the way it would look.

Range...........bullet Path.........energy
50 yds..........+7.18...............1,070
100 yds.........+12.4...............663
150 yds.........+10.68..............457
200 yds...........0.0...............381
250 yds.........-27.1...............318
300 yds.........-56.94..............269

It is easy to see that if you should "mis-judge" by a few yards you would be hitting in the dirt.

It is also a good example, at least in my mind, that those energy figures don't carry a lot of merit when it comes to a patched round ball. But that's sure to start an argument, so we won't go there.

Give me some particulars on "larger" round balls. Ie, BC, weight, and actual diameter....I can get great results when I've got those exact numbers to start with.

Russ

 

[Ohio Joe]

Joe, if ya would like, I can do the 300, or even a 500 yd thing for you.

The only problem is my lack of knowledge in knowing had to transfer that data fron a stand alone disk to where it can be posted and read here on the forum....It is NOT a "cut & paste" process :crackup:

A few years back, I had just mastered the VCR when my wife came dragging a computer in the house, things have been downhill since...... :cry:

Russ

I know what you mean about the ol' computer, Russ... Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. The family and I made a trip to Rapid City, SD today... (What a rat race!)

I could take my copy of the Lyman BP Handbook down to work and just make some copies of certain pages. That may be the easiest thing to do... It's not really a problem looking these things up for some of the folks at the range. Thanks for thinking of us! :thumbsup: