Shooting Conicals

[Pauly Walnuts]

Hello All,

I now have my first muzzleloader, it’s the pedersoli scout .50 in percussion.

I’m looking to shoot the Hornady Great Plains conicals. Do I have to patch the conicals or used a plastic sleeve? Also how much grain of triple 7 FFg should I use for the Hornady great plains conical? I also bought the pyrodex RS incase that is better powder.

Thank You

 

[longcruise]

Either of those powders will work. Be aware that the claims of no cleaning necessary are misleading. Both of those are corrosive due to perchlorates.

I don't know what the twist rate is in that rifle but you will want at least a 1:48. Those bullets hit hard on both ends.

 

[longcruise]

No patch or plastic. Just a good lube formulated for black powder.

 

[Pauly Walnuts]

Either of those powders will work. Be aware that the claims of no cleaning necessary are misleading. Both of those are corrosive due to perchlorates.

I don't know what the twist rate is in that rifle but you will want at least a 1:48. Those bullets hit hard on both ends.

The twist rate on my pedersoli scout is 1:34. I have the Hornady Great Plains coming in the mail. The Great Plains comes pre lubed.

How do you clean to get the corrosives off? Just bore cleaner and oil? Also how much of a powder charge should I use for the Hornady Great Plains? 90gr?

 

[CapPopper]

The twist rate on my pedersoli scout is 1:34. I have the Hornady Great Plains coming in the mail. The Great Plains comes pre lubed.

How do you clean to get the corrosives off? Just bore cleaner and oil? Also how much of a powder charge should I use for the Hornady Great Plains? 90gr?

Water works good. Since you are using something that requires a decent amount of lube I would add a little bit of dawn. I know water seems odd but everything corrosive in black and the substitutes is water soluble and won't clean very well without some amount of water. I've taken to using ballistol mixed like the can says for cleaning after I plug the nipple or vent and let it soak full of water for a minute. A good rust preventative is possibly more important than a squeaky clean gun. Haven't had any issues since I started using barricade but most gun oils won't really do the job.

 

[Sun City]

Each generation has to learn about it's own mistakes! The snowflakes all wanna shoot the conicals! I didn't have any luck with those 60 years back....regardless of ROT!!

 

[Pauly Walnuts]

Each generation has to learn about it's own mistakes! The snowflakes all wanna shoot the conicals! I didn't have any luck with those 60 years back....regardless of ROT

Should I shoot some patched round balls lol?

 

[longcruise]

Each generation has to learn about it's own mistakes! The snowflakes all wanna shoot the conicals! I didn't have any luck with those 60 years back....regardless of ROT!!

Now, now Sun! Let's not be driving the new guy away.

Conicals a good choice for your 1:34. If you get the urge to economize, don't overlook the round balls. They will probably shoot fine with lighter powder charges.

You certainly can use 90 but it's going to be hard on you! Are you a hunter, plinker, competitor? Lots depends on what your end use is.

 

[Okie Hog]

Be aware that the claims of no cleaning necessary are misleading. Both of those are corrosive due to perchlorates.

BTW: All the black powder substitute powders contain potassium perchlorate, including Black Horn 209. With the exception of Pyrodex none are seriously corrosive. Another ingredient makes the residue of Pyrodex seriously corrosive, that same ingredient is in black powder.

 

[Okie Hog]

Deleted

 

[Pauly Walnuts]

Now, now Sun! Let's not be driving the new guy away.

Conicals a good choice for your 1:34. If you get the urge to economize, don't overlook the round balls. They will probably shoot fine with lighter powder charges.

You certainly can use 90 but it's going to be hard on you! Are you a hunter, plinker, competitor? Lots depends on what your end use is I’m a competitive shooter

Now, now Sun! Let's not be driving the new guy away.

Conicals a good choice for your 1:34. If you get the urge to economize, don't overlook the round balls. They will probably shoot fine with lighter powder charges.

You certainly can use 90 but it's going to be hard on you! Are you a hunter, plinker, competitor? Lots depends on what your end use is.

I’m a competitive shooter, I shoot USPSA and the precision rifle series matches. I’m getting into ML because I enjoy primitive hunts. I’m going for black bear in November and I’d like to hunt bow one weekend and ML the next.

I have nothing against shooting patched round balls. Is there any size ball and size patch you guys would recommend? I bought like 200rnds of the Hornady Great Plains already lol.

 

[Pauly Walnuts]

BTW: All the black powder substitute powders contain potassium perchlorate, including Black Horn 209. With the exception of Pyrodex none are seriously corrosive. Another ingredient makes the residue of Pyrodex seriously corrosive, that same ingredient is in black powder.

What do you think is the best powder to shoot? Is it the black horn 209?

 

[longcruise]

I’m a competitive shooter, I shoot USPSA and the precision rifle series matches. I’m getting into ML because I enjoy primitive hunts. I’m going for black bear in November and I’d like to hunt bow one weekend and ML the next.

I have nothing against shooting patched round balls. Is there any size ball and size patch you guys would recommend? I bought like 200rnds of the Hornady Great Plains already lol.

Since you have that many conicals on the way, might as well concentrate on those to get ready to hunt. In fact, anything 70 grains and up wil be adequate for the bear so just start there and go up till you like the groups. Use a volume measure. Pyrodex is about equivalent to goex . Pyro P is like goex 3f and pyro RS is like goex 2f. Don't weigh charges! Pyrodex by weight is about 2/3 the weight of an equal volume of BP but gives similar result. You actually get more shots per pound than with BP.

If you have shot much lead you probably know that leading is unpredictable. Just assume that the conicals are leading and scrape it out with some steel wool wrapped around the jag. Lead deposits in n an ML barrel can wreck the bore. It's certain to have powder residue trapped under it and that becomes a long term source of corrosion.

Reading here you might think that shooting without wiping the bore is some sort of grail. Especially with conicals, it ain't! Wipe between shots for consistency.

For balls i suggest you get some 490 balls and three or four different thicknesses of cotton patch material and try them. Lube seems to be a very mysterious thing but actually just about any lube works fine. The key is apply it to the patch consistently.

 

[Okie Hog]

What do you think is the best powder to shoot? Is it the black horn 209?

You have already purchased two very good powders. Make them work. Begin by using 70 grains of either Pyrodex or Triple Seven.

Proper cleaning of the rifle after firing is important, this is especially true when using Pyrodex. The residue of firing of both powders is cleans up nicely using plain tap water.

1. Swab the bore with a patch saturated with water followed by a couple dry patches.

2. Repeat 1.

3. In order to remove all traces of water, swab the bore with a patch wet with WD 40 followed by a couple dry patches.

4. Swab the bore with a patch wet with a good synthetic motor oil, no expensive oils needed.

5. After removing the nipple run a bristled pipe brush in and out of the flame channel.

My advice: 1: Don't do the conicals. 2. After shooting all the conicals, buy some .490 round balls and some pillow ticking for patches.

 

[Pauly Walnuts]

Awesome thanks longcruise and okiehog. I went to my local bass pro today to get some more arrows for my bow. They had the triple 7 FFFg so I picked up a pound of that powder also. They didn’t have any 50 cal balls. I’ll try to order some off midway to try out. I’m excited to get into Traditional ML hunting. I have 10 days in Tennessee to hunt and a few days in Mississippi to hunt deer for their ML season also.

Hopefully the Pedersoli Hawkens come back in stock soon so I can by one of those rifles.

If I used the triple 7 FFFg should I still start with 70gr or go to 65gr?

 

[deermanok]

Blackhorn 209 is designed to work for inline rifles. So stick with the powder you have.
Those Great Plains bullets are soft lead, so take care when starting them in the barrel as you could deform the tip.
Gentle pressure with the short starter.
65 to 70 grains by volume is a good starting point for a powder charge.

 

[RIDE-RED350R]

I've used a lot of the Hornady Great Plains bullets over the years. Back when I first got into it you could get 50cals as heavy as 425gr and yes I tried them. Have a few boxes of 385gr in my muzzleloading tackle box as we speak. They are very effective on game.

Regular black powder has given me the best consistency in terms of fast and reliable ignition, but Pyro comes in a pretty close second and is perfectly fine in a pinch. I would avoid BH209 in a traditional ML. It is intended for inlines and requires #209 shotgun primers for ignition.

Use boiling hot water for cleaning, a hot barrel dries quickly inside and out.

 

[Pauly Walnuts]

I've used a lot of the Hornady Great Plains bullets over the years. Back when I first got into it you could get 50cals as heavy as 425gr and yes I tried them. Have a few boxes of 385gr in my muzzleloading tackle box as we speak. They are very effective on game.

Regular black powder has given me the best consistency in terms of fast and reliable ignition, but Pyro comes in a pretty close second and is perfectly fine in a pinch. I would avoid BH209 in a traditional ML. It is intended for inlines and requires #209 shotgun primers for ignition.

Use boiling hot water for cleaning, a hot barrel dries quickly inside and out.

Do you use pyro r/s or p with the Great Plains? Also what volume of powder do you find most effective?

 

[RIDE-RED350R]

Do you use pyro r/s or p with the Great Plains? Also what volume of powder do you find most effective?

I've almost exclusively used black powder over the years. Have done a little with Pryo RS Select (2f equivalent) when I was out of black and waiting for it to come back in stock. For black I've always used 2f. Years back I was running the Great Plains over 100gr of 2F. Ive recently tried TCs 320gr Maxi-Ball over 80gr 2F and am very happy with the accuracy of that load. These clocked a shade north of 1200fps over the chrony.

Here is the result at 50yds with my TC Hawken. 1st shot landed way low and right. Adjusted sights, second shot went high and left. Adjusted sights and shots 3-6 landed right where I wanted them.

 

[Pauly Walnuts]

Oh wow that is a super nice grouping. Pedersoli in an email told me not to go over 90gr of FFg. Is that just a manufacturer warning? Can it safely be done going over?