Sight help on Kentucky rifle

[nit wit]

60grains will kill deer! I killed a bear once with a flintlock..440 ball, 50 grains per volume of 3F.
Nit Wit

 

[hawkeye2]

I bought a .50 Sharon trade rifle from a friend who had killed 5 deer with it. He said 50 grains of 2f will put a round ball completely through a whitetail.

 

[Loja man]

60grains will kill deer! I killed a bear once with a flintlock..440 ball, 50 grains per volume of 3F.
Nit Wit

What cal is a .440 round ball? That is helpful to know! What range?

 

[Loja man]

I bought a .50 Sharon trade rifle from a friend who had killed 5 deer with it. He said 50 grains of 2f will put a round ball completely through a whitetail.

That is reassuring!! Im trying not to over think it but when you read posts where people are using 90-110 grains of powder….. I think my Kentucky rifle shot a little tighter with the 50 grains, especially at 50-75 yards. But I may have just had a better day when I was shooting the 50 grains!;-)

 

[.36Rooster]

So I was back at it today! Make hay while the sun shines! It was a slower day working on bids at home so finished the day down at the pit.
So I shot a few at 55 grains again as well as 50 grains. The groups were equal. Took it back up to 60 grains. First pic is 60 groans at 25y. Then I filed the rear sight down since it was shooting a little highe even with 50 grains. Second pic is after filing the rear sight down. Pointe of impact and pattern is about the same at 50 yards. For now I’m calling it good. MY check needs a break! View attachment 102311View attachment 102312

Now that is what I'd call a stopping point. You could hunt squirrels with groups like that!...or take the head off a grouse...

 

[Grenadier1758]

What cal is a .440 round ball? That is helpful to know! What range?

Many 45 caliber rifles perform best with a 0.440" ball. Some are more accurate with a 0.445" ball. Load development will determine the best ball size.

 

[.36Rooster]

What cal is a .440 round ball? That is helpful to know! What range?

A .440 round ball, or even conical, is .440 caliber. Most commonly it would be associated with a rifle or pistol with a .45 caliber barrel...just like how in a .50 caliber barrel, you use a .490 caliber ball, because of the patch

 

[Loja man]

That makes sense about the ball sizing.

Now that is what I'd call a stopping point. You could hunt squirrels with groups like that!...or take the head off a grouse...

But not with 60 grains!! I was pleased with the last group though. I may file the rear sight down a little more in the future… but for now calling it good.

 

[.36Rooster]

That makes sense about the ball sizing.


But not with 60 grains!! I was pleased with the last group though. I may file the rear sight down a little more in the future… but for now calling it good.

Head shots...Thats what i meant by the tight groups. They're tight enough to hit them in the head without wasting meat.

 

[oldwood]

I urge you to use caution in making head/neck shots w/any gun on a deer. My hunting buddy of the last 50 years , for a while , was shooting deer , head and neck shots so as not to waste meat. This instance using a modern rifle , a ten point 20" outside spread buck wandered to under his stand. He fired the shot , the buck fell as if hammered. My buddy carelessly ate a snack , drank coffee and started down out of the tree after he lowered his rifle to the ground . Half way down , the trophy stood up and walked away . He vowed to abandon head/neck shooting and did so. The good part of the story is that his son shot the deer through the heart / lungs couple mins. later.. ..................oldwood

 

[Loja man]

I urge you to use caution in making head/neck shots w/any gun on a deer. My hunting buddy of the last 50 years , for a while , was shooting deer , head and neck shots so as not to waste meat. This instance using a modern rifle , a ten point 20" outside spread buck wandered to under his stand. He fired the shot , the buck fell as if hammered. My buddy carelessly ate a snack , drank coffee and started down out of the tree after he lowered his rifle to the ground . Half way down , the trophy stood up and walked away . He vowed to abandon head/neck shooting and did so. The good part of the story is that his son shot the deer through the heart / lungs couple mins. later.. ..................oldwood

Well at least his son brought it down!!! I will take head shots on squirrels and rabbits but not deer!

 

[brewer12345]

Loja, your accuracy load will take deer at reasonable ranges. Shoot some more and get comfy with the gun, the load, and make sure your loading process is consistent. When you get there, practice making a quick reload for hunting purposes. I also seem to get many of my deer while I am moving between spots, so I also spend a fair amount of time practicing unbraced, standing shots.

The only other thing I would try if you want to fiddle with more load development is an over powder wad. I use prelubed wonder wads or the homemade equivalent in the rifles that prefer wads. In some of my rifles, the use of a wad allows a more accurate load at a higher powder charge than without. In one or two, it makes them go from iffy accuracy to tiny groups. Worth a try.

 

[Loja man]

Loja, your accuracy load will take deer at reasonable ranges. Shoot some more and get comfy with the gun, the load, and make sure your loading process is consistent. When you get there, practice making a quick reload for hunting purposes. I also seem to get many of my deer while I am moving between spots, so I also spend a fair amount of time practicing unbraced, standing shots.

The only other thing I would try if you want to fiddle with more load development is an over powder wad. I use prelubed wonder wads or the homemade equivalent in the rifles that prefer wads. In some of my rifles, the use of a wad allows a more accurate load at a higher powder charge than without. In one or two, it makes them go from iffy accuracy to tiny groups. Worth a try.

Gun season for me opens in about two weeks. I hope to get out at least one more time and shoot the gun before then. For now I need to give my cheek a break even while at the range I load out of my shooting bag just to help establish the pattern.
Truth be told I do better with quick shots where I don’t have time to think Grew up hunting in the jungle with 22 long rifle and 12 gauge. Usually had small window of opportunity for your shot. So pretty comfortable shooting off hand.
Here’s a question, shooting triple 7 FFFG verse black powder, do you pack the ball tighter or just try to set the ball like with a flintlock?
Also I am completely unfamiliar with wads. Do you use a solid wad the diameter of the bore or do you put several smaller ones in?

 

[brewer12345]

Can't help you with the Triple 7 as I don't use it. With overpowder wads, I just use a single wad. They are usually sold for a specific caliber by e.g. Track of the Wolf.

 

[Tumbledown]

Do you shoot .490 or .495 round balls?

.490

 

[M. De Land]

Hey all,
So I finally finished my Traditions Kentucky Kit! Took it out to the range today. It was shooting okay but high. It was also giving my check a beating!
So several years ago I found a post about sighting in a 50cal. It state that with a around 80 grains of powder you should be dead on at 13 yards, 1” height at 50y and 1” low at 100y. With my New Englander I found this to hold true. So this is what I tried for with the Kentucky rifle.
I was shooting a .490 round ball with a .018 patch lubed with bore butter over 80g of Tripple 7 FFFG. I spit on the bottom side of the patch to losen it up a little in the cool weather. Also I worked the bore over a little with OOOO steel wool before the range trip.
So the first pic is at 13 yards.
The second is at 25y. The three top shots on the second were aimed at bullseye. The lower shot was aimed center of target but at the very bottom of the square target.
At 50y I was off the square target by about 7”.
So…… what all do you guys do in this case? I have never had completely fixed sights before. My first thought is I need a taller front sight or a shorter rear sight. But with how it’s smacking me I don’t want a lower rear sight!!!!View attachment 101979View attachment 101980View attachment 101981

Before I touched the sights I would get a wood rasp after the cheek piece and comb on your stock ! When the gun fits your cheek and shoulder than file the sights if needed.

 

[Loja man]

Before I touched the sights I would get a wood rasp after the cheek piece and comb on your stock ! When the gun fits your cheek and shoulder than file the sights if needed.

I hate the idea of taking a rasp to a gun I just finished!! I think I have been crawling to height/forward on the stock. Next time out I am going to makes a conscious effort to keep my face a little bit further back on the stock. I think I would also add some higher sights before trying to reshape the stock.

 

[flntlokr]

Patches in the group are from 60 grains. Line on the right are from 50 grains.View attachment 102313

Nothing wrong with those patches. I always shot 60 grFF, .495, .019 in my Hawken percussion 32"GM barrel. Muzzle velocity about 1300. I zeroed it for 50 yd. Pretty much the same hold at 25, and hit about 4" low at 100. Could be that your rifle doesn't have enough drop at the wrist, thereby giving you the bruised cheekbone. It is possible to add a bit of drop by bending the stock at the wrist. There is info on how to do it on the web. Shotgunners adjust their guns that way; less $$ then building a new stock.

 

[ord sgt]

At 40 yards, I shot a deer with 80 grains FFFg and a .495 roundball out of a 42-inch barrel. The ball went cleanly through the lungs and exited the far side of the deer.
For range use shooting at paper, I use 50 grains FFFg behind a .495 roundball and lubricated patch. No problems hitting centre at 50 yards.

 

[TFoley]

The only way to measure ACTUAL real-world velocity is to use a chronograph. We have two LabRadar sets in our club, but beware that they just might get 'fooled' by the patch, giving you a false reading. Only one person in our club shoots a patched ball flintlock, though, and he's not concerned about velocity.