target shooting

[hobbles]

I tried that Pyrodex P fffg, (p stands for pistol),, and I kept smokin my patches and was keepin the POI at round 6 inches, took me a while to figure it out with the help of these boys here and T/C, I tried to go beck to fffg p ( I have a pound left ) but same thing happened, smoked patches and could just hit the target,, Hope you have better luck then I did,,,,

 

[Slamfire]

I guess all them animules killed with a .44-40 were weaklings.

 

[rrgr40]

I was told way back when that the old timers choose their loads by the caliber of their rifle, 50 cal.-50 grains, 45 cal.-45 grains and so on. And on the other side of the coin I was reading that the men were loading extraordinary loads of up to 250 grains for 52 and 54 caliber rifles and were getting 9 to 11 inch groups at 200 yards. I'm not saying that I would recommend these loads but I just wanted to relate both ends of the spectrum.
The strength of the charge has alot to do with the twist of the barrel. I have a .45 barrel with a 1 in 60 twist that will not shoot well until I got to 60 grains of FFG BP.
I have a .50 barrelwith a 1 in 56 twist that will shoot great with 43 grains of FFFG BP. My sons .45 TC, 1 in 48 twist will shoot well with 35 grains of FFFG BP.
The faster the twist, the less charge it will take to stabilze your round ball projectile. Each rifle will find its own load if you are dilegent and patient. For me, that's half the fun of BP shooting and a darn good reason to step out to the range.
OOps! Just found something that looks like it would make some good patch material, the fun has begun again. :m2c: :thanks: :m2c:

 

[faw3]

Dont know how I did this mess up put my lines for this on the lidu powder page its just a bad day ? :front:

 

[hobbles]

Slamfire
"I guess all them animules killed with a .44-40 were weaklings"

and my 30/30 does a good job,, 60 gns should be 0k,, huh ??
I am goin to try 75 then 70 then 65,, but if I can't get the POI as close asI can with the 60 gns, I will try 60 on the deer,,,
60 still kicks good,
Boys,, I have no idea why I am fightin this so hard, deep down inside,I really think 60 will go thru a deer at 75 yards, I >think<

 

[Rebel]

"Boys,, I have no idea why I am fightin this so hard, deep down inside,I really think 60 will go thru a deer at 75 yards, I >think<"

Depends on the shot and where you hit the deer. If you hit a shoulder blade or other large bone, you may not get a pass through.

 

[hobbles]

Rebel
If you hit a shoulder blade or other large bone, you may not get a pass through.

I bet that is what's botherin me,, I know something is,,,

 

[Rebel]

Hobbies, you don't need minute of angle accuracy to hunt with. Just so you are able to keep all your shots in the kill zone at the range you hunt, which for me is normally under 75 yds, and more frequently under 40yds. 3-4 inch groups are acceptable as long as you place the shot right, so i would try a little more powder for that added velocity and energy. :imo:

 

[roundball]

Rebel
If you hit a shoulder blade or other large bone, you may not get a pass through.

I bet that is what's botherin me,, I know something is,,,

Hobbles...don't know if you're aware of this or not, but the published load data range for a .50cal round ball is 50 to 110grns 2F.

60grns is pretty much an entry level/target plinking load...I use 60grns in my .50cal for weekend plinking coke cans at the range.

Full power hunting loads are plenty accurate...if yours are not, usually the selection of a thick strong pillow ticking patch plus an Oxyoke wonderwad produce outstanding results with full power loads

:m2c:

 

[hobbles]

yep, you guys are right,, I need a target load,,, and a huntin load,

 

[hobbles]

maybe

 

[Rebel]

Definately ::

 

[Bob J]

Hobbles -
I remember Stumpy (and probably others)said something to the effect of "sight it in for your hunting load and then see where your lighter load hits at a given range". Example; My .54 GPR is sighted in 2" high at 50 yards with 100 grains 3f. 60 grains is smack on at 25 yards. Thus I have a full throttle, accurate (4 holes touching) hunting load, and a small game/offhand practice load. :m2c:

 

[Runner]

I target shoot with my hunting load. Sometimes I back off 10 grains. I shot two deer with 70 grain loads year before last. Both were pass thru's and one was out of a DeerHunter flintlock with a little short barrel at 60 yards on a good sized buck. There is little kick. The only reason I would go lower would be if the gun was more accurate with squib loads. Tomorrow I will be shooting 70 grains or 3f under a 495 patched with Wally World pillow ticking. The gun is sighted at 35 yards. I don't have to change anything out to about 120 yards. No hold over or bumping the load for long shots. Simple is almost always better in my opinion.

 

[Keith]

Hobbles, your groups look adequate for deer hunting. Actually the 95 gr. load looks great 3 shots in one hole. Might want to work around that load load try a little more and little less powder, change lubes. The big thing with a hunting load, after being realistic about what you need and your skills is to be confident in the load. :imo:

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I use one load in my guns. I work each load up carefully for best accuracy but with an eye to stooping power. For example, my .54 caliber Hawken likes a .530 ball wrapped up in a .015 patch over 110 grains of GOEX ffg. That is my hunting load. It also is my target load. I know where the ball will be because I only have the one load to memorize. I find this to be a comfortable load to shoot, and often fire 30 or 40 shots in a morning with this rifle. "Course the rifle weighs nearly 10 lbs., and that soaks up a lot of recoil.

 

[hobbles]

Keith
"is to be confident in the load. "

That's it in a nutshell,, I shoot 3 times a week and it gets hard on VA disability, I'm still tryin to finish my habitat so I am tryin to keep my load down to only what I >need<, With the 3 sight's I have on my weapon it is a son-of-a-gun to sight in,, but with the nose touch on it and the sights, I am amazed at how accurate this darn thing is, (after gettin all the help from you boys,, My weapon has come a LONG way in the 4 months I have been buggin all you guys) When I first came here I put the POI right in the middle of the X, perfectly center,,, on the target NEXT to the one I was aimin at,,, boys,, I needed help, I came from doin that to where I AM hittin the 2 inch circle at 50 yards, steadily,, And that show's by the targets I have been postin in the 4 months ,, So if anyone wants to know how good this board is,, you can show em !!! And it's you boys that did it,, and I know it,,, ( I'd leave out all the pickin on me you all did though)
This all started by me findin roundballs post on another board and made me buy a new 1 in 66 twist barrel,,
and now that I am on the subject,, roundball,, I found your picture in the catalog and hung it up in my cabin,, and ya know what,,, all the mice left,,,

 

[Bob J]

ghost

95 grns are 0k, I could try 100 but I don't want to,, yet,, The 85 and 80 don't seem to cut it,, The 60 does and I like it,,

Hobbles, an experienced longriflemaker (apprenticed under Gusler) told me that a barrel will often like two loads. My brother, an engineer, said that it has to do with "wave frequencies" in the barrel as the ball exits the muzzle. Your targets are showing this :imo:
At 60 grains you are obviously hitting "sweet spot". By 80 grains the group has opened up. At 85 grains its starting to tighten up a little....95 grains good again. You might try 100, if its within recommended load for your gun.

If it lijked the 80, I'd sugest using that for target and hunting. But looking at those targets, imo: use the 95 -100 grain load for hunting (as long as its within recommended load for your rifle)and the 60 grain for practice.

 

[roundball]

Keith
"is to be confident in the load. "

That's it in a nutshell,, I shoot 3 times a week and it gets hard on VA disability, I'm still tryin to finish my habitat so I am tryin to keep my load down to only what I >need<, With the 3 sight's I have on my weapon it is a son-of-a-gun to sight in,, but with the nose touch on it and the sights, I am amazed at how accurate this darn thing is, (after gettin all the help from you boys,, My weapon has come a LONG way in the 4 months I have been buggin all you guys) When I first came here I put the POI right in the middle of the X, perfectly center,,, on the target NEXT to the one I was aimin at,,, boys,, I needed help, I came from doin that to where I AM hittin the 2 inch circle at 50 yards, steadily,, And that show's by the targets I have been postin in the 4 months ,, So if anyone wants to know how good this board is,, you can show em !!! And it's you boys that did it,, and I know it,,, ( I'd leave out all the pickin on me you all did though)
This all started by me findin roundballs post on another board and made me buy a new 1 in 66 twist barrel,,
and now that I am on the subject,, roundball,, I found your picture in the catalog and hung it up in my cabin,, and ya know what,,, all the mice left,,,

Little ole TC Hawkens Flintlocks get it done for sure
:redthumb: