Update on .62 rifle charge

[pamtnman]

Turns out when I got to a proper range and shot carefully, the .62 rifle needs 115 grains FFG Swiss at 100 yards.
It’s a .605” 335-grain round ball.
Based on suggestions from guys here, I bought two types of pure linen cloth at JoAnn’s, and found that the .008” tight weave is perfect when doubled over on itself.

 

[pamtnman]

 

[pamtnman]

The 100 yard target at Little Pine says it all. The 115 grain charge keeps the 335-grain ball level.

 

[pamtnman]

Finally I want to say that I would not care to shoot a whole lot more powder out of this. With regular hunting clothes, the felt recoil is perfectly fine. But it’s really loud. People at the range called it a cannon.

 

[oldwood]

Used two different .62's Pa. flintlock deer seasons back in the 1990's. The first was a Jager rifle. It was a good deer rifle , but I felt a longer sighting plane would give me more distance/accuracy. Both rifles liked 90 gr. FFG. As I thought , the .62 cal. , with a 38" barrel longrifle , did give a little more distance. The .62 was a great caliber for me , but time goes on and a couple years ago , I downsized back down to a .50. Just couldn't carry a 9 lb .62 cal. rifle any longer. If I still had my youth ,I'd be hunting w/ a .62. A lot of deer went into the freezer with this cal..

 

[pamtnman]

This is my first time owning a .62. Its basic numbers attracted me, and I am excited to carry this afield. That said… It is a LOT of gun. Definitely has a time span to it.

 

[excess650]

Mine only has 28-1/2" of heavily swamped barrel so weighs about 7-1/4#. 2" of buttplate and not much drop helps with felt recoil. My barrel is a Colerain, and I generally shoot a .605" wrapped in .018" pilow ticking. Swiss is a bit more energetic than Goex, so your powder charge is on par with my upper end ffg loads.

A better defined aiming point should make it easier to shoot groups.

 

[pamtnman]

Hey, that’s a six inch diameter orange circle, which might as well be the moon for what my eyes can see at 100 yards. The last two shots are almost touching each other, which is way beyond minute-of-venison accuracy. I’m pleased with the accuracy of this gun. It is more accurate than I can achieve. If I really practice a lot, it will group tightly. But my days of shooting all day are past. Good is good enough for me, and I’m feeling ready for our early season to arrive. That’s a heck of a wallop. People at the range commented how loud the “thwack” was when the ball hit the target.

 

[Jim K]

What range are you shooting at Josh?

 

[pamtnman]

What range are you shooting at Josh?

Good one!

 

[Jim K]

It looks like a good range. Where is it?

 

[gooddy51]

Which range is that?

 

[thompson50]

I understand what you mean, that .62 is a loud gun/cannon to fire. Mine likes 110 grains of 11/2 F Swiss and a 018 pillow ticking and a .610 ball. I have started to use a felt over powder wad. My three shot 100yd group.
Ready for the PA opener

 

[Notchy Bob]

That's some great shooting, and I love that rifle! I think it would be way more than I could handle, but I can enjoy it vicariously.

I appreciate the fact that it is unique but historically accurate. I think "Little Bat" knew what he was doing when he had that Henry rear sight put on what was otherwise a fairly straightforward "Indian rifle."

By far, one of the coolest new rifles I've seen presented on this forum.

Notchy Bob

 

[pamtnman]

That's some great shooting, and I love that rifle! I think it would be way more than I could handle, but I can enjoy it vicariously.

I appreciate the fact that it is unique but historically accurate. I think "Little Bat" knew what he was doing when he had that Henry rear sight put on what was otherwise a fairly straightforward "Indian rifle."

By far, one of the coolest new rifles I've seen presented on this forum.

Notchy Bob

Wow, thank you Notchy Bob! Mark Wheland gets all the credit for the gun. He spent two years plus on it. And yes, it is a lot of gun. It does give an authoritative shove backwards. It’s not brutal or harsh. But you can’t miss it, either. After re-measuring the amount of Swiss FFG I was pouring down the gun’s gullet yesterday, I’d estimate it was between 115 and 120 grains. I was just using the antler multitool as the measure, which has a 110-grain mark on it. The target shows where the one shot with 110 grains went — low. So I just started pouring in “a little bit” more than the 110 grain mark.

 

[pamtnman]

Which range is that?

“The 100 yard target at Little Pine says it all.” This is at Little Pine State Park. They used to have a 200-yard range, now it’s just the 25, 50, and 100 yard ranges. Talking to other shooters there, it sounds like the 200 yard range was dismantled not because it wasn’t used, but because people got frustrated waiting a long time for other shooters to go all the way down to change targets and then all the way back. Quite a hike apparently.
I thought someone was joking about the distance, which I mentioned a bunch of times above, just to make sure people know my cr@ppy grouping was at a real distance from the bench.

 

[pamtnman]

I understand what you mean, that .62 is a loud gun/cannon to fire. Mine likes 110 grains of 11/2 F Swiss and a 018 pillow ticking and a .610 ball. I have started to use a felt over powder wad. My three shot 100yd group.
Ready for the PA opener

Yeeeeaaah buddy, does that gun shoot or what. Great group, great shooting! The felt wad is one solution I considered, but the folding over of the fine linen patch material yesterday seems to have resolved the “blown through” problem I previously had with pillow ticking patches.
I too feel excited about the early season. This will be the first time I have walked into that season with a gun I felt absolutely sure of, regardless of the game. The trigger just needs a tiny bit of work. I’ll get over to Wheland one of these days, and hopefully he can get it just right. I attribute some of the variation in yesterday’s grouping to the “crusty” trigger. It didn’t start out like this, so we have to diagnose what’s going on.

 

[lonedave]

Just to give you a little taste of what awaits you when your season opens, here's a buck I took with my .62 two Sundays ago. .595 ball with 0.15 patch over 90gr of Goex 2f, though the range was only about 25 yards....Oh yeah, I love your rifle!

Not the best shot location, but the ball punched right on through the center of the shoulder with amazingly pretty minimal meat damage.

 

[pamtnman]

Just to give you a little taste of what awaits you when your season opens, here's a buck I took with my .62 two Sundays ago. .595 ball with 0.15 patch over 90gr of Goex 2f, though the range was only about 25 yards....Oh yeah, I love your rifle!
View attachment 98168
Not the best shot location, but the ball punched right on through the center of the shoulder with amazingly pretty minimal meat damage.
View attachment 98169

NICE MULEY, Dave! Congratulations! Thank you for sharing these cool pictures
Update: ok so I studied your picture more closely. Did you sneak into the wind on top of that little bluff, and walk up on this big buck down below?

 

[lonedave]

NICE MULEY, Dave! Congratulations! Thank you for sharing these cool pictures
Update: ok so I studied your picture more closely. Did you sneak into the wind on top of that little bluff, and walk up on this big buck down below?

Here's a picture showing where the buck fell, his bed next to the dark shade center right, and where I sat when I shot him just left of the two bushes and right of the single bush at the top of the outcropping. I spotted him bedding down from about a mile away, but even through my spotting scope, I couldn't tell if he was legaI (must be 3 point or better on one side). I was able to sneak in over him, but was pinned down by a doe and fawn. I sat for over 3 hours waiting for him to stand so I could see more than horns. I managed to not fall asleep and stay aware, so when he stood, I shot. The wind was indeed blowing steadily uphill, which made the wait possible and kept me cool in the direct sunlight! This is your post though and I sure hope you have a great first hunt with your new toy!