My first post attempt:
I recently inherited my father’s T/C Hawken .45 cal and preparing for a Montana primitive elk hunt this fall. I have a drop in 54 cal 1:48, and a Green Mountain .50 cal 1:28. I am in the research stage and educating myself on muzzleloader information.
I have been lurking on several forums and recently bought the Dutch Schultz “Black Powder Accuracy” book. Watched all the Idaho Lewis and Idaho Ron videos on YouTube and learning something new everyday.
My focus and quest for education is now on traditional muzzle loading. There is a lot of information and opinions out there and good and bad sources of information and advice.
There are several online calculators that can be located by a browser search. Can enter in variables and get a theoretical idea of ballistics, recoil, barrel twist rate and potential stability.
For example, a .62 cal barrel with a fast twist sounds interesting, fun and unique for shooting a 600-700 grain conical. That is until you realize that the expected recoil at just 1200 fps is over 45 ft lbs. Kinda takes the fun factor out of it.
We can use posted info and other’s results as a guideline, but need to exercise a great deal of caution.
I read most but not all the pages on percussion cap availability….
There is a lot of information to be gleaned from the various sources and experiences from trusted forum members.
The calculators don’t consider, bullet and barrel dimensions, percussion cap and nipple and breech designs, powder brand and batch variations, patch thickness, or individual’s loading techniques.
Nothing beats real data, starting at lower and safe powder loads, working up an accurate load and a chronograph to verify actual results for your particular barrel, powder and load combination.
I am having a lot of fun in the process.
I recently inherited my father’s T/C Hawken .45 cal and preparing for a Montana primitive elk hunt this fall. I have a drop in 54 cal 1:48, and a Green Mountain .50 cal 1:28. I am in the research stage and educating myself on muzzleloader information.
I have been lurking on several forums and recently bought the Dutch Schultz “Black Powder Accuracy” book. Watched all the Idaho Lewis and Idaho Ron videos on YouTube and learning something new everyday.
My focus and quest for education is now on traditional muzzle loading. There is a lot of information and opinions out there and good and bad sources of information and advice.
There are several online calculators that can be located by a browser search. Can enter in variables and get a theoretical idea of ballistics, recoil, barrel twist rate and potential stability.
For example, a .62 cal barrel with a fast twist sounds interesting, fun and unique for shooting a 600-700 grain conical. That is until you realize that the expected recoil at just 1200 fps is over 45 ft lbs. Kinda takes the fun factor out of it.
We can use posted info and other’s results as a guideline, but need to exercise a great deal of caution.
I read most but not all the pages on percussion cap availability….
There is a lot of information to be gleaned from the various sources and experiences from trusted forum members.
The calculators don’t consider, bullet and barrel dimensions, percussion cap and nipple and breech designs, powder brand and batch variations, patch thickness, or individual’s loading techniques.
Nothing beats real data, starting at lower and safe powder loads, working up an accurate load and a chronograph to verify actual results for your particular barrel, powder and load combination.
I am having a lot of fun in the process.
