What type of bullet to use?

[goody]

I'm just finishing my first gun. The Lyman GPR. 50 Cal. with the 1/60 twist.Looking for accuracy and good knock down power for deer.Central Wisconsin hunting,and were I'm at, 75 yards would be a long shot.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

The PRB will do the job for you. It's all I use.

It's what your barrel twist is made for. :wink:

 

[Mattole]

Like Capper said, patched round ball, which is what the barrel twist is designed for. When you find the patch thickness, lube, and powder charge that your rifle likes, it will be plenty accurate.

From what I understand, there is no such thing as 'knock down' power really. Put a ball into the heart/lung area and your deer will soon be down, and it may even possibly drop on the spot, but it will not be 'knocked down'.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[saber]

only thing for your gun is a patched round Ball with that twist and all are right put the ball were it needs to go and you will have a dead deer

 

[Mattole]

By the way, congratulations on completing your first gun.

Also, if you have any doubt about the lethality of a patched round ball, look at the thread "Flintlock's killing power" in the Flintlock Rifles section here on this forum.

 

[paulvallandigham]

A barrerl with a 1:60 Rate of Twist( ROT) is specifically designed to shoot BALLs, Not Bullets. the R.E.A.L. bullet, a very short "wad-cutter", can shoot reasonably well in such a slow twist barrel, but I have never heard of anyone getting as small a group using that bullet, as the same gun will deliver shooting Patched Round Balls( PRBs).

I suspect that you are also very new to shooting black Powder firearms. Stick with Black Powder, rather than trying to use the substitute powders.

Do some penetration comparison testing with the new gun shooting RBs at some medium of your choice, shooting both target( light) loads, and the powder charge you Think you need for hunting. Then shoot your favorite Modern Deer rifle into the same medium and check on the depth of penetration.

I did this testing almost 30 years ago with my new .50 caliber rifle. With 60 grains of 3Fg powder the PRB went through 6 1-inch boards, spaced and inch apart, and smacked into #7. With 100 grains of 3Fg powder, the PRB went through 5 1-inch boards, and smacked into #7 hard enough that a sliver of lead from the flattened bullet got hung up in a split in the wood. When I touched the piece of lead to look at it, it fell down to the bottom of the box. My .30-06, using a 180 grain Jacketed RNHP bullet- Remington commercial ammo, went through 8 boards, by comparison.

Is that enough penetration to kill a deer? I shot my first deer with that gun and a load of 75 grains of 3Fg powder behind a 175 grain, .490 PRB with a .015 patch lubed with Young Country 101 Lube, at about 40 yards. The ball broke a rib behind her right elbow, entering, completely penetrated the lower lobes of both lungs, and cut some of the major arteries to her heart, before breaking a second rib on her Left side before exiting. She was walking down the side of a steep ravine when I shot her, and she stumbled and staggered down the ravine to the bottom before collapsing dead. She traveled less than 50 yards, and would not have made it that far except that she was heading down that steep incline. Of course, I discovered all the damage to her internal organs when I field dressed the deer. The blood trails, and her tracks through the leaves told the rest of the story.

I don't know how much more dead you can ask for than that. :hmm: :idunno: :surrender:

Congratulations on finishing the kit. Shoot Patched Round Balls in that rifle, learn how to shoot it, and enjoy the rifle. Target load will be around 50 grains- either 2Fg or 3Fg- only the barrel will tell you which size powder it prefers, so test them both. Hunting load can be a bit more, but you can not aim the difference in trajectory that you get using 70 grains of 2Fg vs. 100 grains of 2Fg, using iron sights. If you think you might have a 100 yard shot at a deer where you are hunting, then zero the rifle at either 75 or 100 yards. If zeroed at 75 yards, the ball will strike about 2 inches low at 100 yds, and about 1 inch high at 50 yards. If you zero the gun's sights at 100 yards, you can expect it to shoot 2--3 inches high at 50 yards, 2 inches high at 75 yards, and perhaps an inch high at the shorter range of 25 yards.

Accurate placement of the PRB is more important to a clean kill on deer, than using a heavy bullet, that produces more recoil, and does not shoot as accurately in a barrel with that rate of twist rifling. Learn to shoot open sights, and use a rest when possible to shoot live targets. If you place the ball in the right location, you will make meat. :thumbsup:

 

[hoochiepapa]

Nobody"s said so, but I'd like to see your rifle. Don't worry, we won't pick on you too much. :haha:

 

[goody]

As soon as the barrel is done the pictures will be coming.About a week.

 

[longcruise]

I'll ditto the prb as best choice for your new gun. It might shoot a bullet, but it would be a long and pricey search to find one that would work.

A prb through both lungs will reduce a deer's blood pressure to zero in just a few seconds. Even if it takes off running, it won't go far.

Key here is "both lungs"!

 

[John Wasmuth]

Patched Round Ball.

 

[hawk]

prb should knock 'em down good ,my Pa used 90gr ff in his 50 cal t/c very accurate load in his gun.

good luck in the woods!

 

[goody]

Thanks for pointing me to that forum. I think I'll stay with the RB.

 

[CaptainKirk]

How long have I been telling you this? :yakyak:
Now I feel vindicated! :thumbsup:

 

[goody]

The pictures are in. Go to the Gun Builders Bench.(first gun finished GPR)