Your .40 loads

[Flintlock_bob]

I just picked up a .40 flinter so looking for ball patch powder combo recommendations. While talking to the guy at the shop he said he had been at the range with his .40 and using his usual 3f loads, after all 3f is what you use in a .40 right :grin: He ran out of 3f and decided to try some 2f. He found the gun loved it and he shot the best groups ever, so now he has a new favorite load.

So how many of you have compared 3f to 2f in a .40? What is your go to load?

 

[wattlebuster]

I couldnt tell much difference between 2 an 3f though the crack was a tad more sharp with the 3f. The load for my Mike Brooks 40 is 40 gn of 3f pushing a 380 ball wrapped in a good thick piece of 020 piece of pillowtick lubed with beargrease

 

[Larry Akers]

Not a lot of difference between 2F and 3F. The 3F shoots cleaner. My load is 50 gr. 3F, .395 ball, .015 denim patch w/neatsfoot oil lube.

 

[Tom Compton]

.395 ball .025 denim w MAP lube (Murphy Oil soap/92% Alcohol/ 5% hydrogen Peroxide) and 50 gr Goex FFg for 25-50 yard targets. Increase to 75 gr FFg for 100 yards. That's a Douglas barrel 1:66 twist and .010 grooves iirc.
TC

Ps my touch hole is 1/16" and prime w 4F

 

[hanshi]

Best accuracy for my .40 has come with a .390" ball, .022" mattress ticking lubed with monk oil and 40 grains and 60 grains of 3F. After studying the chronograph results of these two loads, I will try 55 grains in place of 60 grns and check the figures again.

 

[Flintlock_bob]

.395 ball .025 denim w MAP lube (Murphy Oil soap/92% Alcohol/ 5% hydrogen Peroxide) and 50 gr Goex FFg for 25-50 yard targets. Increase to 75 gr FFg for 100 yards. That's a Douglas barrel 1:66 twist and .010 grooves iirc.
TC

Ps my touch hole is 1/16" and prime w 4F

So how tight is .395 with .025? I have some RB that measure .397/.398, unpatched it will roll into the barrel, but when I tried a 0.010 patch, no powder charge, just seeing what might fit snug, and I couldn't begin to push it in with my thumb.

 

[Tom Compton]

Did a "thumb crown" per Daryl or Brown Bear on here. Pop it in w nubbin on short starter cut the patch then down 4" or so w short start. I wipe between shots but have gone 5 shots then wipe. Just the way I learnt 40+ years ago.

 

[Toomuch51]

In as much as each rifle will like it's own diet, my .40 with a 38" Getz tube and 1:72 twist likes 35gr. of 3f with .400 ball and .017 ticking.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I like .40 grains of 3Fg in mine. By law, for deer I have to use 60 grains, but I have some custom conicals if I was to try for deer with it.

LD

 

[Eric Krewson]

I was shooting 60 gr of 3F, a .390 ball with .15 ticking, shot well but I decided to try 60 gr of 3F and a .400 ball with the same ticking.

Starting the ball took some force then it slid down easily. My groups shrank in half and my point of impact went up 4" at 50 yards. I had to put in a new front sight because I had already filed down my sight for the other load.

I was getting about an inch group at 50 yards with the tight load which I thought was pretty good because I can't see the sights clearly with my 69 year old eyes.

This is out of a Green Mountain 42" barrel with a 1 in 48 twist.

 

[Flintlock_bob]

I see a couple of you are using a .40 ball. Can you thumb that ball into the barrel without a patch? Looking through my collection I found a .397 ball that will roll into the barrel but a .40 would have to be driven in without a patch. Just trying to figure out where that patch material goes when the ball is the same diameter as the barrel without getting cut up or needing a mallet to drive it down?

 

[hanshi]

Bob, most of it will compress into the grooves. Generally, in my experience, the tighter the load the more accurate the load. Also tighter loads can increase velocity significantly.

 

[hanshi]

I also relieved the crowns on three rifles and polished them. It does help with loading tighter combos. Interestingly, my .50 Rice rb barrel with .016" grooves hasn't been polished but will handle .025" denim patches nicely.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Just trying to figure out

That can only be done on the shooting range.
The computer can only point you to a starting point for your testing and learning.

 

[Heelerau]

My load is 35 grains of FFFg, 395 ball and 015 spit patch, although sometimes us mink oil.

 

[Einsiedler]

Always enjoy finding the spent ball in critters.

.395 RB driven by 50 grains FFFG. .016 tick patch


Removed from fair sized porcine creatures.

 

[azmntman]

:shocked2: a damaging impact!

 

[Einsiedler]

:shocked2: a damaging impact!

They died

We dined

 

[Toomuch51]

I see a couple of you are using a .40 ball. Can you thumb that ball into the barrel without a patch? Looking through my collection I found a .397 ball that will roll into the barrel but a .40 would have to be driven in without a patch.

You would have to mic the bore as all bores will not mic out to an exact .400, there can be a varience of as much as .005 or more either way depending on barrel manufacturer and wear (not to mention wear on the boreing and rifling tools used by the same manufacturer).

 

[Kapow]

In my experience the tighter the loads, the quicker I'll break that skinny ramrod!

I use 40gn FFFg and 0.010 cotton spit patch with a buffer patch between powder and 0.395 ball. Without the buffer patch accuracy is terrible.