Zeroing a .40 with RB

[brazosland]

Have a new to me .40 cal Lancaster style contemporary gun.

My current round ball guns are all .54 and .62, so this is my first small bore.

For hunting use I normally zero at 75 yards. This puts me a couple inches high at 50 and a couple more low at 100. That works.

But how do you all zero your 40’s? What does your trajectory look like? Would a 30 or 40 yard zero be more useful if the 40 is a flatter shooting ball?

I can see me shooting some of our small Texas deer with this gun, and hogs as well. Those shots can be kept under 75 yards which I think is well within the .40 balls capabilities with a 50/60 grain load.

Interested in anyone’s experiences.

 

[brazosland]

A pic. No name for her yet. Had to make a new ramrod and deal with some other minor issues including installing a new front sight. It’s not filed down yet and is German Silver to match the rest of the guns furniture.

 

[jdw276]

Oh my. Beautiful. Sorry can't help with the sight in.

 

[Art Caputo]

I shoot both a 40 cal and 50 cal. I zero both at 50 yards. At 25 yards either will Impact less the .25” high. Both zero at 50 yards. At 75 yards the 50 will be about 2” low, the 40 about 2.5” low. At 100, the 50 is 5” low, the 40, 6” low. Both are running the same velocity, approx 1600FPS. The 40 impacts lower because of the lower G1 Ballistic Coefficient. .05 vs .07. The lower weight spree will not carry the speed that the heavier 50 cal ball carries. To match the drop values of the 50 cal I would have to run the 40 cal 150-200 FPS faster. I found that I lost accuracy when I pushed the 40 this fast.

 

[brazosland]

Thank you Art. What powder and load do you use?

 

[Art Caputo]

I use a .395 RB, 50gr of FFFG, .015 patch with mink oil. This is my most accurate load.

 

[Tom Compton]

Good looking rifle.
My load is 50 gr FFg .395 ball and .018 patch for 25 and 50 yards. 75 gr puts it on at 100 and gives a little more velocity. Easy to hold 2-3” low for a 50 ya shot.

 

[brazosland]

Interesting afternoon! 50 grains of 3F under a .395 ball with a .010 patch was putting balls within an inch at 50 yards.

This really surprised me since I was shooting off a tripod (my range is behind the house) just to get a feel for the windage on the sights...so, not the most stable position. Secondly, I was ALMOST able to thumb start that load. Just needed a soft rap with my knife to get it going and then it loaded easily. Never expected that with what I think is a loose patch/ball load.

Don’t have any thinker patches in this size, but am going to cut some down tonight.

If I stay with this load...could I put a card or wad under the ball to protect the patch from burn through with hotter loads? I want to try 70 grains...

Would a card help? Or maybe a felt wad like you use in revolvers? Got a bunch of those...

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

A .40, so loaded with a healthy charge, will end a whitetail rightly provided the huntist shoot the game at not too far a distance and with best accuracy.

 

[Eterry]

Interesting afternoon! 50 grains of 3F under a .395 ball with a .010 patch was putting balls within an inch at 50 yards.

This really surprised me since I was shooting off a tripod (my range is behind the house) just to get a feel for the windage on the sights...so, not the most stable position. Secondly, I was ALMOST able to thumb start that load. Just needed a soft rap with my knife to get it going and then it loaded easily. Never expected that with what I think is a loose patch/ball load.

Don’t have any thinker patches in this size, but am going to cut some down tonight.

If I stay with this load...could I put a card or wad under the ball to protect the patch from burn through with hotter loads? I want to try 70 grains...

Would a card help? Or maybe a felt wad like you use in revolvers? Got a bunch of those...

Thats a nice looking flinter, I really like the recessed muzzle and single trigger. I too like to sight dead on at 75 yards for my 45, 50, and 58cal.
I'm trying to get my 40 flint to use a 20 grain load of fffg for small game, should have around 1100fps, then up it to 40 or 50 grains fffg for bigger critters. I'm hoping holding a "fine bead" with light loads and full bead with heavier loads will work.

According to Lyman's manual 70grs fffg will get you 2150fps...that's sizzling along nicely.

I also have loaded my 197gr REAL conicals with 60 grs fffg, that load has great potential and should knock the stuffing out of a rooter, but I haven't ran them over a chrono screen.

 

[Mulebrain]

I run 40 grains fff, and .390 ball in my forty. 42" barrel, and run the same charge out to 100yds

 

[Buckskinn]

Be interesting to see if you keep that accuracy with 70 gr and that loose of ball.

 

[brazosland]

Be interesting to see if you keep that accuracy with 70 gr and that loose of ball.

Yep. That’s why I was asking about a card or a wad. I am going to try it benched at 75 next to see what I get. This rifle may get coned, I like not having to use a short starter. This may get addictive...

And even more expensive.

 

[Grenadier1758]

The card or wad most likely won't hurt anything. The cards provide a buffer between the charge and the patched ball. In some cases this will prevent burn through.

What size is the wad?

If you have the cards or wads, give it a try.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Coning will allow a tight patch and ball combo to be loaded without the use of a short starter. Once you try it, it’s hard to go back. My “wooden gear shifter” is history!

 

[brazosland]

The card or wad most likely won't hurt anything. The cards provide a buffer between the charge and the patched ball. In some cases this will prevent burn through.

What size is the wad?

If you have the cards or wads, give it a try.

The lubed felt wads I have are .44’s. Should work.

During hunting season I always load a paper-wasp nest over my powder and under my patched ball to keep the powder away from the lube since the rifle can stay loaded for an extended period. Will be trying that also. My friends think I am a bit odd since I am always pulling them down and putting them in my pockets...more right than they know.

 

[olskool]

in mine I use .018 ticking with 40-55 gr. of 3f goex ol eynsford and a 395 ball. I soak ticking in ballistol and let dry then spit patch to load, it is super accurate, especially with 40gr. I zeroed it at 50yds. most of my deer hunting is between 50-100 max.

 

[nhmoose]

I cannot see a squirrels head at 50 yards so I sight my .40 at 25-30 yards. Deer have big X-rings so it works for me.

 

[nchawkeye]

I sight in dead on at 25 yards with 30grs FFF Goex for squirrels...It hits dead on at 50 yards with 60grs FFF...

Beautiful gun, excellent curl...

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Interesting afternoon! 50 grains of 3F under a .395 ball with a .010 patch was putting balls within an inch at 50 yards.

This really surprised me ..., Just needed a soft rap with my knife to get it going and then it loaded easily. Never expected that with what I think is a loose patch/ball load.

Don’t have any thinker patches in this size, but am going to cut some down tonight.

If I stay with this load...could I put a card or wad under the ball to protect the patch from burn through with hotter loads? I want to try 70 grains...

Would a card help? Or maybe a felt wad like you use in revolvers? Got a bunch of those...

Well first, there are a couple old rules that often work well.
One is that you start with powder in grains equal to your caliber. So that would be 40 grains, and work upwards and downwards in increments of 5 grains to find the most accurate load.

Another is you take the weight in grains of the ball, and divide by 3 and round to the nearest 5, and you should be close to the optimal load for accuracy and hunting. In your case that would be a 92 grain ball, so divided by 3 gives you 30.66_ which means you should be close to 30 grains of 3Fg when you find the most accurate load. Might be 25, might be 40...give or take.

For my .40 the best load was indeed 30 grains. Works fine for small game. For my state's regulations for deer, I have to use a minimum of 60 grains of powder, so that's easy for me, I just double the powder load, if I go for deer.

I think trying to push that small ball much beyond that powder load is not going to get me much if any advantages.

Would a card or wad help? Well I don't think it will hurt, and it might help a great deal. Some of the folks that I know that love the .40 load 10 grains of corn meal on top of the powder charge as a buffer between the powder and patched ball.

I think trying to push that ball past 75 yards is a bit much, even with a whopping large (for the caliber) powder load. My load is pushing my .390 ball about 1900 fps with 60 grains, which should get-'er-done for me at 50 yards on a deer, and 30 grains gives that ball to the squirrels and rabbits at about 1300 fps.

LD