Patched round ball accuracy

Maxi ball loads specify the use of maxilub as a lubricant. Both types of projectiles can be quite accurate if fired from the proper barrel. This was a complete pass through, bangflop kill with 60 grains of 3f black powder and a patched round ball. For me, round ball loads tend to shoot higher than point of aim in a revolver and lower than point of aim from a rifle. The number of grooves was also greater than the riflings for conical bullets. Patched round ball accuracy the firing line forums. In detail it is specific to the actual bore size, which could be a true 0. The easiest method to choose the right patch for your round ball rifle. Despite this fact, fast twist barrels will shoot round balls accurately.

It could not be counted on to shoot conicals accurately so i shot patched round balls. We load one of our precision long rifles with a patched round ball. In a good rifle with the proper twist rate classically 1 turn in 66 and somewhat slower in bores larger than. You can but the rifling twist will not be the best for accuracy. These can be very accurate if you take time to work up a load for your rifle.

Ive taken a lot of game at the 200yard mark with muzzleloaders. The offhand shooting i mentioned above was done using this loading, and i was impressed with the accuracy. They key is an accurate rifle and the right bullet. Ff powder, pillow ticking patchbore butter, from a deer. Muzzleloader round ball shooters trap shooters forum. A lot a people say the tighter the more accurate but for hunting i would. Serious target competitors commonly load with a ball thats just.

Most fast twist guns have shallower grooves than are usually seen with slow twist rifles primarily meant to shoot round balls. Get better accuracy from your gun, a test to eliminate those pesky fliers. For deer, the round ball is imho, a terrible choice. I was honestly surprised at the accuracy achieved with this rifle. Shooting for small game west virginia wildlife magazine. I have friends who shoot those with 2022 thick patches and they can be very accurate in some rifles. When checking for the patch thickness i felt best suited for shooting this rifledmusket with a patched round ball, i chose to load what was widely considered as the standard service powder charge for most. This gives more consistent velocity to the load, and protects the patch around the ball from being burned, which in turn protects the ball from being melted or cut. The patch round ball challenge long range hunting forum.

That ball isnt made for big game all the typical brain washed fubar where some think you need plastic, ss, scoped and high priced pretty shaped bullets in. But, the accuracy of a rifle compared to a musket is, or should be, much better. If the rifling twist is 124 or 148 it aint gonna group round balls real good, 166 or 172 is a better fit for roundballs. Jake and i discuss ball diameter, patch thickness and patch lube. Precision made from special tightly woven cotton, to insure uniformity. Obviously you can shoot a bare ball but accuracy and velocity will suffer as the patch serves as a gas seal. I suggest that you stay with conical bullets with the twist rates that you mention.

You lay the patch material across the bore,seat the ball flush with the muzzle,then slice off the excess patch material with a sharp patch knife. I shoot a 50 cal flintlock tennessee mountain rifle. I loaded it just like a shot load with a hard card wad then a cushion wad with the patched round ball on top. There are a number of different patch and ball combinations but in my experience, mostly with mu. Loading the plr or muzzleloader with a patched round ball. I accept no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or lack thereof of the following load information.

Just sitting here musing about a weekend of shooting a new reproduction rifle. I recently post a question about the accuracy of my armi sport 1853 with round balls. By toby bridges, north american muzzleloader hunting muzzleloaders have certainly come a long way in a few years. The gunsmithes of old times knew what the differences were.

Then use your short starter,and push the ball home. Constant thickness, weave, diameter, weight and thread count help eliminate these variables from your shooting. Normally a rate of twist for a patched round ball if memory serves which, it hardly ever does any more would be something like a 1 in 70. I have shot a patched round ball out of a muzzle loading double barreled shotgun with good results. And the smoother, rounder surface assures better rotation and consistency. The original gunsmiths first making patched round ball rifles determined that 1.

Because it is such a tight fit, i run a wet patch and a dry patch after every shot. Zouavemusketrb north american muzzleloader hunting. Burnt or cut patches will have a detremental effect on accuracy. How in the world did some of our countrys patriots, in the late 1700s and early 1800s, make reliable head and chest shots on british officers at 200 to 300 yards using patched ball rifles, thus, cutting the snakes head off, as it were. You may have to try a couple of different thickness sizes to get best accuracy. Just wondering what everybodys best accuracy load is for a hawken rifle using a regular 50 caliber round ball with 1. Round balls in fast twist rifles white muzzle loading. I still havent really found my best loading for accuracy, but it seems to be around 4050 grains of triple 7, under a. I shoot patched round ball with 3fg goex in my 50 caliber rifles.

Precision shooting patches for round ball track of the wolf. Accuracy is great and it dont seem to make much difference what i use as far as a powder charge is concerned, the groups remain good, just depends on how far i. Here are the steps i follow in loading every shot, every season, every circumstance with all my muzzleloaders. I chose to start with patched round balls to get a feel for the rifle before. A 30 gr load that is great for small game at close range, a 70 gr 1450 fps load that is fun for roaming around and stump shooting and the 95 gr load i hunt with. Please note that what patch thickness you use will also play a part in what ball size to use. Im gonna do a ladder test from like 60g of 777 to 90g of 777 2f. It would compact under the patched ball driven down on top of it, sealing the powder away from the patch and ball. It was shot with my 1861 zimmer springfield rifled musket using patched round ball. The patching material is the key to be accurate with a round ball load. A good patch is made of good quality, dense natural material.

With 6070 grains of powder it took an evilly tight patch and ball combo that was heck to load to get reasonable accuracy. I even tried backing my powder down to 50 grains with the same results. What distance do you sight in and what grouping do you get with your chosen load. Bumping a round ball to the proper diameter is the only way to get any accuracy. Pyrodex powder, i forget what i bought last time but it. Several side hammer round ball guns are available in. Smoothbore patched round ball accuracy this is my first post, so dont laugh too hard when i write something that doesnt make sense. Thanks to the advanced primer ignition systems that form the heart of todays inline rifle designs, shooters and hunters have come to accept 2,000 fps muzzle velocities and 200yard realworld effectiveness as the new norm. Dont even think of going over 75 yards with that ballistic gnome, the round ball.

Muzzle loading rifles are spooky accurate with patched round balls if you take the time to experiment and work up your load. Most inlines have something along the order of 1 in 28 and the best rond ball barrels are around 1 in 60 or thereabouts. Round balls do not retain energy well over long distances and are not flexible options for a wide variety of game and shooting conditions. Roundballs are versatile projectiles, they are capable of remarkable accuracy. Patched round ball gun and game the friendliest gun. The rifling stabilizes the ball in flight, and with a rifle you can hit a. This evening i skinned and quartered the carcass of the. Round ball loads specify tc patch material lubricated with tc no. I generally save the patched balls for new shooters not hunting loads. Round balls exhibit excellent characteristics of shocking effect, expansion and accuracy.

Out of a quality bore, a properly loaded patched round ball can prove deadly accurate at the ranges it was truly intended for and that is 25 to 50 yards. Pure lead patched round balls will meet all of these standards within limited ranges. Offered as dry, oiled, wonderlubed, or premium lubed on select sizes. Accuracy for me is to hit a golf ball at 100 yards off a benchrest all day long. If it is a new barrel it could very well have sharp edges or burrs on the rifling, and these will smooth out after about 100 shots or so.