It all depends on the gun and general range you will be hunting in, i use in most of thecap lock guns 75 80 grains of 3f goex and a 320 grain lead maxihunter bullet or a patched round ball. The original gunsmiths first making patched round ball rifles. Shot a lot of matches and killed a lot of game with this load. Grains listed after projectile type represent bullet weight. A 50 round ball and 80 to 90grs of powder is plenty for black bear. Midsouth carries everything from the muzzleloader, rifle, or pistol you want, to the black powder, sabots, lead balls, and bullets that go in it, in stock and for sale, from great brand like lyman. You have to decide on black powder or synthetic powder and the bullet or ball you. Midsouth carries everything from the muzzleloader, rifle, or pistol you want, to the black powder, sabots, lead balls, and bullets that go in it, in stock and for sale, from great brand like lyman, cva, traditions, tc, pyrodex, blackhorn 209, and many more. I have taken deer with both but never studied the numbers on these. A good patch is made of good quality, dense natural material. My wife and i shot some informal muzzle loader competition many years ago with 50 cal.
Remember that a round ball slows at 100 yards to about 5060% of its muzzle velocity. The 5 calibers to claim the most powerful handgun in the world title reupload duration. His conclusion was in favor of the 50 caliber round ball, if it was shot at maximum loads, 110. For deer, the round ball is imho, a terrible choice. It was by far the most accurate load in that gun, and while labeled light by a lot of guys, it killed with alacrity.
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. Typically, loads of about 55 grains of ffg and a patched round ball are about right in. This is a very good starting and accuracy load for the. Loaded with 45 and 50 grains it starts to approach the power of a lightend. I have the hots to play with roundball loads in 45 70. The barrel on this gun is stamped thompson and 45 caliber, i need to know what size round ball this thing is likely to accept most readily along with the patch thickness.
This ballistics calculator is a computer simulation which analyzes the behavior of a round ball in its flight from the muzzle to the target. You can buy good quality patches in your local blackpowder shop, but you can also make your own. Traditionalmldata1 north american muzzleloader hunting. Has anyone used a 45 round ball for deer and if so what range. After that, there seems to be just not enoughspin to get good enough accuracy. It seems ok, but kicks a bit, and i just wondered what yall thought. Not much has been written recently about the effectiveness of round ball loads on deer and larger game. Muzzleloader round balls lead round balls for sale. It might be helpful to know what rifling twist your rifle has, to determine whether a prb patched round ball or a conical would work best in your rifle. Most modern day american round ball shooting is done with. The easiest method to choose the right patch for your round. My experience is that most frontstuffer patched ball loads will shoot ok out to no more than 100 yards, but, at more extended distances, will really go wild.
My jackrabbit load is now 30 grains of alliant mz over a thin patched round ball seems good out to 50 60 yards. Serious target competitors commonly load with a ball thats just. Personally, i dont see how that is possible with the tight fit that my roundball has in my particular muzzleloader. Now im not sure if the patch gets spun off the ball or if patch and ball just skims the rifling but either way a round ball wont shoot for squat out of a fast twist barrel unless you cut the powder down to an absolute minimum which makes it impractical for most purposes.
Loaded with 35 to 40 grains it rivals the modern 9mm and. I used to have the same rifle, and my fun load was a. Pyrodex powder, i forget what i bought last time but it. The easiest method to choose the right patch for your round ball rifle. I agree with most everything ive read so far, but if youre just punching paper or rolling cans, 50 gr. Single ball loads single round balls can be loaded in almost any caliber without much fuss and bother with good results.
It just appeals to my ocd to have perfectly round patches ready to go that i can make in quantity anytime. The problem is my experience with guns that take a patched round ball is nonexistant so i need some education. 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. Not much has been written recently about the effectiveness of roundball loads on deer and larger game. For the tc maxiball, i shoot 90 grains of ffg or substitute. Round ball accuracy at 50 yards in a modern inline. Fyi my rifleis of the modern, inline type, an hr1871 huntsman, with a. For me, round ball guns are best considered 100 yard guns for deer. In that case you may want to look at rifle with a false muzzle, one of my rifles has one a. My first rifle was a 45 cal lancaster county flintlock that i cast balls for 60 years go when i was 7. Cant, wont, can dos and a surprise or two by randy d. Hey guys, i made a patch cutter from a number 11 cap tin. I settled on a 60 gr ffg load in my 50 cal a long time ago. Jun 05, 2014 i currently have a hawken style muzzle loader in.
Patched round ball gun and game the friendliest gun. Minimum deerkilling muzzleloading loads for young and small. Round balls in fast twist rifles white muzzle loading. Round ball loads i became interested in round ball loads and multiple round ball loads several years ago and experimented with them off an on for about a year in both rifles and revolvers. They didnt firmlyhold thesame undersizeroundballs that weredesignedto be cloth patched much if at all. In other words an equal amount of powder especially for target shooting. Because of a broken hand, ive not gotten a chance to go out and shoot the patches yet. I was reminded of this fact last month when i used an original.
Round balls are effective on close range big game animals. He said the round ball can move forward, causing an air gap. Maxiball loads specify the use of maxilub as a lubricant. My 50 cal 24 bbl sidelock has killed four deer with patched round ball, from about 15 yards to around 85 yards. Also, traditional muzzleloader only shooting orgnizations generally require the use of patched round ball only during official muzzleloading target competition. Muzzleloader wads, rifle wads, cap and ball pistol wads and. I have used 50, 62 and 69 round balls in the past but the 45 would be new for me. Minimum deerkilling muzzleloading loads for young and. For your round ball needs these 100% lead casted round balls come in. Remember that a round ball slows at 100 yards to about 50 60% of its muzzle velocity.
The patching material is the key to be accurate with a round ball load. Muzzleloader wads, rifle wads, cap and ball pistol wads. What is a good deer load for a 45 cal muzzleloader answers. Made in the usa by october country, a manufacturer of muzzleloading supplies. I started black powder hunting in new york almost 40 years ago and when they first started a muzzle load only dear season it was all primitive period only iron sights and patched round ball only that was when i found that finding the right load was very much part of the fun of building and shooting front stuffers and i have stayed with the traditional style and dont see a reason to.
My forty ball shooter has taken many deer with 65grs. How many grains of gunpowder should i load in my tc 50 cal. Shot loads and snake loads can be loaded in revolvers using wool wads. Maxi ball loads specify the use of maxilub as a lubricant. For now i am using my 4570 that i have written about in searching. It is no secret and most books and manufacturers recommend the same loads. Loads for muzzleloaders are as varied as the hunters who use them. As i said above but should have mentioned my rifle is a. I am wondering if this is considered too big for 45 caliber and 50 caliber. As i recall as i was working up the load all i got over 60 gr, was more recoil and less accuracy. Light muzzleloader loads for patch and round ball, a lot of ole timers used to tell me that for a patch and round ball all you really need was just enough powder to cover the ball in the palm of your hand. On this page, north american muzzleloader hunting will bring you the loads and ballistics for the. They were the shape and sizesimilar to awonder wadbore button only.
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. Major ferguson of the british army was killed at kings mountain by a 40 ball. Im new to percussion in rifles, but have used a lot of real black powder. Single ball loads single round balls can be loaded in almost any caliber without much.
The lightest projectile in this caliber is a patched round ball. Of the larger bore round ball rifles suitable for taking big game, more have probably been sold in this caliber than any other. Im trying to determine the midrange and point black distances for my. My question is, which is the best size to use considering the lubed patch. Thompson center muzzleloading bullets 50 cal 490 diameter. The 4045cal were the preferred deer round ball in the eastern half of the usa. Round ball loads specify tc patch material lubricated with tc no. Thompson center muzzleloading bullets 50 caliber 490 diameter 175 grain round ball box of 100. Does most people shoot round ball in thompson center. A round ball doesnt touch the rifling itself, the patch does. These were factory speer balls, presumably pure lead.
Would like to find one that with a single round ball 457,that would exit the tube at minimum vol without sticking in the bbl, and also one that would zip along above fps or so. Still, velocities are low enough that range will be limited. Bumping a round ball to the proper diameter is the only way to get any accuracy from them. Back when i shot my old renegade still got it too it didnt seem to like the heavy loads and the groups would spread. But the following loads, or recipes, are proven setups by frontstuffing hunters who swear they are deadly on whitetail deer. The easiest method to choose the right patch for your. Oct 05, 2009 i settled on a 60 gr ffg load in my 50 cal a long time ago. We went out with stinking, dirty, black powder, patched round lead balls, and tiny.
I shoot a round ball out of my 4570 for gallery loads, and small game. If youre interested in hunting with muzzleloading rifles you have, no doubt, read the ads espousing the extreme performance capabilities of the high velocity. A round ball is unique among projectiles in that its ballistic characteristics are solely dependant upon its diameter unless its made of something other than lead. Douglas barrel at 50 yards it will shoot 5 shots into a inch. Apr 30, 2008 how to load a round ball into a muzzleloader. Does most people shoot round ball in thompson center hawkens. Youll have to play around some to get the best load for your rifle. What distance do you sight in and what grouping do you get with your chosen load. These lowvelocity loads shoot very accurately out to 75 yards and are effective on turkeys. Loaded with a light 28 grain load and a round ball, it rivals a modern. These were mostly in traditional style guns including the pennsylvania and kentucky rifles, in thompsoncenter arms hawken and senica as well as the mowrey, which used a brass frame. If you have a 148 twist youll likely find your best accuracy between 50 and 80 grs.
If you keep to ethical range with muzzleloader and round balls 510 grains isnt going to make a difference. The problem with such heavy loads is that few shooters will put up with them. Dec 25, 2010 the lightest projectile in this caliber is a patched round ball. The load he used is 80 grains of shockley fffg and a patched round ball of about 175 grains.
584 621 354 1223 636 99 75 813 389 1284 470 1190 1020 395 314 626 1101 550 1013 1527 460 299 316 1391 218 826 50 686 452 1334 1450 162 80 164 860 1072