50 cal patched round ball loads

Youll have to play around some to get the best load for your rifle. It worked for hundreds of years, and still hasnt stopped. To work up an accurate long range for a ball load, first determine the minimum charge the rifle needs to obturate the ball into a tight patch fit. Minimum deerkilling muzzleloading loads for young and. Round ball loads specify tc patch material lubricated with tc no.

A round ball doesnt touch the rifling itself, the patch does. Thompson center muzzleloading bullets 50 cal 490 diameter. I was invited to attend a competition type shoot this springsummer that is round ball only, i have 3 different stock 1. An old rule of thumb for black powder starting loads using round balls is 1 grain volume per caliber ie. Roundball ammunition casting 50cal lead bullets for the hawken rifle duration. Serious target competitors commonly load with a ball thats just.

The lightest projectile in this caliber is a patched round ball. What distance do you sight in and what grouping do you get with your chosen load. As i recall as i was working up the load all i got over 60 gr, was more recoil and less accuracy. Since 20 ive killed about 10 deer and a few dozen wild hogs using. Precision shooting patches for round ball track of the wolf. However, for the greater part, truly good long range shooting, as we moderns know it, was a distinctly unusual circumstance in the days of round balls and patches. I chose to start with patched round balls to get a feel for the rifle before i decide if i want to experiment with conical bullets. The patching material is the key to be accurate with a round ball load. It is no secret and most books and manufacturers recommend the same loads. Several side hammer round ball guns are available in. I have never shot a round ball out of it, only maxiballs. On this page, north american muzzleloader hunting will bring you the loads and ballistics for the. Pyrodex powder, i forget what i bought last time but it.

Shot loads and snake loads can be loaded in revolvers using wool wads. A good patch is made of good quality, dense natural material. Traditionalmldata1 north american muzzleloader hunting. I generally save the patched balls for new shooters not hunting loads. Douglas barrel at 50 yards it will shoot 5 shots into a inch. I grew up shooting whitetails with a 50 cal round ball over about 60gr of powder. The easiest method to choose the right patch for your round ball rifle. 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. Round ball accuracy at 50 yards in a modern inline muzzleloader. Round balls are effective on close range big game animals. My wife and i shot some informal muzzle loader competition many years ago with 50 cal.

Aug 06, 20 1in 60 is the usual 50 caliber round ball twist but some old originals were as slow as 1 in 72. For deer, the round ball is imho, a terrible choice. Loading blocks for patched round balls ball, 50 caliber, blocks. I use basically the same load i use for lead ball except i use a thicker greased patch. Poking a long hole in any animal smaller than a fullgrown holstein will put it on the ground. Round balls in fast twist rifles white muzzle loading. The cva mountain rifle shoots best with 490 balls, 15 patches and 70 grains of goex 3f. Jun 05, 2014 i currently have a hawken style muzzle loader in. This should be a mild load, i ended up with a 90 grain load for my 50 cal using round balls. Single ball loads single round balls can be loaded in almost any caliber without much fuss and bother with good results.

Dec 25, 2010 the lightest projectile in this caliber is a patched round ball. When i went to load the rifle i found the patched bullet to be an. Precision shooting patches for round ball precision shooting patches. Shot a lot of matches and killed a lot of game with this load. In that case you may want to look at rifle with a false muzzle, one of my rifles has one a. More modern bullets are deffently more effective, but the round ball still works. Have a hawken style rifle that i want to use a patched round ball in. Muzzleloader wads, rifle wads, cap and ball pistol wads and.

After that, there seems to be just not enoughspin to get good enough accuracy. So, my load for all round ball shooting is 80 grains of fffg goex, a. Maxiball loads specify the use of maxilub as a lubricant. Grains listed after projectile type represent bullet weight. Ml i think that folks are concerned about looseness because ofthe old stylebutler creek plastic patches that were much smaller and looserthan todays sabots. My jackrabbit load is now 30 grains of alliant mz over a thinpatched round ball seems good out to 5060 yards. Patches are available in 10, 15, 20, and 25 thou thicknesses in most good muzzleloading stores.

Offered as dry, oiled, wonderlubed, or premium lubed on select sizes. We load one of our precision long rifles with a patched round ball. It was by far the most accurate load in that gun, and while labeled light by a lot of guys, it killed with alacrity. In the typical lightweight rifles that a young hunter can handle 67 lbs. In other words an equal amount of powder especially for target shooting. The easiest method to choose the right patch for your. What kind of accuracy can i expect out of this gun with round balls. Just because you have a 50 cal, it doesnt mean your bore is.

My question is, which is the best size to use considering the lubed patch. Data reflect changes in velocities and energies depending n barrel. I have taken deer with both but never studied the numbers on these. Loading blocks for patched round balls this is a primitive riflemans ball loading. If youre using an olderstyle muzzleloader, find out, from the manufacturer, what the safe max charge is for that weapon. Of the larger bore round ball rifles suitable for taking big game, more have probably been sold in this caliber than any other. 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. For me, round ball guns are best considered 100 yard guns for deer. Black powder round ball trajectory ok, i took it back to the range today after some sight post adjustment yesterday. You can buy good quality patches in your local blackpowder shop, but you can also make. Also, traditional muzzleloader only shooting orgnizations generally require the use of patched round ball only during official muzzleloading target competition.

Loaded with 35 to 40 grains it rivals the modern 9mm and. You can buy good quality patches in your local blackpowder shop, but you can also make your own. Minimum deerkilling muzzleloading loads for young and small. The original gunsmiths first making patched round ball rifles. Loaded with 45 and 50 grains it starts to approach the power of a lightend. I used 80 grs 3f with a patched round ball in a lyman great plains rifle, and about 80 or 90 grs of 3f with a lyman 450 gr 5070 bullet in an early 50 cal shiloh sharps carbine. As one proceeds up through that charge level, the short range groups start to go through one hole on your 25to50 yard target. Just take your time and swab the bore clean frequently. Patched round ball gun and game the friendliest gun. 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. 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. The easiest method to choose the right patch for your round. Round ball accuracy at 50 yards in a modern inline.

The patch round ball challenge long range hunting forum. Oct 05, 2009 i settled on a 60 gr ffg load in my 50 cal a long time ago. The elk in the picture was shot with a 50 cal round ball. I in 48 is usually an adequate compromise for both.

Precision made from special tightly woven cotton, to insure uniformity. Jul 05, 2014 the patching material is the key to be accurate with a round ball load. A 50 round ball and 80 to 90grs of powder is plenty for black bear. Large boars shot in the lungs often run 200 yards or more. Loading blocks for patched round balls track of the wolf. Traditional hunters in ca appreciate having a patched roundball option for their old slowtwist rifles my jim chambers isaac haines flinter was not made to sit on the rack during hunting season. Loading block, for caliber patched round ball, 5 by maple, sanded, unfinished. This may be mindless wandering, but as the patch comes off the ball after firing, would the shape of the patch, or its lack of concentric fit over the bore at loading, kick the ball in one direction or another as the patch leaves the ball. Jan 14, 2018 my jackrabbit load is now 30 grains of alliant mz over a thin patched round ball seems good out to 50 60 yards. I seated the bullet into the bullet chamber part of the chamber with a short starter, then poured the powder in til full, which turned out to be about 80 or 90 grs. Loading the plr or muzzleloader with a patched round ball.

We used to shoot it using a measure for the powder. With 6070 grains of powder it took an evilly tight patch and ball combo that was heck to load to get reasonable accuracy. Muzzleloader wads, rifle wads, cap and ball pistol wads. If it does, it may be miniscule at 25 50 yards, but may make a difference at longer ranges. Loaded with a light 28 grain load and a round ball, it rivals a modern. Got back into conventional muzzleloaders in 2012 after hunting with same in the 1960s70s. 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. Youre probably no supposed to go over 100 grains, but 90 or 100 grains should be plenty. Getting ready to start shooting muzzleloaders again. In my percussion 70 grains fffg same ball and patch as noted above. Nov 23, 2014 something that i gave a try in my traditions. I settled on a 60 gr ffg load in my 50 cal a long time ago. They were available for mostpopular calibers and oldpackagesare still sold on the marketplace. For those hunters who prefer or are required by law to use patched round balls in their muzzleloader, thompson center offers these precision swaged, pure lead round balls.