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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Muzzleloader Hunting
Blackpowder hunting
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<blockquote data-quote="Tree Farmer" data-source="post: 1734253" data-attributes="member: 75473"><p>I use swaged round balls for my .50 & .54. I have .490 and.495 for the .50 and .530 and .535 for the .54. I start with patch material thickness of .015 and work up to .020 and find which combination of ball diameter and patch thickness loads best for hunting vs target use. For example, in my .50 I tried a .490/.495 ball and different patching up to the .020 thickness with a moderate load (70 grains black powder). Shoot a three round group with each combo and check each patch after the shot. Usually, there will be one ball/patch combo where the recovered patch is totally intact (no holes cut by the rifling and severely frayed on the edges ). This combo should also show the best group relative to the others. Then, using this ball/patch combo, I start working on a powder charge. My .50 shoots 70 grains well for targets and .90 grains for hunting. The ball/patch combo is critical before starting the powder charge development. I've had a barrel maker tell me that a frayed patch makes no difference in accuracy. That's true if you don't mind frequent, unpredictable flyers. I prefer tight groups, not a pattern.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tree Farmer, post: 1734253, member: 75473"] I use swaged round balls for my .50 & .54. I have .490 and.495 for the .50 and .530 and .535 for the .54. I start with patch material thickness of .015 and work up to .020 and find which combination of ball diameter and patch thickness loads best for hunting vs target use. For example, in my .50 I tried a .490/.495 ball and different patching up to the .020 thickness with a moderate load (70 grains black powder). Shoot a three round group with each combo and check each patch after the shot. Usually, there will be one ball/patch combo where the recovered patch is totally intact (no holes cut by the rifling and severely frayed on the edges ). This combo should also show the best group relative to the others. Then, using this ball/patch combo, I start working on a powder charge. My .50 shoots 70 grains well for targets and .90 grains for hunting. The ball/patch combo is critical before starting the powder charge development. I've had a barrel maker tell me that a frayed patch makes no difference in accuracy. That's true if you don't mind frequent, unpredictable flyers. I prefer tight groups, not a pattern. [/QUOTE]
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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Muzzleloader Hunting
Blackpowder hunting
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