Velocity question w/ 40caliber

[BangFlopEatRepeat]

Newbie here. Nice board you guys have.

I've been hunting and shooting ML seasons for quite a while and use a few different setups with success.

No true long range stuff, though I have made the few shots I've taken between 185-225 yards with success. I dont practice like I used to, so I self limit to sub-150 now.

My question is one of velocity. I dont have a chronograph and I ma just curious.

I realize each gun is different, but I'd appreciate opinions/experience on what ytou'd figure the MV is for each of the 3 combinations That I shoot:

1) 24" T/C black diamond .50 caliber, musket caps, 90 grains 777 2f, 250 grain .40 caliber PR QT bullet

2) 32" .54 hawkin, musket cap, 80 grains pyrodex ffg equivalent, PRB

3) 22" .45 caliber inline, #11 primer, 70 grains 777 3f, 460grain lead conical.


thanks in advance! And again, great site!

 

[STW Jim]

I can't comment exactly on your load's velocity(s). I can give you an example of what I'm getting.

I have a 24" barrel inline 45 caliber that I'm shooting 175 grain Knight Red Hot Sabots with 150 grains of trip7 at 2250 fps.

Your shooting twice as heavy bullets with half the powder I'm using. My guess is you are barely breaking 1000 fps with a 460 grain conical and only 70 grains of powder.

I've hit 2500 fps shooting a 140 grain nosler bullet in a Knight sabot. I believe it was a 40 S&W pistol bullet I was shooting. I could not get groups better than 3" at 100 yards. I can get 2" groups with the Knight 150 grain Red Hot Sabots and I get 1" groups at 100 yards with the Knight 175 grain Red Hot's.

Due to the extreme accuracy of the 175 grain knights, I have horded all that I could find on the internet. I have about 300 rounds of these and various other 175/180 grain brands.

Where I hunt, most of my kills are within 150 yards. So I sight it in at 100 and all I have to do is point and shoot. I've killed 10 deer in 5 years with this combination. Pretty good considering our Muzzle Loading season is only 9 days and I get to hunt 5 those days and we are allowed only 2 bucks a year. That leaves my 7mm STW with nothing but a Doe.

I also have a 50 cal T/C musket. It has a 28" Green Mountain barrel designed for sabots. I'm using rifle primers and FFF powder. The best I've ever measured it at was 1800 fps using a 175 grain sabot (I made this one myself). I used a 175 grain hollow point 40 caliber S&W bullet (forgot the actual brand of the lead) with Knight plastic wads and 90 grains of FFF to achieve this velocity. It was actually very accurate. 2 rounds almost through the same hole at 75 yards and it would throw the 3rd round. That means cleaning after EVERY shot.

Also, MY SECRET for successfully shooting 90 grains of FFF without MELTING the plastic wad is LOTS of silicone lube before loading. I clean the barrel very good and then I swab the barrel with NAPA Silicon Lube Spray. I use a 12 gage shotgun swab and I soak it in the silicone spray. Then I swab the barrel, let it dry, swab it again, let it dry, and swab it a 3rd time. Then I load the gun. The silicon provides just enough of a barrier to keep the plastic wadding from melting under the extreme pressure. The recoil is so significant that it blows the ram rod out the end of the stock/forarm!! However, I can shoot 1" groups at 75-100 yards all day as long as I clean between each shot! Not a problem when you are hunting.....1 SHOT, 1 KILL!!