Black Powder Shooters

[RHARVEY]

I need some input from some of you black powder shooters as to which bullets to use. My dad give my son a 50 cal. Traditions muzzle loader and now that we have a place to shoot more I need to select the correct rounds for it. My dad says that with the amount of twists that the barrel has, it will shoot sabots better than round balls. He said that the round balls would not hold a true pattern which would be caused by the twists causing the ball the really rotate... .

And where can I get good products(bullets or sabots). .



Thanks

Rick

 

[GGill]

Dad's right...

Fast twist Hawken type muzzelloaders like the Traditions are made to shoot a bullet, more accurately called a "mini ball" which is rammed into the barrel without a patch and directly contacts the lands and grooves of the rifling.



The stronger direct contact of the mini ball can take the faster spin down the barrel after the powder is ignited. Patched round balls will tend to "jump" across the rifling instead of spinning which will cause the accuracy to suffer.



Conical bullets or mini balls are also more stable in flight than round balls due to thier shape which directly relates to the amount of drag. (ballistic coefficient)



I practice with round balls in my Hawken often because they are much cheaper, just keep the powder charges down and the ball will not skip the rifling to badly. Sabots are nice but they are very pricey.



Cabelas is a good source for all of your muzzelloader needs, most decent gun stores will also carry the round balls, mini's or sabots.



Hope this helps, Greg

 

['956Wheel]

Muzzleloading is a BLAST, clean it well after shooting!



Now, on bullets. I have 2-50 caliber rifles and got tired of the "patch & ball" thing, tried MANY ready-made bullets... no accuracy. Went to a muzzleloading shop and was told to get a mold called R. E. A. L. (rifleing engraved at loading), I think Lee makes the mold. I don't know if you have ever done bullet casting but it is easy, especialy these as they do not need swaging. Cast, lube with a beeswax combo, and shoot... VERY ACCURATE, and little bore swabbing is needed. If you have a muzzleloading shop near you they will steer you the right direction. Do not fall for pricey cleaners dishsoap and HOT water work well.



I need to dig my "smokepole" out, too much work and not enough play!



E-mail me your info, I'm in SO Cal and may have a couple goodies for the boy!

 

[Okie-Go]

I know guys that swear their muzzle loaders are super accurate out to 125 yds or a hair further. They do not use the round balls. They use there smoke poles to hunt wild hogs year round.

 

[GFoley]

Fast twist rate barrels are better suited to sabot loads.

Slow twist rates like 1:32 or 48 are the ticket for patched round balls.



Don't spend the extra money to buy preassembled sabot rounds. Buy the bullets and plastic sabots separately. I recall buying mine at Dicks or some place like that. Then I got the 240 and 300 gr bullets.

 

[chuck3]

If your going to be shooting a lot, I would suggest you get a mold and make your own, thats what I used to do, a lot cheaper plus it was fun to make them.

 

[vinconco]

I have shot several . 50's including the traditions and have found that while you can get fairly good accruacy from patched round balls,you need to fit them tight to do it. This makes it necessary to swab the barrel from shot to shot so that it will load easily. Ox Yoke makes a good bullet lube and patches. The best bullet I have found is the TC Maxi ball. Have tried the R. E. A. L by Lee ... . good results out to 75 yards then the group opens up. Sabot bullets are EXPENSIVE and not any more accruate. The TC mould is out there if you can find it. Lyman has a design that looks very close but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[joesoot]

goin' for elk next week, wish me luck... .





I don't remember the twist but I do know my old man has had great luck with Green Mountain barrels and maxi balls and buffalo bullets...

 

[Fireman]

I shoot a "flinch" lock with a long barrel. I can assure Okie-go that the same accuracy can be acheaved with a patched round ball. Those that have never shot a front loader would be amazed.



Where there is smoke there is

Fireman

 

[JAK]

When I got my CVA the state law said I had to use patched round balls for hunting in the muzzleloading season. When that changed I started using 355 gr mini balls. For . 50 cal to shoot round balls accurately, you need about a 1:60" to 1:75" twist. I had 1:48 which really worked well with the minis. I never tried the sabots because I had such good accuracy from the mini balls and they cost a whole lot less. You can check out http://www.z-hat.com/twistrate.htm for the greenhill formula for calculating twist rates.

 

[RHARVEY]

Elk

joesoot

Keep us posted on how you did and don't forget to post the pictures.....



Rick

P. S. Didn't you say we were invited over for Elk BBQ :