Double Ball Loads

T/C's had double ball loads listed in their owners manuals during the early years of the company then dropped them...I suspect either from actual lawsuits or worries about them.

"DON"T TRY THIS AT HOME"!

I have shot many 2 + ball loads from my Parker- Hale Musketoon with no ill effect.

Then one day I got an 1842 Springfield musket-Rifled. .69 cal Very lovely piece.

I put 100gr of 3FFFG and 2 naked .690 balls.(no patches) BOOM! I am 230 and the shot lifted my left foot off the ground. The most recoal I ever experanced. I fired through an old bolier-water heater found in the desert. Busted right through. The 2 balls fuzed together and smeered out to a flat piece of lead about the size of my palm!

Foe Griz.....maybe...for fun...no way!

P.

I've tested the double ball loads in .45 and .50cal...very accurate and consistent...couple inches apart at 50yds.
I've also tested three .490s in a paper sleeve in a .62cal smoothbore which gave consistent 4-5" clusters at 40yds.

Never used any of those loads for hunting but clearly the could be if someone wanted to...just have to ensure the seating with a good tight patched balls and they'll both sit right there like a single tightly poatched ball will.

"T/C's had double ball loads listed in their owners manuals during the early years of the company then dropped them..."

That is interesting in an interview in 1977 Mr Center stated that they settled on the 1/48 as it worked with both ball and their maxi ball but favoured the maxi ball which is what most people were shooting in these guns.

I went to the range late today with a limited amount of shooting time and a couple of projects so I didn't have time to shoot much but here are a couple of pics of two targets fired with double ball loads and the patches used. The white one is .017 and was used on the first ball the blue opatch is .014 and was used on the second ball. A .54 Jaeger was used with 85 grains of 2F. If you look at the center of the blue patch you can see a faint circle about 1/4" - 5/16" in diameter that is a lead smear and shows how much the two balls flatten against each other. The range was 25 yards. Hold point was 6 o'clock.

Yes, I see that...I had similar accuracy results in my tests but didn't think about looking for the presence of a lead ball pressure point...what was your yardage?

25 yards I didn't have enough daylight to shoot any farther.

Thanks for the "field test" :applause: . I hope to get an opportunity to check out how my target ML would perform in the next several weeks. And thanks to all whom posted information regarding this issue/question :hatsoff: .

Hi All: I have shot many pounds of lead as double patched round balls. I shoot a .50 cal Lyman Great Planes Rifle and the 1-60 twist barrel loves the double load. At 50 yards the second ball hit the first ball hole. Out of 100 tries it was off about 1/2 inch,twice. Only twice. The rifle was benched with a Caldwell Lead Sled and a homemade stockpiece for the end of the stock, it's kind of pointy there. I used from 70 to 120 volume grains in my shots and the 90 grain load worked consistantly better. I used Hogdon's triple 7 powder for rifles. Not one ignition problem. Try it at the range, you might like it. I do...

Responding to Trent/oh Powder between balls sounds like an unsafe practice to me. However, I am a rookie.

Gentlemen: I used the Double Patched Ball load for years in Wyoming taking Elk and Bears. The rifle I used is a 50 cal. Lyman Great Plains Rifle and never hac any trouble at all. I also used 3f powder, both black powder and Triple Se7en. Load's from 80 grains to 120 grains dependent on size of animal and distance. Those loads at 100 yards in the barrel with 66 to one revolution of twist had two holes overlapping from a bench rest. I might throw one in 20 but not many if I paid attention to how I pulled the trigger and breathed. It all came to practice, practice, practice... The are very effective and most black powder rifles are safe with the barrel full of powder and one patched ball as the charge or most of it will just be pushed out the end of the rifle and not even burn up. Black powder just burns too slow. The Platt Valley Muzzle Loaders I belonged to in Casper Wyo. made tests on 9 different rifles the members had, with NO problems with any kind of damage. Just a thought. Pete

I have always wanted to shoot a "double ball load" but always chickened out. A Maxi-Ball in my .54 is enough for me.

The only real safety thing I can think of with double-balling, (the proof load would be 3 with 3times the powder as well) Is to make sure that the second ball is firmly down on the first, and stays there. I have had the odd one 'hydraulic' back up the barrel a bit, pushed by the compressed air between the balls. If you hold the ramrod down for a few seconds to allow the air to leak out, you should be ok. Less trouble all 'round to use a maxi (IMHO)

A long time ago I shot double ball loads while bear hunting. Using 100 gs. 2f in a TC Hawken 490 ball pillow ticking and spit for lube. I killed 3 bear with that load. Then one time I forgot the second ball and killed a bear just as dead with one ball. So I quit double balling.

Jerry

For the fellows shooting a target with 2 balls. How was the point of aim compared to shooting a single ball?

Do ya'll realise this thread was started 10 years ago?
Still not a good practice according to the Lyman black powder manual.