Odd occurrence with powder charges

I was out shooting with a TC Hawken with a GM 50 cal slow twist barrel. I tried 3 different powders (Grafs 3F, 2F and Black MZ) in a range of charges (50 to 90 grains), all with a cast .490 ball and a .015 wonder lubed patch, swabbing every 3 shots. For all 3 powders, 70 grains was the ticket. These powders shot a little better or worse than each other at the magic charge, but the rifle liked 70 grains over all other charges with each powder. What is going on here? I suppose I could push higher charges with an over powder wad, but for target there is no point and for hunting I doubt a mulie doe would survive a hit with a .490 round ball propelled by 70 grains of 2F out to 75+ yards, which is about what I would be willing to shoot to.

Sounds normal to me, what is it that strikes you as odd ?

I was just surprised that every single powder I tried ended up with the same preferred charge.

The different powders are made to be equivalent to each other, and there is little difference between 2f and 3f especially in some guns
I'd consider myself lucky if I were you. You have a gun that is not finicky.

I am assuming that the 70 grain charge is volume measure.

I am surprised too. All the information (Lyman Manual) that I have would indicate that the 3fg should have a higher velocity than the 2fg load.

2f shot the best, Black MZ almost as well, 3f in the rear, but still pretty darned good at 50 yards. I suspect if I fooled around with a couple grains here or there I might dial in each one a bit tighter. 2F was almost a one hole group at 50 yards.

Yes, this was volumetric. I definitely am not complaining. The only problem is that I am down to half a pound of 2f.

Of my .45, .50 and .58 they all shoot good with 65-75 grains. Any more than what provides best accuracy is a waste because placement is key. Try a mini. Might find 60-65 best who knows.

I’ve killed several Whitetails with 65 grns and a .490 roundball

If you do your part the gun & charge will kill the deer.

Heh, I shot my doe last year with a 54 PRB over a whopping 110 grains of Black MZ. Far more powder than necessary, but that was the accuracy load. I do not like iffy shots, so I generally won't take one that I think is a very high likelihood of success. I also put in the time to practice, so I don't spend a lot of time worrying about doing my part.

Controlling buck fever I find to be the hard part.

brewer12345 said:

The only problem is that I am down to half a pound of 2f.

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After all that talking, you finally stated the problem.
There is a fix for that - Order more powder, lead, balls patches. etc...
Oh and dump the prelubed patches - your accuracy will improve if you use a decent lube and lube fresh patches regularly.
Your surmise that 70gr of powder should kill a deer, heck yes it will. That load will make meat every time!
It's great to see you are having a good time and get ready - you will keep learning your whole life!

Yeah, I am trying to keep from having too many variables at once as I fool around with my rifles. I will be playing with different lubes and methods of patching soon.

brewer12345 said:

Yeah, I am trying to keep from having too many variables at once as I fool around with my rifles. I will be playing with different lubes and methods of patching soon.

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I have something of the same problem with a 58 that i had made. Very difficult to tell the differences between powder charges at 50 yards. My solution was to increase distance. At 75 yards i got some definite variations. I ended up trying 75gr 3f ole e and 90 2f ole e at 100 yards benched as my go to loads. If i could shoot better they would have been really tight groups and hitting the same spot. I would use either load at this point. So add some distance, your max hunting distance and try a few more. May help see if the rifle has a true preference.

I was running low on 2F powder during a shoot and had about the same amount of 3F with me. I mixed them together 50/50 and it made a difference in my accuracy. At least it seemed to. We shoot offhand so it was hard to be sure.
I came in 2cnd in that match and have been doing it ever since. It doesn't jam up in the nozzle of my measure either. Around 38 gr of this mixture in a .45 TC Hawken with a .440 ball and .018 patch is best for me at 25 and 50 yes. I bump up to 50gr at 100 yrs.
Of course this is only for targets.

23 years ago I ran out of Italian Black Silver 1 and had to use C&H Canister 2 for the last 2 clays. Referees said they saw dust. Went from European Gold to Silver in One Easy Lesson. OLD DOG.