Pete Gaimari
69 Cal.
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2010
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It also destroys more meat. :wink:
Not the way I shoot them. :grin:Capper said:It also destroys more meat. :wink:
Yes, I know, but if a little more is within safety and comfort limits, why not? It flattens the trajectory, extends the range and increases retained energy, what's not to like?
Then why not fall back to 50 grains? That will certainly kill a deer, the recoil is minimal, it's cheap to shoot, it won't destroy much meat, etc., etc.paulvallandigham said:The amount of "flattening" of the trajectory is measured in tenths of an inch! With a .54 caliber ball, you can't HOLD or shoot that difference at 100 yds, using iron sights, or even a scope sight on most guns.
You think 80 grains behind a round ball in a .54 double rifle weighing 10 pounds causes objectionable recoil? Well, not all of us do.What the heavier loads do ADD is recoil, and that simply is NOT needed with a ball that weighs 230 grains or so. Keep the velocity down where it won't loosen your teeth or cause a flinch.
My usual is 80 grains of 3F and a .600" ball in my 20 gauge flintlock fowler which weighs 8 pounds. That's the only gun I've used on deer for the last 12 years. I expect the double will be very similar but with less recoil... smaller ball, heavier gun.marmotslayer said:My point being that regardless of what works out with the Kodiak, even if it seems a bit light compared to your usual, it's probably going to be more than enough for your neighborhood deer.
It weighs a tad over 10 pounds.Capper said:You didn't say what gun you have? You said it has a 28" barrel. I have a Hawken style gun with that barrel length, and it weighs 7 lb 11 oz. A 32" barreled GPR is under 10lbs. Have you weighed your gun?
80 gr of 3F with a .54 ball is probably equal to a .300 mag. Not a light recoiling gun.
George said:Thanks to all for the info, it sounds like good stuff. All my experience with larger caliber rifles has been a .54 caliber Green Mountain barrel with 1:70 twist. I've found that one to be very accurate over a wide range of charges, from 40 grains 3F to 110 grains 3F. All my rifle barrels have been slow twist and tolerance for a wide range of charges seems to be characteristic of the type. That's what I was taught decades ago, and it has seemed to be true. It seems obvious, contrary to what I was taught, that many guns with 1:48" twist will also handle heavier charges with good accuracy.
In 1989 I was invited to go with a friend and his friend, both smokeless hunters, on a moose hunt in Alaska. Pretty heady stuff for an eastern country boy used to shooting squirrels. In high anticipation of the trip I bought a Kodiak Mark III double rifle in .54. It is sort of designed for heavy conicals, so I worked up a load for the left barrel of a 425 grain Buffalo Bullet over 110 grains of 3F. Moose medicine. Before I finished working up a load for the right barrel I got word that my friend's friend didn't want a black powder shooter on the trip. Hecky durn. I put the rifle and the 2/3 box of Buffalo Bullets away and haven't fired it since. It's a fine rifle, and I've decided I'd like to use it in some of my deer hunts, but with round ball and more moderate loads. That's why I'm looking for info on loads for the 1:48" twist.
Our deer season opened today, will be in effect for 15 days. I hunt on my own small farm, in scattered woods lots. It wouldn't be good to be out there working up loads right now, might make Bambi nervous, so I'm hoping to get it done after this season but before the late muzzleloader season Dec. 11. So, talking is better than shooting, right now.
Spence
I guess that touches on the different philosophies we shooters have. In general, I sight my guns in for the unexpected long shot, and I figure the trajectory all along the way. I always know what the longest practical distance is. In order to maximize that, to make my point blank range as far as practical, I shoot heavier charges. Heavier charges as determined by my guns, my needs, my shoulder.123.DieselBenz said:But still why waste powder if you don't need 100+ grains . . .
George said:I guess that touches on the different philosophies we shooters have. In general, I sight my guns in for the unexpected long shot, and I figure the trajectory all along the way. I always know what the longest practical distance is. In order to maximize that, to make my point blank range as far as practical, I shoot heavier charges. Heavier charges as determined by my guns, my needs, my shoulder.123.DieselBenz said:But still why waste powder if you don't need 100+ grains . . .
I think many shooters fail to realize the advantage that approach has and the significant handicap they build for themselves by sighting their guns in for too short a range. Even with lighter charges that is the way to go, and I've always been mucho puzzled why more don;t figure that out.
Spence
I didn't ask for specific loads. I asked if anyone successfully shot heavy loads in a 1:48" barrel. I think I made it abundantly clear that I had never fired roundball from a 1:48" barrel... I said exactly that... and that I wanted to know if I would be wasting my time trying to work up a heavier load for one.Capper said:I'm puzzled why you asked for loads if you plan on shooting your magnum loads?
I'm thinking 80 grains for the double. If that will shoot, that would do the job for me. That seems no more a magnum load for a .54 than 70 grains does for a .50, to me.Capper said:I shoot 70gr of Swiss in a .50. I tried up to 90 gr of Swiss and saw no advantage for deer.
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