Optimum Round Ball Caliber

Just for grins once upon a time I sat down with a Lymans Black Powder Handbook and examined their load tables for which ball size was recorded there as having the flattest trajectory. It looked as though that honor resided somewhere between .50 and .54. Something about .52 or so.

Got to cogitating on what to do which a .50 GPH barrel. Maybe .52 might be a nice compromise.

I'd say a 1 inch wall gun. George Washington had one that could hit a sheet of typing paper at 600 yards.

.52 cal at a 1/66 twist. you would not be dissapointed. have the grooves cut at 5 thousands deep. odd number of lands a grooves is slightly better but even number is fine. if your going to lap a barrel when you get it back from the barrel maker, dont lap the last 3 inches or so. you want the muzzle tighter than the rest of the barrel. loads easy and shoots tight groups. use pure medium weight linen for the patch material. cut them square and not round. take the eye out of a snake at 100 yards. one time i was at at a high end range up north. along side me was a very rich man with a weatherby 300 mag. he was sighting it in at 100 yards to do a paid for rich mans deer hunt. i was shooting my custom built by me mountian mans rifle with a 1/72 twist 50 cal 36 inch barrel round ball gun. i got one hole ragged groups at 100 yards, he didnt. it made him very upset and he left in a huff. i could have given him clues on better groups but he never asked. he had too big a bullet for the twist of that gun. most likely got his deer but boy did i feel good about my groups. .

Used to see the same thing at ranges during the annual rite of bwanas checking the scope before deer hunting.
We'd be shooting smoke poles and upsetting the flinchers trying to check their scoped bolt actions. When you see one of them shift over to put his scope on your target...

My favorite smoke pole then was a Dixie Gun Works .50 percussion with the 43" barrel. It dearly loves 90 grains of FFg.

nkbj said:

Lymans Black Powder Handbook and examined their load tables for which ball size was recorded there as having the flattest trajectory.

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Well if you're punching only paper and you don't care about anything other than trajectory....does that book cover the .40 caliber rifle or a .42 caliber rifle shooting a .405 ball ??

On the other hand if what the ball does at impact other than punching paper, you may find different results. Of course you're limited to the length of the GPH barrel and the previous caliber..... So a .52 isn't a bad idea at all.

James Forsyth would tell you that a barrel with a 1:108 twist rate, thin lands, and .69 caliber would be an excellent choice....

LD

Before you can choose a gun with a trajectory you have to pick a distance.

At one time some self-appointed 'expert' wrote an article for Muzzle Blasts 'proving' the .52 prb was the best possible caliber. Of course, his conclusion had been reached before he did any shooting or testing. I'm sure it would be a pretty good all around caliber. But historically and now in more contemporary times the .45 and .50 have proven to be far and away the most popular sizes. Pick yer own pizzen and enjoy.

What was his proof?

80 or 90 most likely

nkbj said: ↑
Lymans Black Powder Handbook and examined their load tables for which ball size was recorded there as having the flattest trajectory.

Well if you're punching only paper and you don't care about anything other than trajectory....does that book cover the .40 caliber rifle or a .42 caliber rifle shooting a .405 ball ??

On the other hand if what the ball does at impact other than punching paper, you may find different results. Of course you're limited to the length of the GPH barrel and the previous caliber..... So a .52 isn't a bad idea at all.

James Forsyth would tell you that a barrel with a 1:108 twist rate, thin lands, and .69 caliber would be an excellent choice....

LD

LD,
I'm sure it did address .40 too.

The exercise of plotting out the velocities and trajectories was a fun indulgence of the tinkerer within. The way the volume of a sphere increases more quickly than its diameter makes it inevitable that there would be a sweet spot.

what ever decide you make it right if you go by the science of those that figured it out before you. , the twist for your or your cal. is going to make it how its shoots. any cal. what ever it is is going to shoot perfect if it is the right twist for the ball you shoot is right. tell me what ball what you want to shoot and i will tell you what twist you should have percussion or flint. the twist is the real deal and nothing else, patch or load is nothing else, the twist of your rifleing is more important than the patch or load. go the real info an not working up to the right load , go a barrel with the right twist and all you problems will be solved . doesnt make a difference what depth of groove or anything else. the twist of your barrel is all that makes the diff. tell me what you want to shoot and the cal. it is and i will tell you what twist you should have. it is simple science, not rocket science. lets get shooting the eye out of a snake at 100 yards and it is just boring and no big deal. so be it 3 times their it is.

Rifleman1776 said:

At one time some self-appointed 'expert' wrote an article for Muzzle Blasts 'proving' the .52 prb was the best possible caliber.

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The "best" will not make you the best, and it is never the best for long.

i wish i could understand what you just said?

BlackHillsBob said:

i wish i could understand what you just said?

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A whole lot of people wish the same about you bob.

BlackHillsBob said:

i wish i could understand what you just said?

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Ok Bob, I'll try again.

You can put the worlds "best" caliber in someone's hands, doesn't mean they will be the best hunter or shooter.
"BEST" is highly subjective. and always changing. Today's best will not be tomorrows best. It's just a passing fad.

Take a look at history. military calibers have changed time and time again. Yet all were "best" for their brief moment in the sun.

Lyman data shows ballistic coefficient increasing with diameter so I guess the best would depend on whether you are willing to put wheels on your gun and tow it with a horse or a large tractor.

when you are talking best i guess i was just thinking about my self and what i expect out of guns i build. wasnt thinking in your terms at all. for me best is one hole ragged at 100 yards. shot after shot after shot.i think in the future my type of best will still be around with the type of gun i did it with.

Hmm, well, I have seen hogs to make you wish for grape shot. :<)
Some day if I ever get through running 450 and 530 grainer paper patched fifties through 28" twist Renegade flinter and try it out with .515 round ball maybe I'll see if there's any magic to a .52.
But about the sweet spot being somewhere between .50 and .54, the ballistic coefficient of lead round ball goes up with spherical volume but at the same time the resistance to acceleration applied across the surface area of the bore also increases. So at some point those two lines cross and there the sweet spot is.

nkbj said:

What was his proof?

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A combination of things. e.g. velocity, trajectory, stopping power, making the stars shine, etc. It was like reading a modern gun magazine review of the newest, and supposedly, greatest caliber ever thought of.

I believe strongly that the optimum round ball caliber (for me) is the one that fits my rifle. What's best for you is up to you. My .54 likes a .535 for the first shot and .530's after that unless I have the time to swab before reloading. Question for Carbon 6: Where in Billy-Blue-Blazes did George Washington get a sheet of typing paper to shoot at?