I have an 1863 Springfield and I was wondering what you guys use for a maximum powder charge I have used anything from 50 grains of FFG to 70. I was mainly looking for a good hunting load and 70 grains seemed like kind of a small amount for the 58 caliber. Just wondering what you guys thought. Thanks.
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1863 Springfield Loads
- Thread starter pdt1793db
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70 grains and a .58 caliber anything sounds like a pretty good stopper for most things I would ever hunt. You have to take into consideration the weight of the projectile when you figure the energy.
I will admit in my .58 caliber I shoot a roundball with 100 grains of Goex 2f and it is plenty...
I will admit in my .58 caliber I shoot a roundball with 100 grains of Goex 2f and it is plenty...
Russ T Frizzen
70 Cal.
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I use a 560 grain Minie over 70 grains of ffg. That big, heavy slug packs plenty of power at any reasonable range.
I might say if it was good enough to kill thousands 140 years ago, it would be enough for a deer.
IMO, too many people think of the old muzzleloading guns using modern thinking.
They look at the low velocities and "marginal" bullet energies and say "Boy, that sure isn't much." without recognizing that the bullet has as much as 5 times the frontal area of a modern bullet.
The massive weight of these old bullets assures power that is more than enough to kill a deer.
Putting it another way, IMO hitting something with a .58 cal Minie is like hitting it with a fright train. The train always wins.
zonie
IMO, too many people think of the old muzzleloading guns using modern thinking.
They look at the low velocities and "marginal" bullet energies and say "Boy, that sure isn't much." without recognizing that the bullet has as much as 5 times the frontal area of a modern bullet.
The massive weight of these old bullets assures power that is more than enough to kill a deer.
Putting it another way, IMO hitting something with a .58 cal Minie is like hitting it with a fright train. The train always wins.
zonie
Russ T Frizzen
70 Cal.
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I have a mold, but you can buy ready-mades from Track and others.
varsity07840
45 Cal.
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A 500 gr. minie in front of 50 gr. of Swiss 2F in an original '63 went clean through my buck at around 60 yards. He took four steps and fell over.
Duane
Duane
As others have said, I'd not worry about lack of power with any minie load. Their main drawback is a very poor trajectory. Standard minie loads do not much over 800fps at the muzzle and zeroed 3" high at 50 yards you'll be 6-8" low at 100. That places a premium on range estimation and hold over becomes pretty chancy past 75 yards.
By comparison, the same 70 grains behind a .50 caliber roundball will run about 1600 fps and with the same zero, 3" high at 50, will be dead on at 100 and only about 4" low at 125. That takes a lot of guess work out of your hunting since a center of rib cage hold will be a clean kill anywhere from the muzzle to 130 yards or so.
In a .58 I would definitely prefer a patched round ball over 100-120 grains for a velocity of 1300-1400 fps. That load would be at least as deadly as a minie and a lot easier to place well if your rifle will shoot it accurately, and it should, though it will probably require some modification of sights to get it zeroed.
By comparison, the same 70 grains behind a .50 caliber roundball will run about 1600 fps and with the same zero, 3" high at 50, will be dead on at 100 and only about 4" low at 125. That takes a lot of guess work out of your hunting since a center of rib cage hold will be a clean kill anywhere from the muzzle to 130 yards or so.
In a .58 I would definitely prefer a patched round ball over 100-120 grains for a velocity of 1300-1400 fps. That load would be at least as deadly as a minie and a lot easier to place well if your rifle will shoot it accurately, and it should, though it will probably require some modification of sights to get it zeroed.
