• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

62 cal ball groups

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Apr 30, 2020
Messages
145
Reaction score
114
Location
Roanoke, Indiana
I own a 62 cal nwtr ( bored .625) that i worked up a "decent" load with .600 ball. I had the room, so i got a .615 mould. I used the same load as the .600, 70 grns 3f, nitro card over powder, .010 mink oil patched ball. It shot higher, no suprise got a tighter fit. Spread wasnt very impressive. Not a shock 1st time out, just askin for thoughts, prolly more powder less? Lose the nitro since it fits tight as hell,? Lose the patch n use shot card? I plan to test all, just wanting thoughts on sompin i may be missin. I prime with what i got, be it 4f 3f or god ferbid pyrodex, they all fire. I will "never" put pyrodex in bore, personal prefrence, no need to argue fellows...
 
The white target is .615, the green one is .600. As u can see big diference
 

Attachments

  • 20200920_125035.jpg
    20200920_125035.jpg
    77.8 KB · Views: 109
  • 20200910_171728.jpg
    20200910_171728.jpg
    98 KB · Views: 105
The white target is .615, the green one is .600. As u can see big diference

I've tried various diameter RB's (.597" - .598"; .600"; .618") in my NW Trade Gun with patches, with tow wads fore & aft, with hard OP + thin OS wads (with and without a felt grease wad) and find @ 25 yd., the patched .597" and .600" RB's do best. I had one reasonably positive experience using the .618" RB with tow wads*, but I couldn't repeat it. Search this sub-forum for my August posts on Tow Wads, Part 2 and Part III as you may find something of vale there.
 
I got acceptable groups at near 50 yards with a .606" bare ball. Best was a .600" ball and a .012" patch that wasn't "rifle tight". I've heard too tight doesn't do as well in a smoothbore like it does in a rifle. A .618" ball wouldn't even go down the clean barrel in my tight bore .62.
 
After this trip, WAY TO GO BROKENNOCK!
Also thank you hanshi, on your thought of what you said Hanshi, about tight aint always right.
I tried BNs load of powder, over powder card, lubed fiber wad, ball, & 2 over shot cards. No patch. I used 70 grns 3f Goex, 4f in pan, same .615 ball weighed & culled to
358 - 360 grains.
Shoots high & left, but im interested in group, not where it hits.
 

Attachments

  • 20200922_174733.jpg
    20200922_174733.jpg
    87.7 KB · Views: 90
  • 20200922_184531.jpg
    20200922_184531.jpg
    92.1 KB · Views: 101
  • 20200922_184616.jpg
    20200922_184616.jpg
    96.4 KB · Views: 97
I don't know why, it is counterintuitive after all, but, I seem to find my smoothbore accuracy to be better a little looser than a rifle would like. All the tight patched ball combos I tried with my smoothrifle ranged from unacceptable to okay but could be better. .615 bore and a .595 ball with .010 patch, or the wad method described above shot better than any tight patch/ball combo.
 
Back
Top