accuracy with round balls

[ratslayer]

so what distance can a person expect a round ball to group well.I have been just shooting 40 yards and it seems to be ok.I haven't done any serous target shooting to find the a load yet.

 

[jamesthomas]

Depends on what you mean by "group well" I can shoot 2" groups at 50 to 60 yards off the bench. What are your 40 yard groups look like? Round balls can be pretty accurate out to 120 yrds or so. The folks that shoot that far can tell you how accurate a round ball is.

 

[cowpoke1955]

What kind of rifle and caliber do you have? My .54 Lyman GPRs will shoot one ragged hole groups at 50 yards from a bench all day long. I have managed a 3/4" group from a bench at 100 yards. These rifles have a 1 in 60" twist barrels, which is excellent for round balls. I've been shooting the percussion for over 30 years and the flint for over 6 years. A lot of practice :thumbsup:

 

[ratslayer]

I got a traditions deer hunter 50 cal 1:48 twist.I will be shooting of the bench this saturday.

 

[cowpoke1955]

My son in law has a .50 Traditions Hawkens and a .50 T/C Hawkens. Both rifles have 1 in 48" twist barrels and both will shoot one ragged hole groups from a bench with round balls at 50 yards. He shoots a .490 ball, pillow ticking patch lubed with Ballistol oil and 70 grains of FFg Goex. Each rifle is different. Start by shooting a group with 60 grains. Increase to 65 grains and shoot another group. Increase another 5 grains and shoot. Repeat until you find the tightest group, then set your sights. It takes some work, but once you find that sweet spot, you are in like Flynn :thumbsup:

 

[bbs383ci]

i have a T/C Renegade and the first time i brought it out,with the first patch and ball combo just using spit, the first shot was wide right and high but the next three shots were under 2" at 50 yards with 50gr. of goex, i think i got lucky but when i have more time ill experiment more with different lubes and different powder loads to see what i find. i'm finding it takes a lot of time to get one to shoot very well, and practice.

 

[Walks with fire]

Muzzleloading is "Handloading in the barrel". If you spend the time finding the best charge and load components the rifles are capable of shooting as good as you can see and hold. Certainly 2" groups and under are possible at 100 yards. Wind is an issue with the low bc. roundball and so is open sights. I expect around 3"-4" at 100 yards myself or I keep workin on the load.

My approach is different than most folks because I want the most accurate load I can find with the heavier charges and change components until I get an acceptable grouping consistantly at 100 yards even though I don't shoot past 75 at game for the most part.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Hand loading in the barrel..., :hmm: oooh I like that; I'm gonna use that this year in hunter safety class. :hatsoff:

When I worked really hard, my regular (meaning not polished, not match grade) Colerain barrel, shot a 2" group at 100 yards from a bench, but normally I can get under 4" at 100 yards..., again from a bench. I have taken two deer out at that distance in the past two years (I steadied the shot with help from a tree I was standing next to), and the ball went right where I was aiming. Otherwise, I get them in under 75 yards, and prefer around 50 yards.

LD

 

[ratslayer]

I reload for my center fire rifles so i know what you mean.My goal is to use the muzzle loader to kill a coyote.I mostly predator call in the off season of deer.I am hoping to call one in to 50 yards.
Thanks for the help I am new at this.

 

[Spikebuck]

If you spend the time finding the best charge and load components the rifles are capable of shooting as good as you can see and hold.

Exactly. :thumbsup:

I just had this conversation today with a new acquaintance not familiar with traditional muzzleloading. He could not believe I would shoot roundballs because they are so "inaccurate."

When I informed him of not only the accuracy but the effectiveness on big game, he was quite surprised. For crying out load, even Cabela's description for roundballs said they were for "Plinking" (at least a one time). Not that they aren't but the insinuation was that they were not effective for serious hunting, so it's no wonder so many people not familiar think that roundballs are ineffective and inaccurate.

 

[David W.]

If you spend the time finding the best charge and load components the rifles are capable of shooting as good as you can see and hold.

Exactly. :thumbsup:

I just had this conversation today with a new acquaintance not familiar with traditional muzzleloading. He could not believe I would shoot roundballs because they are so "inaccurate."

When I informed him of not only the accuracy but the effectiveness on big game, he was quite surprised. For crying out load, even Cabela's description for roundballs said they were for "Plinking" (at least a one time). Not that they aren't but the insinuation was that they were not effective for serious hunting, so it's no wonder so many people not familiar think that roundballs are ineffective and inaccurate.

Just ask Toby Bridges about round balls. :shake:

 

[Adui]

I find it both annoying, and a bit laughable that so many people not knowing ML don't think of RB as a good choice. There are certainly heavier more deadly combinations out there, but at 179 grains my PRB is heavier than your average modern 30 caliber rifle slug. (30 cal meaning the 30-30, 308 30-06 families) Granted, the modern guns throw em faster but still...

 

[BrownBear]

Here's an insight about "accuracy" and "long range."

I set up for offhand practice at the local range, shoving five 3" balloons into holes in a sheet of cardboard placed at 75 yards. My shooting/scoring is kind of like biathlon- one shot at each, score being # of hits in five shots.

There were half a dozen typical CF range rats there shooting their hunting rifles from benchrest, ogling tiny groups and calculating trajectories. There wasn't a guy there shooting groups larger than an inch at 100.

One thing led to another, and pretty quick all of them agreed to try my targets offhand. One of them actually hit a balloon. One guy, one balloon. No one else connected. I count that as 1 hit in 30 shots.

Me? I had a good stretch and went 4 for 5.

The guys kinda drifted off without saying much, but I could tell that I planted a seed. A whole lot of our shooting is close and quick in brush and grass too tall for prone shooting and not a rest in a quarter mile. I may not have converted any of them to muzzleloaders, but I bet all of them are likely to move away from the benchrest.

Accuracy? That means hitting what you're shooting at under the conditions presented. My 3" groups at 100 yards from a rest beat the snot out of 1" groups at 100 yards once the rest was removed.

 

[Dphar]

so what distance can a person expect a round ball to group well.I have been just shooting 40 yards and it seems to be ok.I haven't done any serous target shooting to find the a load yet.

A good shot with a good rifle/load and weather that cooperates (wind) should be able to shoot 5 shots into 6-7" at 200 yards.
But it requires serious care in loading, holding etc etc.
Dan

 

[catman]

I figured it out with my sticks, will make you a better shooter.

Well said my friend, that's all it is.

"Handloading in the barrel".

 

[M. De Land]

One thing about 200 yard shooting that I noticed while spotting for another shooter using a spotting scope is how fast the ball is dropping at that range. Man it's coming down like a meteor out there with an exaggerated trajectory curve that is very easy to see through the scope.
It was an amazing sight for me as you hear and understand about it happening but until you see it you don't quite get the picture.MD

 

[ratslayer]

I am still at it shot some more today.I stayed at 50 yards or so .It seems to shoot better with the patches wet when you guys said to spit on it do you mean to really spit on it ?
so I licked a few pre waxed patches i hope i some not doing something dumb like a typical noobie lol.

 

[M. De Land]

No, it means put them in your mouth and chew them a bit until they are thoroughly damp then load em. MD

 

[Bill Hall]

A spit patch is typically an unlubed, clean patch. No lube on it before you use spit, you are actually using your spit as the lube.

What most people do is to put a dry patch on their tongue, while measuring powder or fumbling for other components. When it's time to add the patch, it should be pretty soaked up with saliva. I think it's the mucus that adds a lubricating quality. Yeah, kind of "earthy", but it has been working for who knows how many hundreds of years.

Spit patch is not the best for hunting though. It will dry out after a few hours out in the field. But for target shooting, it's probably as good as any commercial lube on the market. I've won matches using spit, right next to the guys using the fancy lubes with long names. Bill

 

[Zonie]

The only real problem with a spit patch is when it is left in the barrel for any period of time.

If that is done in a fouled bore, rust can start forming.

If it is only in there for 10-20 seconds it doesn't seem to cause problems.