information as to the actual charges used in the early rifles is hard to come by, so any mention of it in the old writings gets my attention. A couple I've collected are interesting.
George Hanger, in “General George Hanger to all Sportsmen, Farmers, and Gamekeepers, 1814, describing the methods of American riflemen during his service in the AWI:
"I will next tell you how they judge what quantity of powder is necessary for their rifles, on active service: for shooting deer, &c. in peaceable times, they never put in more powder than is contained in a woman’s thimble. They take the horn of a deer, make several trials with a ball, always on the powder, and when, by each time increasing the quantity of powder, they find the rifle rather throws back, that is to say, has a recoiling motion, they draw off a small quantity of the powder, cut the horn off, and use it for the actual service before an enemy. From the weight of the barrels of ”˜their rifles being somewhat more, by a few ounces, than six pounds, and the balls so small as ”˜thirty-six to the pound,’ they will carry ”˜more than half’ the weight of the ball in powder."
So, he says they used a deer antler as a measure, tried several shots until satisfied with the load, cut the antler to that exact amount. The 'thirty-six to the pound' is a ball of 50-51 caliber weighing 194 grains. That means they shot the 50-caliber ball with about 100 grains of powder. It seems strange to me that his end point in deciding the proper charge seems to be to limit the recoil, since he doesn't mention accuracy. And his idea of recoil seems different than mine, I think 100 grains in a .50 would kick a bit. I assume that by describing the use of a woman's thimble in peacetime for deer hunting he's saying they used a much lighter charge.
About 45 years later the Englishman Wm. Blane described the rifles used by the backwoodsmen in Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois. He goes into considerable detail as to the size of ball used for different game and general shooting, but doesn't mention the powder charge except to describe how light it is.
"This is the only fire-arm used throughout all the Western States, and is generally from three and a half to four feet long in the barrel. It has one turn in four feet, weighs from twelve to fourteen pounds, has a very small and crooked stock, and carries a remarkably small bullet. The great weight keeps the gun steady; and the charge is so small, that one might almost balance one of their rifles across a gate, and fire it without its falling, the recoil, if any, being so imperceptible."
He doesn't mention a woman's thimble.
Both men seem to be saying the riflemen loaded to avoid recoil, both describe impressive accuracy, but neither tells us what the actual charge was. Too bad.
Spence
George Hanger, in “General George Hanger to all Sportsmen, Farmers, and Gamekeepers, 1814, describing the methods of American riflemen during his service in the AWI:
"I will next tell you how they judge what quantity of powder is necessary for their rifles, on active service: for shooting deer, &c. in peaceable times, they never put in more powder than is contained in a woman’s thimble. They take the horn of a deer, make several trials with a ball, always on the powder, and when, by each time increasing the quantity of powder, they find the rifle rather throws back, that is to say, has a recoiling motion, they draw off a small quantity of the powder, cut the horn off, and use it for the actual service before an enemy. From the weight of the barrels of ”˜their rifles being somewhat more, by a few ounces, than six pounds, and the balls so small as ”˜thirty-six to the pound,’ they will carry ”˜more than half’ the weight of the ball in powder."
So, he says they used a deer antler as a measure, tried several shots until satisfied with the load, cut the antler to that exact amount. The 'thirty-six to the pound' is a ball of 50-51 caliber weighing 194 grains. That means they shot the 50-caliber ball with about 100 grains of powder. It seems strange to me that his end point in deciding the proper charge seems to be to limit the recoil, since he doesn't mention accuracy. And his idea of recoil seems different than mine, I think 100 grains in a .50 would kick a bit. I assume that by describing the use of a woman's thimble in peacetime for deer hunting he's saying they used a much lighter charge.
About 45 years later the Englishman Wm. Blane described the rifles used by the backwoodsmen in Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois. He goes into considerable detail as to the size of ball used for different game and general shooting, but doesn't mention the powder charge except to describe how light it is.
"This is the only fire-arm used throughout all the Western States, and is generally from three and a half to four feet long in the barrel. It has one turn in four feet, weighs from twelve to fourteen pounds, has a very small and crooked stock, and carries a remarkably small bullet. The great weight keeps the gun steady; and the charge is so small, that one might almost balance one of their rifles across a gate, and fire it without its falling, the recoil, if any, being so imperceptible."
He doesn't mention a woman's thimble.
Both men seem to be saying the riflemen loaded to avoid recoil, both describe impressive accuracy, but neither tells us what the actual charge was. Too bad.
Spence
