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Shooting Conicals

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Oh wow that is a super nice grouping. Pedersoli in an email told me not to go over 90gr of FFg. Is that just a manufacturer warning? Can it safely be done going over?
I am in no position to say if Pedersolis max recommend charge can safely be exceeded. Personally, I would not. Those heavy maxis don't have to be going warp speed to anchor deer or bear. I would start at their recommended minimum and work up in 5gr increments until the best accuracy is found and stick with what shoots most accurate. I got lucky with that group in my pic. Starting charge happened to shoot wonderfully and I see no need to try increasing the charge. A 320gr Maxi-Ball doing 1200-1300 is more than adequate for killing power. 🙂
 
I am in no position to say if Pedersolis max recommend charge can safely be exceeded. Personally, I would not. Those heavy maxis don't have to be going warp speed to anchor deer or bear. I would start at their recommended minimum and work up in 5gr increments until the best accuracy is found and stick with what shoots most accurate. I got lucky with that group in my pic. Starting charge happened to shoot wonderfully and I see no need to try increasing the charge. A 320gr Maxi-Ball doing 1200-1300 is more than adequate for killing power. 🙂

Hahahah I was going to start at what pedersoli told me maximum load was and work down in 5gr increments. I guess the opposite would be smarter.
 
Triple 7 is much cleaner than Pyrodex but has a habit of leaving a "crud" ring in the barrel at the bullet base so a damp patch after about 3 shots is a good idea. I used to get great accuracy with 3f T7 with my 54 TC. I wouldn't exceed 90 grains of powder if I were you.
 
Triple 7 is much cleaner than Pyrodex but has a habit of leaving a "crud" ring in the barrel at the bullet base so a damp patch after about 3 shots is a good idea. I used to get great accuracy with 3f T7 with my 54 TC. I wouldn't exceed 90 grains of powder if I were you.
Yes, I've never shot T7 but that crud ring has always built up in my guns using BP. It grows with each shot and seems to effect accuracy. If you mark your rod with each load you can see it grow.

My bores get wiped after every shot when shooting conicals.
 
@Pauly Walnuts , if you decide to try patched balls, you should get a hold of someone at pedersoli and ask what the groove depth is in your barrel. I looked online and couldn't find any info on it.

For best accuracy in prb (coming from some very good shooters) you want the patch thickness to be thick enough to fill grooves with a bit of compression. You can figure out the needed thickness with:

Bore size + 2xgroove depth - ball size then divide that result by 2.

Example: 0.50 + 2x0.012 - 0.490 = 0.034
0.034/2 = 0.017 patch thickness minimum

A 0.018 or 0.020 patch would give you just a bit of compression.

Of course, people do get good accuracy and non burnt patches by using a thinner patch, but it seems all of the very good very experienced shooters recommendations I've read use the formula above to get at least a little compression.
 
@Pauly Walnuts , if you decide to try patched balls, you should get a hold of someone at pedersoli and ask what the groove depth is in your barrel. I looked online and couldn't find any info on it.

For best accuracy in prb (coming from some very good shooters) you want the patch thickness to be thick enough to fill grooves with a bit of compression. You can figure out the needed thickness with:

Bore size + 2xgroove depth - ball size then divide that result by 2.

Example: 0.50 + 2x0.012 - 0.490 = 0.034
0.034/2 = 0.017 patch thickness minimum

A 0.018 or 0.020 patch would give you just a bit of compression.

Of course, people do get good accuracy and non burnt patches by using a thinner patch, but it seems all of the very good very experienced shooters recommendations I've read use the formula above to get at least a little compression.
This is what Pedersoli emailed me. They said use 0.010 patches.
 

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Really you don't need 90 grs for effect on target. Not even for the lighter balls. In one of my guns a 360 .50 minie and 100 grs ffg shoot one hole at 50 yards but I think it hits me harder than the deer...... You start getting projectiles over 350 grs you don't really need velocity for anything other than trajectory on most continents. I'd shoot what shoots well and exceeding that 90grs is certainly not necessary.
 
Ok I splurged. I bought everything I needed to shoot patched balls also. I bought Hornady and Speer 0.490 balls, unlubed patches, lubed patches. Patches from all thickness sizes to experiment with. I think my only issue now is going to being able to find the time to shoot all this.

I guess my next rifle is going to be that Rocky Mountain hawken with the slower twist.
 
1:32 twist is a bit fast for patched roundball (PRB), but many make it work. Most report that a lower powder charge is necessary to get decent accuracy with PRB in a higher than ideal twist rate. To be clear, 1:66 to 1:60 is common for a PRB preferred barrel twist. 1:48 is considered a "combo" twist rate of sorts, meaning it'll shoot both PRB and conical decent. Faster than that is generally more dedicated to conicals/bullets. But again, many have found that PRB accuracy can be acceptable with faster twist rates like yours, but definitely start at a lower powder charge and work up.
Hornady Great Plains Bullets shoot really well in my 1:48 twist, I'd think they'll shoot really well in your 1:32 as well. They do tend to lead up the barrel. Someone else recommended cleaning the bore with a bit of steelwool, make sure it is "0000" size so it doesn't mar the bore.

Real black powder, Triple7, Pyrodex are going to be needed to ignite well in your caplock. BH209 would require 209 type shotshell ignition. If you have trouble igniting Triple7 or Pyrodex, there are #11 "mag" caps that are a little hotter or Musket caps would be a bit hotter than regular #11 caps. Also, many say that a nipple that has around a .031" opening on the bottom will help with reliable ignition with subs. Be aware that shooting heavy loads with heavy conicals will wear out nipples a lot faster than shooting PRB. If groups suddenly open up and/or your hammer starts getting blown back into the half-cock or full position, time for a new nipple.

I would start around 70 grains by volume and work up in 5 grain increments, not exceeding the 90 grains max charge. That 90 grains max charge is with 2f type powder granulation ("rifle"), reduce by another 12% or so for 3f granulation ("pistol"). 3f is finer granulation and thus burns quicker, creating more pressure.

When swabbing between shots, always pop a cap after swabbing and before loading the next charge. Swabbing may push fouling down the bore ahead of the patch & jag and block your flame channel. Popping a cap will usually clear it again. Point the barrel at a leaf or dry patch when you pop the cap, if the channel is clear it'll make the leaf/patch move.

Look up the bucket of soapy water cleaning method. It works well to remove BP fouling. The most important part is getting the bore dry again. WD40, 91% alcohol, denatured alcohol assist in removing water. Make sure to pour some through the flame channel. Many like to heat the water up so it will evaporate and dry faster, but it isn't necessary as far as cleaning well, just convenient. If using a petroleum based rust inhibitor, many like to store the rifle barrel down so it doesn't collect in the flame channel and cause ignition problems. When ready to go shooting again, strip the rust preventative back out of the bore first by swabbing with alcohol. I like to use Barricade, it only takes a light coating and it dries into a protective film, does not remain a liquid. It also won't cause a mess if you don't strip it out before shooting again.
 
1:32 twist is a bit fast for patched roundball (PRB), but many make it work. Most report that a lower powder charge is necessary to get decent accuracy with PRB in a higher than ideal twist rate. To be clear, 1:66 to 1:60 is common for a PRB preferred barrel twist. 1:48 is considered a "combo" twist rate of sorts, meaning it'll shoot both PRB and conical decent. Faster than that is generally more dedicated to conicals/bullets. But again, many have found that PRB accuracy can be acceptable with faster twist rates like yours, but definitely start at a lower powder charge and work up.
Hornady Great Plains Bullets shoot really well in my 1:48 twist, I'd think they'll shoot really well in your 1:32 as well. They do tend to lead up the barrel. Someone else recommended cleaning the bore with a bit of steelwool, make sure it is "0000" size so it doesn't mar the bore.

Real black powder, Triple7, Pyrodex are going to be needed to ignite well in your caplock. BH209 would require 209 type shotshell ignition. If you have trouble igniting Triple7 or Pyrodex, there are #11 "mag" caps that are a little hotter or Musket caps would be a bit hotter than regular #11 caps. Also, many say that a nipple that has around a .031" opening on the bottom will help with reliable ignition with subs. Be aware that shooting heavy loads with heavy conicals will wear out nipples a lot faster than shooting PRB. If groups suddenly open up and/or your hammer starts getting blown back into the half-cock or full position, time for a new nipple.

I would start around 70 grains by volume and work up in 5 grain increments, not exceeding the 90 grains max charge. That 90 grains max charge is with 2f type powder granulation ("rifle"), reduce by another 12% or so for 3f granulation ("pistol"). 3f is finer granulation and thus burns quicker, creating more pressure.

When swabbing between shots, always pop a cap after swabbing and before loading the next charge. Swabbing may push fouling down the bore ahead of the patch & jag and block your flame channel. Popping a cap will usually clear it again. Point the barrel at a leaf or dry patch when you pop the cap, if the channel is clear it'll make the leaf/patch move.

Look up the bucket of soapy water cleaning method. It works well to remove BP fouling. The most important part is getting the bore dry again. WD40, 91% alcohol, denatured alcohol assist in removing water. Make sure to pour some through the flame channel. Many like to heat the water up so it will evaporate and dry faster, but it isn't necessary as far as cleaning well, just convenient. If using a petroleum based rust inhibitor, many like to store the rifle barrel down so it doesn't collect in the flame channel and cause ignition problems. When ready to go shooting again, strip the rust preventative back out of the bore first by swabbing with alcohol. I like to use Barricade, it only takes a light coating and it dries into a protective film, does not remain a liquid. It also won't cause a mess if you don't strip it out before shooting again.

Awesome thank you!
 
Anyone have any tips for removing the ram rod from the stock? I got my scout in the mail yesterday and the ram rock is pretty much frozen into the stock. It won’t budge at all.
 
Put the end og it in a vice and yank on it. Once it's out replace it with a rod of the correct diameter. 🤣

Said partly seriously and partly in jest. It may be a high quality rod that's just a bit oversized but it's been my own observation that most onboard rods in newly purchased guns and gun kits are sub standard.
 
Put the end og it in a vice and yank on it. Once it's out replace it with a rod of the correct diameter. 🤣

Said partly seriously and partly in jest. It may be a high quality rod that's just a bit oversized but it's been my own observation that most onboard rods in newly purchased guns and gun kits are sub standard.
Any rods you recommend?
 
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