Why 490 versus 495

[ike1518]

I forget what web site I was on but they listed the round balls as .490 for hunting and .495 for target and similar for .54 cal. Why is this?

I think I understand that the more closely a bullet matches the bore the more accurate it will be so that makes sense for the target shooting, but wouldn't you want the best accuracy possible also while hunting? And what if your gun is more accurate with .490? I just don't understand why they would classify them as such.

Thanks for your patience with all my gotta-bore-you-to-death new-guy questions.

 

[Ft. Jefferson]

Your correct in your analysis, mostly! Most would recommend the smaller ball for hunting because of ease of loading in the field and the larger ball for maximum accuracy in line matches. It's all silliness really. Find a load you like and use it.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Depends upon the range (distance) to the target! A
.495 may have to be hammered down the bore, and that can cause the ball to become elongated unevenly and that will result in poorer long-distance accuracy. At 25 yards my son made a one-hole group off-hand a couple years ago with our Navy Arms Hawken and a thick patch. Had to hammer the ball down! Took the same rifle & load to the 100 yard range, and it didn't even hit the target backer! And this was from the bench! :idunno:

A wider ball requires a thinner patch, which can be torn or burnt upon ignition. Sometimes a barrier, such as a wonder-wad will protect the PRB from the charge with the thinner patch :wink: .

Dave

 

[buford87]

The rifle will tell you what it likes if you will listen.....................watch yer top knot.......................

 

[ike1518]

It's good to know a little common sense is still at work here. Thanks to all for the feedback!

 

[longcruise]

Ok, it's the Holiday season, things are slow in my proffession, not much to do so I'll pick on you Smokin. :haha:

A
.495 may have to be hammered down the bore, and that can cause the ball to become elongated unevenly. . . . . .

How do you elongate the ball when you pound it down the bore? Would it not be more likely to flatten?

 

[MikeChapin]

I have three .50s. In two of them I use a .495 ball and one uses a .490 for best results. The rifle that likes a .490 has a Getz barrel. One of the rifles that uses a .495 is my old CVA Mountain Rifle. It uses a .023 ticking patch and needs a good thump with the short starter to get it started but it goes down well enough after that. It needs that combination to keep the rifle from crudding up after a few shots. With this rifle I would use a .490 for hunting just because of the difficulty short starting. When you are hunting you are only going to get one or two shots in a day so barrel crud is not a problem.

The other is a Tennessee with a GM barrel. It uses the same ticking as the CVA but starts with just a slap on the short starter and goes down smooth. If I was to hunt with this rifle, I would use the same load.

All rifles will will shoot in an inch at 50 yards off the bench. It just comes down to what the rifle likes to shoot.

 

[Vaino]

I use .445, .495 and .535 RBs in my rifles. But have also used .440, .490 and .530 RBs w/o a discernible difference in accuracy or POI. The swaged RBs I use are either Speer or Hornady and when I "miked" the RBs, found overlapping dims. not only between brands of the same caliber but between boxes of the same caliber of the same brand. I think MLers are very tolerant of variations in powder charges and RB dias, but not patch thicknesses and possibly some are way too fussy or technical asre powder charges and RB variations unless the RBs are cast w/ voids which definitely will affect accuracy. Because BP per grain generates much lower pressures than smokeless powders and usually MLer bbls are much heavier than CFs, load variations except for patch thicknesses, don't cause the problems found in the flimsy bbled CFs. This isn't saying that an accurate load doesn't have to be developed, but again the "accurate load" will no doubt be developed using powder charge and RB dia. variations and various patch thicknesses....Fred

 

[ohio ramrod]

You will get as many opinions as you will get answers. My personal belief (Completely free and worth what you pay for it. ) is that a larger ball thinner patch vs smaller ball thicker patch will make for s difference in ease of loading, since cloth compresses easier than lead.The smaller ball thicker patch will load easier and the thicker patch will hold more lube as well. This allows for easier loading with out swabing for a quick follow up shot while hunting. As for the problem of hard to load balls being "flatened" when loading ,this can easily be prevented by putting a concave radius on your short starter/ramrods that matches the ball radius. A simple process that I do with all of my guns and guns I work on. Just play with your rifle until you find the loads that work best for you and your gun! :hmm:

 

[BrownBear]

I just don't understand why they would classify them as such.

Some folks just have an inbred need to classify and tag everything. Kinda like asking you what college you went to as the first thing they need to know in order to classify you. Same roots.

Now, if you were really good, you'd spin them some yarn about how you've done exhaustive research and .489 is better than .490 and .4963 is better than .495. They'd never get the joke.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

In all fairness, I'm not exactly sure. I do know that when you pound something that doesn't quite fit into a smaller hole, it can't stretch sideways, so it has only one other way to go? :idunno: The soft lead conforms to the smaller orifice, and then becomes slightly longer that wider, no? :idunno: .

I'm a little under the weather today with a sinus infection, so if I'm wrong, please forgive me :redface:

dave

 

[BrownBear]

I'm sure if it was a egzact science, years ago the theorists would have written a formula that actually worked to predict which would work best in any gun. Facts win. Nuff sed.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Sounds good enough for me Bear! :thumbsup: .

Going with what WORKS and practicing it, is invariably better time spent than pontificating on what a book says anyhow :hatsoff:

 

[longcruise]

Now I see how your brain is workin on this. I guess if there was absolutely nowhere to go it could get longer. I always figure that no matter how tight it seems there is still some patch to squeeze down.

However, when I use a .50 ball to slug a .45 barrel it does seem to get longer.

Now my brain is startin to hurt. Maybe I got your sinus problem?

 

[Slake]

each gun is different
for me some like 490 and some like 495
if it's tough to remember keep a bag for each gun