Advice for a hunting load

[Mike Lyons]

I shot my 50 caliber today with 70 grains of 2f goex and 4f in the flash pan.  I was dead on at 25 yards and 10 inches low and to the right at 50.  What’s the deer hunters advice?  Should I try more powder for better accuracy at the 50 yards?

[smylee grouch]

If your trying to work up a good hunting load you will need to try more than one combination. Just my humble opinion. Try different combos to get the best groups, save your targets, take notes to compare later . Shoot 10 shot groups from a steady rest.

[mountainman70]

Hello Mike,looks like a range session in the works for ya. We have 25,50,100 target frames,gongs, 12" square buffler steel targets that have a nice ring when ya send em flying.Great fun. There will be enough knowledge to get you squared away. Looking forward to meeting y'all. Dave

Covered firing line, benches, an stuffs.

[Leatherbark]

 With a 25 yard zero and 70 grains that ball should be rising after 25 yards and be a couple inches  high at 50 and maybe 8 to 10 inches low at 100.  Couldn't by any chance be using Grafs 2f?  I'd file the sight for a 50 yard zero.

Bob

[mountainman70]

Hi Leatherbark, Bob. We gonna try to get him on the path,hopefully this Saturday at our club shoot,here in St Albans area, Mountaineer flintlock Rifles,inc. Have you ever shot with us? More than welcome to  join us. Have a goodun, Dave F

[snapper]

that does not sound right to be that low at 50 yards.

Did you shoot several shots?

Fleener

[smylee grouch]

I think Snapper asks a valid question, how many shots did you shoot in your load development? Thats one reason to shoot 10 shot strings, just about every one will have a flyer or two so when you shoot 10 shots you still have a bunch you can call a group. Besides, the shooting is fun.

[Mike Lyons]

I shot two at 50 and they were an inch apart.  I’ll shoot more tomorrow in honor of Christopher Columbus.   I never shot 10 shots at 25 or 50.  I’m new to the muzzleloader.  I was treating it like a high powered rifle.  Once you hit a good group,  you move on.  I’ll slow down and shoot lots at one target to get a large grouping.  This is worth mentioning.  I had my two flintlocks and an 1860 colt with me. I’m not used to using my pouch yet and I couldn’t if I wanted. It’s overflowing with needless stuff.  I have to trim it down to the 4 or 5 tools that I consistently use.   I had my pouch emptied and two tool boxes full of $#@* scattered across three benches. I was walking from one bench to another.  It was a mess.  Im a Rookie for sure.  My pouch will be getting use for sure.   There was only one other guy at the range who was picking up brass and wouldn’t shut up.  He kept telling me that my rifles were Hatfield’s from the 1800’s.  I don’t think they are Hatfield’s.  Is Hatfield a general term like ky rifle?  One is a Lancaster and the other a Lehigh that I built this year.   I never replied to him much. He went on and on rambling that they are Hatfield’s because of the striped wood and his brother in law had one that couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn.  How unreliable they are etc. Needless to say,   I was very irritated at times.  There at the end,  4 cars pulled up with about 20 kids and probably double the amount of high tech pistols and ar’s.  They shot non stop for 30 minutes at trash on the range and left.  They did check out my rifles and said they always wanted one. 

[smylee grouch]

Sounds good. If you try different combos only change one factor at a time. Good luck and say hi to chris for us.   

[mountainman70]

Ahhh the joys of public ranges. NOT   We have a public range at Kanawha State Forest,here near Charleston, and it is downright spooky at times,people that is. Most I know wont go there without 2 friends or relatives with them.

Now,for the joys of club ranges-----other folks involved with our particular guns,no brass all over firing line,modern cartridge stuff not allowed.
I must say,Mike, your restraint was duly noted here.hahaha
A dose of Lockjaw would be a good gift for that'n.
I'm windy for sure, but most of the time I am familiar with what I am talking about.

Have a good day shootin,just watch your back. Dave

[Frank]

Flintlocks are not like cartridge rifles where you fire 2 or 3  shots at the beginning of hunting season and are good to go. Need to practice all year to maintain your competency.

[Huntschool]

I would file and set the sights for at least dead nut at 50.  You could up your charge by 5 or so gr or even go to 3FFFg at 70 gr and see what happens.  What's the twist in that barrel and are you shooting tight patch and ball ?

[Daryl]

I use 85gr. 2F GOEX in my .50 with a 48" bl.  It strikes dead on at 25 yards and about 1" high at 50 yards.  The sights are fairly low.

The higher the sights, the higher the gun will shoot at 50yards, if using a 25 yard zero.

[Mike Lyons]

It’s a 48” B weight Colerain. I don’t know the twist rate. 

[alacran]

25 yards is good only to get your windage. Ignore what it does at 25 yards as far as elevation.  File your front sight till you are hitting center at 50 yards.You may need to fine tune your windage at that point. After you are sighted in at 50 yards, place your target again at 25 yards you will be about an inch high. I saw no mention of patches. At a hundred yards a fifty yard zero is going to have you shoot about 4.5 to 5 inches low.

I think first you have to decide what you consider accurate. Two shots at fifty yards can be attributed to statistical probability. When you can shoot five five shot groups that all balls are within 1 inch center to center, you will be able to say how your gun shoots.

[Huntschool]

Afghanvet:

Your twist is 1:56".  Alacran has it right.  File front sight in for 50 fudge your back sight if need be and go from there.  Everyone has a different approach to sighting in but that one is the easiest.  You should check your patches as you shoot.  Developing more then one load can come after the sight in.  I use more then one load based on what I am doing but that is just me.

[snapper]

For a hunting load, I like to be 2" high at 100 yards.  That will put me in the kill zone a little over 100 yards if I happen to need it, or if I dont have time to use a range finder and I think that the deer is at 90 yards, but ends up being at 125 yards.

That also allows me to be in the kill zone at the shorter ranges.

I hunt in Iowa and quite a bit of the time I shoot my deer around sunset in fairly open spaces.

If I was only hunting in standing timber I would not worry about a 100 yard shot.

We each have our own limits on what ranges we shoot, and setup our rifles for.

Fleener

[Daryl]

Exactly true, Fleener.

[Mike Lyons]

Thanks for all the advice.  I just need to shoot more groups. 

[longcruise]

I suggest that you try a little more powder and be sure to inspect your fired patches.  If you are going to shoot multiple charges with the same patch material, you can use different colors of magic marker to color the patch material for identification.

[Mike Lyons]

Thanks.  I wasn’t sure what to expect. This was the third time in my life I’ve shot a muzzleloader.  I’ve been very impressed with the 25 yard groups.  I didn’t shoot 10 but I was clipping holes.  My patch material has been the blue and white striped pillow material from hobby lobbies fabric section.  I’m using tallow I made from kidney beef fat from the butcher.