What a difference five grains makes

[Canute Rex]

This will be a "Well, duh..." for most of you.

I tend to shoot light loads in my .50 to baby my shoulder, which gives me some trouble. I was shooting 75 grains of 2F and spraying round balls across the countryside. Just the other day I decided that with a new piece of foam in my jury-rigged pad I could try 80 grains.

Suddenly I was a better shooter. My shots coalesced into a  1 1/2" ragged hole at 25 yards offhand. Still a few flyers - I'm not Daniel Boone - but the rifle is now shooting where I point it. I know as soon as I pull the trigger that I've twitched it to the left, or wherever, and that's where it went.

Funny how those threshold effects work.

[Fred_Dwyer]

I was shooting 75 grains of 2F and spraying round balls across the countryside. Just the other day I decided that with a new piece of foam in my jury-rigged pad I could try 80 grains.

?Light load at 75 grains?
Drop to 45 to 55 grains and see how that shoots, and how nicely it treats your shoulder.
You might be pleasantly surprised.

[Standing Bear]

Not knowing barrel and load info, I suspect the biggest improvement comes from the ability to not flinch because of reduced felt recoil.

Glad you got an improvement whatever the case.

TC

[Canute Rex]

It is a 38" swamped Coleraine .50 barrel. I'm shooting a .495 cast ball with a .025 washed ticking patch and a lube of isopropyl alcohol, water, and neatsfoot oil.

I have shot as little as 65 grains in it, but I tended to get a lot of vertical stringing. I've been working up in 5 grain increments over time.