Round ball accuracy??

[djohns28]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of accuracy is considered acceptable with a patched round ball? I'm trying to develop a hunting load and if a round ball won't get me where I need to be I will have to swap to a sabot for hunting.

[mooman76]

What are you shooting with, twist rate? Normally with work up you can get around 2" @ 100y or even better depending on your shooting skills. BP guns are capable of allot better than allot of people give it credit.

[243winxb]

First, keep the ball round. To much force on loading from the ramrod can deform the ball.

Accuracy 5" or better @ 100 yards , iron sights . T/C Hawken 45 cal flint lock.

[arcticap]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of accuracy is considered acceptable with a patched round ball? I'm trying to develop a hunting load and if a round ball won't get me where I need to be I will have to swap to a sabot for hunting.

IMO acceptable hunting accuracy is being able to reliably place the first shot out of a cold clean barrel on a paper plate at your given hunting distance.
Groups don't matter much because deer hunters aren't shooting groups, they're aiming to kill a deer with a single shot.
That's the nature of the sport.
When a lethal shot is required, it's up to the shooter and the gun to deliver it.
A hunter can miss the mark but still make the kill.
The shot basically only needs to be in the boiler room.

[John McCorkle]

Tons of factors effect accuracy just like with metallic cartridge reloading...but the key as consistency.

If you want to score a hit on a deer with roundball, #1 do so inside range that is acceptable for your caliber...100 yard is a decent yardstick for 50 Cal. I would say less more like 70 and under but that's just me. Roundballs bleed velocity fast.

#2 make sure your bore condition is exactly the same shot to shot. So for hunting that means cleaning between shots to return the bore to the same condition as your previous shot and replicate what your bore will be like while hunting too. Makes no sense to group and aight in for a fouled bore if you are going to hunt with a clean one. You can set up two targets....one for clean bore and one for fouled...fire first shot at clean then other shots at fouled....clean and repeat. This would let you know if there is poi shift from clean to dirty on your gun

#3 the principles of reloading are not much different in muzzleloader than in metallic cartridge..it's just harder to get the same consistency. Guys spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on equipment to ensure neck tension on match loads in order to give consistent resistance when the powder ignites. How would that translate to muzzleloader? Apply same pressure to your ramming...don't bounce the rod and deform the ball....sort your roundballs for extreme consistency (+/-1 grain and no deformation) load with the sprue facing up and in centerline with axis...load the same way each time with the same force with no variation...same bore condition and I bet you'll see improvement

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[sharps4590]

If care is taken in loading, as others have mentioned, usually a round ball is more accurate than conicals, with or without sabots. That and they kill all out of proportion to their paper ballistics.

[725]

Putting all the factors together; patch type & thickness, lube, charge, twist rate, sights, quality and hardness of the bullet, assembly consistency & shooting skills will determine the final accuracy. With the right stuff & technique amazing accuracy can be obtained. Like sharps4590 says, they do, in fact, kill all out of proportion to what you may expect. Find a good round baller with the slow rate of twist correct for the weight & caliber of your ball and you'll be a happy camper. It may be a long period of experimentation changing all those variables to find the right stuff, but when you do, ......................... Good luck.

[mooman76]

I might add even with tight twist guns you can usually get decent accuracy but will be more limited to lighter loads.

[djohns28]

I might add even with tight twist guns you can usually get decent accuracy but will be more limited to lighter loads.

I'm shooting a 1/48 24" barrel. Been running 70 and 80 grains of powder. Swab between shots and wet patch to clean when it doesn't feel smooth the dry patch.

[mooman76]

You should be able to get reasonable hunting accuracy with that twist rate. Sabot aren't really made for that twist but some people do get real good accuracy with it. You should be able to get conicals to shoot well also.

[KCSO]

I once put 4 shots into 1 1/2" at 100 yards and when I looked at the group forming I didn't fire #5. My buddy put three shots into 1 1/4 inches off the bench with his new Hawken I built him. Stump shooting we routinely hit cow pies at 200 plus yards when we were young. The patched round ball will shoot as good as you ever will.

[brewer12345]

My slow twist barrels are more limited by my eyesight than what they can do with round ball. Can get holes touching at 50 yards. Two or three inch groups at 100 yards. More than good enough for deer.

[quilbilly]

For me, it has depended who made the round ball (who made the mold), the type (thickness of patch), the lube, and care taken loading. Lots of variables but once settled in, I usually get 2" groups at 100 yds and occasionally much less when my old eyes have a good day. My rifles also have a 1/48 twist. Unless hunting mule deer in open desert requiring much longer shots, I prefer round ball to anything else for deer.

[Chihuahua Floyd]

Best I have done was a three shot one hole group. Range was 100 yards. 54 cal Thompson Center Renegade. 90 grains bp iirc with a pre-lubed wad.
CF

[indian joe]

I shot this at 100yards with an open sight CVA flintlock, sitting match at the Majura range Canberra -- no spotting allowed and I had no idea where I was hitting until I spotted the light behind that raggedey three holes at the top left of the main group - got mad at myself for not picking the wind and held across for the last two to try and get a couple in the black and improve the score - spent the rest of my life wishing I didnt do that ! I ruined a killer group. If I'd not seen them holes at all the last five would have went close to an inch.


Woulda liked to put a scope on that rifle and bench it to see just how good we could do with round ball but didnt want to mess up a good shooter

[sharps4590]

Frankly, it's a shame the round ball doesn't get the respect it honestly deserves. Too many have believed too much horse manure that is extant about the lowly round ball and are evidently convinced it is true......or too lazy to find out for themselves....or both. Lots of good groups and testimonials in this thread.

[Hanshi]

Every round-ball rifle I own will shoot much better than I am capable of shooting. 5-shot groups at 60 yards of around 1" are, or rather were, relatively common some years ago. I've rarely ever shot groups at 100 yards - although I killed a couple of deer at that range - but when I did shoot on a few occasions about the best I could ever manage was around 3" and change. That's more than accurate enough for anything I'll ever be shooting. And PRB is lethal all out of proportion to the paper ballistics. Prb will kill game fast and surely.