Need RB load data for 45

[aspangler]

I have a 45 sidelock that I will be shooting RBs in. It has a 1 in 66-72 twist. Need load recommendations. I will be hunting deer out to a max of 100 yards. Most shots at 50 or less. I have tried .010 and .020 patches with 50-80 gr of 2f and also tried 3f. Can't seem to get any consistency on the grouping. They are going everywhere. .440 cast RB from pure lead. And yes I turned the sprue out. Any thoughts or load data you can share? Thanks.

P.S. I have not had this trouble with my .50, only this new (to me) 45.

[TCLouis]

If your barrel is like mine, you really need at least .450 balls.

50 - 90 grains ought t do it.

I assume you are benching to shoot groups.

Hold the gun less firmly in the rest if you are using one.

"Artillery Hold" forearm loose in the open hand might help also.

50-90 grains ought to have a load that works, you may have to go in 5 grain increments.

Are you sure about twist rate?

[quilbilly]

My 45's love 55 gr of 3F Goex. That load is accurate for rabbits or deer out to 100 yards and all the deer have gone down in a hurry. The ball I am shooting is 440 and I am using 010 patches with with Crisco or 1000 Lube. Every rifle has a different personality so this may not apply to yours of course.

[aspangler]

Thanks guys. I miked the barrel ant it is .466 in the grooves. Maybe that will tell someone something.

[Rattus58]

I have a 45 sidelock that I will be shooting RBs in. It has a 1 in 66-72 twist. Need load recommendations. I will be hunting deer out to a max of 100 yards. Most shots at 50 or less. I have tried .010 and .020 patches with 50-80 gr of 2f and also tried 3f. Can't seem to get any consistency on the grouping. They are going everywhere. .440 cast RB from pure lead. And yes I turned the sprue out. Any thoughts or load data you can share? Thanks.

P.S. I have not had this trouble with my .50, only this new (to me) 45.Yes... one use 3F with a wad over the powder. Two, and lubes aren't that supercritical but I've tried Dutchie Shoultz's formula of water soluble oil between 6:1 and 8:1 water to oil whatever slicks up best for the ball. The wad, in my opinion, is hypercritical to accuracy... especially at higher loads.... :grin:

[Rattus58]

Thanks guys. I miked the barrel ant it is .466 in the grooves. Maybe that will tell someone something.Assuming your bore is .450, a .440 ball will need a patch .013 at compression. That is pretty standard result. The bore means a lot. Rough edges, waves, and powder can screw up the balls egress downbore and so therefore I recommend to all who'll listen.... use an over powder card before the patch and ball.... you will never regret it!

[waksupi]

I've always found happiness with 65 gr. 3F in .45 ML's.

[mooman76]

What kind of lube are you using and what do your fired patches look like? Your shot patches can tell you allot.

[rdlange]

Can't add much. Mine likes a .445 ball, pillow ticking with yellow lube; 55gr ffg. BUT... check your crown. Redoing mine made a major difference.

[Maven]

"+I miked the barrel and it is .466 in the grooves. Maybe that will tell someone something."

aspangler, If the above figure is correct (check it again just to be sure), you may want to look around for .451" RB's as they're much more easily found than the .450" RB TC Louis mentioned (no criticism of TCL intended). I.e., the .451's are used for some BP revolvers and molds and swaged RB's (Hornady, Speer) aren't difficult to find. Ergo, see if you can beg, steal, or borrow some from someone one of our members and use them with a
.015" - .016" patch at the very least, i.e. thinnest.

[Hanshi]

While I KNOW that I'm a crummy shot, I've found my .45s not at all picky about charge weights. Anything from 60grns of 3F to 80grns of 3F shoots like a dream. I now use a .440" (.445" shoots just the same) ball with .017" ticking (formerly) and .024" ticking currently lubed with Hoppes #9 BP lube. On a good day I can get 4" groups at 100yds which is much better than I can shoot.

[Rattus58]

Can't add much. Mine likes a .445 ball, pillow ticking with yellow lube; 55gr ffg. BUT... check your crown. Redoing mine made a major difference.True, especially if the gun rifles to the crown!

[Ohio Rusty]

I had an acquaintance years ago that shot a nice buck with a .45 in the shoulder with 65 grains of BP. The ball hit the shoulder but the buck didn't go down. (I watched the whole thing) The wounded buck limped off somewhere to die. We tracked that buck for a whole day and never found it.
I would recommend a minimum of 75 grains or more if your rifle can accurately shoot it. If you can go with a .445 ball and thinner patch ...do it. You never know what animal might pass in front of you and with a .45, you need enough power, weight and speed to get that deer down.
Other more experienced guys probably will probably disagree with my recommendations as I've only been shooting BP rifles since 1972.
Ohio Rusty ><>

[johnson1942]

the crown being perfect really caught my eye. rdlange knows his stuff. years ago i bought a bunch of recrowning tools from brownells and have crowned about 20 muzzle loaders with them . they come out perfect and you would be surprised at some that look good but are slightly tilted. a perfect clean crown with not upset the bullet but a worn or slightly not square one will. i use 60 grains of 2f of black and pillow ticking and ,445 roundballs. shoots tight at 100 yards. i find the .45 cal both in slow twist round ball and fasttwist cast bullet or paperpatch the easiest cal. to sight in and stay on target. If your gun was near me i would recrown it for you perfectly for nothing. just takes about a hour to do. if you want to send me your barrel and go the postage both ways ill recrown it for you. it wont be a chop job , poorly done, it will be perfect.

[fouronesix]

I had an acquaintance years ago that shot a nice buck with a .45 in the shoulder with 65 grains of BP. The ball hit the shoulder but the buck didn't go down. (I watched the whole thing) The wounded buck limped off somewhere to die. We tracked that buck for a whole day and never found it.
I would recommend a minimum of 75 grains or more if your rifle can accurately shoot it. If you can go with a .445 ball and thinner patch ...do it. You never know what animal might pass in front of you and with a .45, you need enough power, weight and speed to get that deer down.
Other more experienced guys probably will probably disagree with my recommendations as I've only been shooting BP rifles since 1972.
Ohio Rusty ><>

Glad I'm not the only one to have seen it but when I bring it up am usually scoffed at! I've witnessed it first hand, as a friend did the same with a 45 PRB on a buck at about 40 yards. The difference being I did find the buck about 10 days later. Did a hasty necropsy and found the roundball had hit the shoulder blade near the "T" and splatted up against it- never penetrating into the vitals. And no it wasn't from lack of "power" or velocity but conversely maybe too much velocity with too little a ball. So, my deduction is a little different- the 45 cal soft lead ball at high impact velocity upsets quickly enough that penetration is reduced. The retort is usually an anecdote about Dan'l Boone did it in 1789 or some DRT kill with a 45 ball or the hit was in the wrong place or something like that. That's all well and good- but it isn't what always happens and leaves no margin for error. There is much more margin for error given field conditions with a larger 50-54 cal ball or for the 45 cal- a Maxiball. And I've only been shooting BP rifles since 1968- whatever that has to do with it.

[johnson1942]

ive rolled two does over at 175 yards with perfect hits in the shoulder area and the other at 125 yards. i used 100 grains of two f behind the bullet. i retired the gun to target and small critters becase they both got up and limped away and i couldnt find them but the carnivors did and sent me thankyou notes. ive never had that happen with a .50 roundball, they always put it down for good. i know, why was i shoot at deer with a .45 round ball at 125 yards and 175 yards, because the gun is so accurate and i had to learn the hard way. now i use a 500 grain paperpatch bullet with 120 grains of 2f black. wop and they go down.