new BP rifle

[pacomdiver]

just got a BPI "bobcat " 50 cal percussion rifle today, 1-48 twist . anybody have one and found a good load for theirs? I have a 50 cal lyman mold (#504617 370g) and a lee .490 round ball mold and am thinking of getting a lee 50 cal REAL mold. anyone have experience with them in their bobcat?
thanks in advance

[johnson1942]

your gun with that twist should shoot both, will be your choise.

[duckey]

If the 370 gn Lyman mold is a maxi ball then you have a winner. I shoot a TC Grey Hawk that has the same twist and is very accurate at 50 yards and I can get a 5" group at 100 yards, using iron sights though. I use Pyrodex ands more recently American Pioneer powder. 90 gn under the maxi ball,

[koger]

Have shot several of them over the years, 85-90 grains of 2FFG or equivalent, with RB or maxi will shoot great.

[Hanshi]

Mine killed lots of deer with prb. The patched balls penetrated completely resulting in quite a few DRTs.

[pacomdiver]

finally tried it today with 80g of FFG, and spit lubed patched 490 RB, shot abt 4" groups at 50 but was all over at 100 (lucky it even hit the paper).

the first shot, I pulled the trigger and it went click, held it for a 15 count to make sure it wasn't a hangfire, recocked it and then all went off from then on, maybe a piece of dust or something down in the nipple?

gonna try the maxiballs next time and up the charge

[mooman76]

Try more powder variables. I'd start at around 50 or 60 and go up in 5 grain increments to see what shoots best. I also pop a couple caps before I load and shoot first load. A little oil residue will cause a misfire on the first shot sometimes and a couple caps fired will dry it out. Look for your fired patches too. The shape they are in will tell you about your load. You patch should still look good enough to reuse. Cut marks come from sharp rifling or crown. Shreaded and your patch isn't strong enough or too thin. If it's burned through also possibly too thin or lube.

[pacomdiver]

im using this for hunting, so need a more stout load than just punching holes in paper

I didn't change the cap so it wasn't a residue issue, just recocked it and it fired.

ill look for the patches tomorrow if the monsoon stops. if I find them ill post some pics. they are Thompson center .015 thickness patches

what lube do you guys use for the maxiballs? I haven't lube them yet

[fouronesix]

I use Crisco in the grooves for both T/C Maxiballs and traditional Miniés. Sometimes a card wad or felt wad loaded under a flat base conical like the Maxi helps accuracy. I'd start at 50 gr BP under a Maxi in a 50 cal. Then work up. Guaranteed you'll feel the recoil of 80-90 gr charge under a 370 gr Maxi off the bench. Some shooters flinch and some don't. Flinching at recoil doesn't help accuracy. And if you start at those higher charges you won't know if there is a charge that is more accurate. Also guaranteed even a modest charge with modest ballistics will drive a Maxiball through a deer-sized animal. Accuracy is "king" for hunting.

I have tried the Lee REALs in three different guns, two different calibers and didn't like them. No better accuracy than the Maxiball and much harder to load. Some love REALs, some don't. :)

[pacomdiver]

im not flinch prone, I shoot a 338 lapua in long range tactical shoots. at some matches, I punch 90 rounds a day, that's a lot of punishment

do you just slather the Crisco on when loading? I was thinking of trying the lee liquid alox lube that I have bottles of sitting on the shelf since I powder coat most of my boollets

ill try the 50g charge and work up in 5 or 10g incruments. my father in law uses the 50g charge in his Hawkins but he only punches paper not meat

[mooman76]

I just slather it on when loading. A little messy but I have a rag handy. You can also mix Crisco or olive oil or both with bees way to make it thicker so the conicals are prelubed.

[fouronesix]

im not flinch prone, I shoot a 338 lapua in long range tactical shoots. at some matches, I punch 90 rounds a day, that's a lot of punishment

do you just slather the Crisco on when loading? I was thinking of trying the lee liquid alox lube that I have bottles of sitting on the shelf since I powder coat most of my boollets

ill try the 50g charge and work up in 5 or 10g incruments. my father in law uses the 50g charge in his Hawkins but he only punches paper not meat

I know that throwing out the "338 Lapua" is meant to sound impressive but if your rifle weighs 10 lbs, a normal recoil energy would be about 38 ftlbs. Heavier rifle- the energy decreases, lighter rifle- the energy increases. If it is equipped with a muzzle brake, then reduce that even further but the noise might be worse than the recoil. The 50 Cal Bobcat is listed as weighing 6 lbs. A load of 90 gr BP under a 370 gr bullet will yield about 46 ftlbs of recoil energy. That doesn't even take into account the shape of the recoil. There might also be some significant muzzle jump with the Bobcat.

I know something about recoil as I regularly shoot guns, off the bench, that generate in excess of 75 ftlbs of recoil energy.

Again, I'll guarantee that a 370 gr Maxiball, even at modest velocity, will fully penetrate most any deer you might be hunting. Shot placement at reasonable range is the name of the game with muzzleloaders- not long range impressive ballistics.

I would avoid using LLA as a lube for BP. There are all manner of lubes to use with BP- LLA is not one of them. Just smear the lube (Crisco or whatever) into the grooves with your fingers- it's not rocket science.