The Weighed & Sorted Ball Experiment

Semisane · 05-09-2009, 08:37 PM

Those who read my "Weigh Your Balls" post (http://www.huntingnet.com//forum/tm.aspx?m=3412332) know thatmynext shooting experimentwas to consist of shootingtwo5-shot/50 yardgroups with the balls weighing exactly the same andtwo 5-shot/50 yard groups with each ball weighing at least two grains different from all other balls. Well, I did it on Friday.

Here my report,with thetargets.

The gun - .54 Great Plains flintlock with Lyman 57 peep sight, shot from a bench with a Caldwell shooting rest under the barrel and rabbit ear bag under the buttstock.

All shots were withweighed charges of 85 grains GOEX FFFg, using.016 thick patches lubed with olive oil. The patches were lubed Thursday night and placed in a stack. The stack was wrapped in a double layer of paper towels and placed under a weight to squeeze out excess oil overnight and assure all patches had an equal amount of lube.

I used the ball seating rod with a "stop collar" set upon loading the first ball.So all balls were seated in exactly the same place in the barrel with exactly the same seating pressure.

The first shot on the first target was from a clean oiled barrel that I swabbed with a dry patch before loading. After the first shot I swabbed the bore with both sides of one 91% alcohol patch, followed by one side of a clean dry patch. I followed that same swabbing procedure after each succeeding shot.

Target #87 - All balls weighed exactly 234.5 grains. Group size was2 & 1/4"
Target #88 - One ball of each of the following weights - 228.5 grains / 230.0 grains / 231.5 grains / 233.5 grains / 235.0 grains. Group size was 2 & 1/8" (with 4 of the shots into 1 & 1/8").
Target #89 - All balls weighed exactly 234.5 grains. Group size was 1 & 3/4".
Target #90 - One ball of each of the following weights - 228.5 grains / 230.0 grains / 231.5 grains / 233.5 grains / 235.0 grains. Group size was 1 & 5/8" (with 4 of the shots into 1 & 1/8").

I do believe you can draw your own conclusions. As for me, I sure won't be wasting my timeweighing balls.

SOMEGENERAL COMMENTS: I was really concentrating on shooting technique, trigger pull and sight picture. At no time during this session did I feel I made a bad shot. I mayeven have been extra carefulshooting the groups with the assorted weight balls. As for the first targetwith the largest overall group (by a small margin) - I'llsay that it's not unusual for me that my first group in a shooting sessionis a little larger thanfollowing groups.I probably should have shot a "dummy"group firstjust to get my technique settled in. My eyesight makes iron sight shooting a bit challenging, even with the Lyman peep. I suspect a good iron sight shooter could really stack them in with this gun and load.

Here are the targets.

HEY! Did you notice something??? I shot the first two targets with round patches and the second two with square patches - all cut from the same patch material. Not a penny's worth of difference between the two.

Well, the gun was dirty, the weather was nice, and I had plenty of preloaded powder tubes. So just for the heck of it I shot another group with matched weight balls, but added a wonder wad under the ball. Got a good group, but not significantly different from the others. Here's the target.

Does anyone feel like weighing their balls, or cutting round patches.

nchawkeye · 05-10-2009, 04:17 AM

With open sights I don't believe anyone will notice a difference...

Want another experiment??? Try changing lube and patching material, that will make more of a difference...With some lubes there is just a bit, but with others it's pretty noticeable...

cayugad · 05-10-2009, 07:11 AM

very nice shooting ... looks like that rifle will hold them, no matter what you shoot.

lemoyne · 05-10-2009, 07:26 AM

I did the same thing 20 years ago and had about the same results, the shape of the patch is not yo important as long as it is big enough and not so big it can wrap around the ball. The patch lube and the amount and kind of powder do make a difference and so does the type of sights. The ball weight will show a difference when you have exactly the right load and a scope over 4 power. A Lot of us that were shooting before inlines were ever heard of did extensive testing to try and get an edge in competitive shooting. Lee

Semisane · 05-10-2009, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Want another experiment??? Try changing lube and patching material, that will make more of a difference...With some lubes there is just a bit, but with others it's pretty noticeable...

I agree with that hawkeye. What lube have you found to shoot the best for you? I've used the straignt olive oil, a bees was/Crisco/olive oilmixture, straightCrisco and, of course, spit. So far I think this gun likesthe straight olive oil the best. I also believe that too much lube opens up my groups, but haven't done a serious comparison of lube amounts yet.

Semisane · 05-10-2009, 07:49 AM

Quote:

I did the same thing 20 years ago and had about the same results

Oh, I didn't expect I was breaking any new ground Lee - just had to see for myself.

Plus, I was reading the material in the "Dutch Schoultz System" in which he poses that "if you really want accuracy" you should eliminate the ball weight variable by "tossing any balls that weight more than 1 grain less than the heaviest ball into the melting pot". He must be talking about a different kind or accuracy than what I'm seeking.

bronko22000 · 05-10-2009, 08:17 AM

Not bad at all Van. First off - good report and good shooting.
Here's my thoughts. It could be thatmaybe Mr. Sholtz (?) was right on the weighing. Not so much with the weight as to how it affects accuracy, but where the "void" is. Those "flyers" may have been attributed to a void near the edge of the casted ball causing it to rotate abnormally. I guess the location of the void is a factor also. I think a void 90 degrees from the bore would causemore erratic accuracy than a void along the center axis of the bore.
In any event, IMO the gain is not worth the effort. Either one of those balls would have ruined any deer, bear or hog's day.
NOW QUIT PLAYING WITH MY BALLS.

Semisane · 05-10-2009, 08:36 AM

Quote:

NOW QUIT PLAYING WITH MY BALLS.

Can't do that Bronko. Any man who sends his balls to someone else through the mail has got to expect they'll be played with.

nchawkeye · 05-10-2009, 11:22 AM

Semisane...I've experimented with several different lubes and for about 20 years or so used SnoSeal for lube, boot sealer and even dropped it into lead to remove doss when running ball...

About 3 years I made a batch of the bee's wax, castor oil and Murphy's Oil soap that is posted at muzzleloadingforum.com

I've finally settled on that because you can vary the wax and castor oil to the seasons...I made up a pint and looks like it will last a few years...

flounder33 · 05-10-2009, 12:44 PM

Semi,
First of all thanks for sending me the literature on the "Dutch Schoultz System". It is interesting reading if nothing else. I'm sure if a ball was really significantly odd it would make some difference. Have you tried cutting the patches at the muzzle to make sure the ball was perfectly centered in the patch?
Anyway, the system gives a person some ideas of things they can tinker with and most muzzleloading people like to tinker. Whoever wants the literature next just send me your address and I will get it to you.
Art
PS My balls are about the same size and weight