JSG 3f in a roundball rifle
06-25-2010, 11:35 AM
#1
Dominant Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
JSG 3f in a roundball rifle
80º and 93% humidity. Over cast sky just waiting to rain
a slight wind out of the west.
50 yard line bench rest.
JSG 3f loose powder 80 & 90 grains used in test
home cast .490 roundball
pillow tick patch with moosemilk for a lube
T/C PA Hunter .50 caliber with single trigger and buckhorn sights
I wanted to see if the rifle reacted to a difference of 10 grains. Also there is a claim that APP powder reacts to humidity. I wanted to test that theory as well and see if the humidity affected the shot.
I started on a clean barrel. The first test was with 80 grains of JSG and the first hit was low left, in the black tape. It then for some reason started shooting to the right but still low. So I adjusted for the drop ball and the right swing and the next five in the orange and bull was the result. Not too bad actually once I learned the rifle. I did not want to adjust the sight as this is sighted in for Goex and shoots dead on.
Actually the top three are with 80 grains of JSG and the bottom three with 90 grains of the same powder. The patches look perfect. NO burn outs, and no tears. Even with the 90 grains of powder. These patches are cut from the muzzle which account for the ruff edged.
Shooting 90 grains of JSG on the fouled bore (at no time did I swab the barrel clean during the shooting) again I noticed with 90 grains if shot to the right. I adjusted and #3 came about. I then adjusted again and 4-8 appeared. For a 5 shot group, that is not too bad in my book. Of course this is only 50 yards. And the buckhorn sights were really easy to pick up on this over cast day.
My impressions of the powder in a traditional rifle...
it seemed to have good power. Having no chronograph I could only guess at the velocity, but I would not be afraid to deer hunt with that 90 grain load.
Accuracy was more then acceptable. Especially with the 90 grains of powder. Also because I use a liquid patch lube, I felt it was cleaning the muzzle of the bore and I did not get that crust build up in the rifle. Loading was easy for the most part. Although like Frontier Gander said, I really gave the roundball a good hard press. Also noted was the excellent condition of the recovered patches.
As humid as it was today (which could be attested to from the gallon of sweat I lost out here) the powder did not seem to react. Using a RWS cap, ignition was instant, and no hangfires or misfires the entire day. Also there was no clumping noted in the powder, and it poured easy. Also the smoke it gave off because of the humidity I am guessing, was most amusing. You'd fire and the whole table would be in a large white cloud of smoke.
Overall I was kind of impressed with the powder. It did real well out of that rifle. If it were not so expensive and was not so hard to find (I drove over 250 miles one way to get this stuff) around me, I would be using it more. Pretty nice stuff. Clean up was real easy also. But I should note, traditional rifles IMO always do clean up easy.
a slight wind out of the west.
50 yard line bench rest.
JSG 3f loose powder 80 & 90 grains used in test
home cast .490 roundball
pillow tick patch with moosemilk for a lube
T/C PA Hunter .50 caliber with single trigger and buckhorn sights
I wanted to see if the rifle reacted to a difference of 10 grains. Also there is a claim that APP powder reacts to humidity. I wanted to test that theory as well and see if the humidity affected the shot.
I started on a clean barrel. The first test was with 80 grains of JSG and the first hit was low left, in the black tape. It then for some reason started shooting to the right but still low. So I adjusted for the drop ball and the right swing and the next five in the orange and bull was the result. Not too bad actually once I learned the rifle. I did not want to adjust the sight as this is sighted in for Goex and shoots dead on.
Actually the top three are with 80 grains of JSG and the bottom three with 90 grains of the same powder. The patches look perfect. NO burn outs, and no tears. Even with the 90 grains of powder. These patches are cut from the muzzle which account for the ruff edged.
Shooting 90 grains of JSG on the fouled bore (at no time did I swab the barrel clean during the shooting) again I noticed with 90 grains if shot to the right. I adjusted and #3 came about. I then adjusted again and 4-8 appeared. For a 5 shot group, that is not too bad in my book. Of course this is only 50 yards. And the buckhorn sights were really easy to pick up on this over cast day.
My impressions of the powder in a traditional rifle...
it seemed to have good power. Having no chronograph I could only guess at the velocity, but I would not be afraid to deer hunt with that 90 grain load.
Accuracy was more then acceptable. Especially with the 90 grains of powder. Also because I use a liquid patch lube, I felt it was cleaning the muzzle of the bore and I did not get that crust build up in the rifle. Loading was easy for the most part. Although like Frontier Gander said, I really gave the roundball a good hard press. Also noted was the excellent condition of the recovered patches.
As humid as it was today (which could be attested to from the gallon of sweat I lost out here) the powder did not seem to react. Using a RWS cap, ignition was instant, and no hangfires or misfires the entire day. Also there was no clumping noted in the powder, and it poured easy. Also the smoke it gave off because of the humidity I am guessing, was most amusing. You'd fire and the whole table would be in a large white cloud of smoke.
Overall I was kind of impressed with the powder. It did real well out of that rifle. If it were not so expensive and was not so hard to find (I drove over 250 miles one way to get this stuff) around me, I would be using it more. Pretty nice stuff. Clean up was real easy also. But I should note, traditional rifles IMO always do clean up easy.
Last edited by cayugad; 06-25-2010 at 11:50 AM.
06-25-2010, 12:05 PM
#2
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 6,585
Well up North you do not have the kind of humidity that we do in the South but watch and see if your impact point does not change from one time to an other with the weather. Also try leaving a can open to give the results of a can that has been open for a time. I am not sure what it was it may even have been a bad batch of powder but when I was using it my groups went from under an inch at 100 yds to 3 inches and when I switched back to Pyrodex in the same range session the group went right back to an inch. After this happened a couple times I quit using the Hygroscopic powders.
06-25-2010, 12:14 PM
#3
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Boncarbo,Colorado
Posts: 9,186
Great shooting! Especially with that 90gr Load. I plan on running some More APP this evening as well as 3 shots with Pyrodex RS and want to see how the Accuracy is. Those patches look perfect as well. Its a good powder though in these sidelocks. Our cabelas rifle has trouble with 2f due to the thickness of the powder and the tiny powder channel but with 3f, its perfect for the rifle.
06-25-2010, 12:32 PM
#4
Dominant Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
Lee ... this humidity test was just shooting it on the range on a very humid day. I had to stop because it started raining, that is how humid it was. What I was looking for was clumping and misfires. You might be very well right that leaving a can open for a long time in humid weather would affect it. All I am saying by this simple test I did is, I had no problems today. It does get very humid in Northern Wisconsin, especially on a rain day.
Actually can you remember when it was called Clean Shot? I bought four or five pounds of it on a clearance sale. And I was shooting it out of a side lock. It was 2f powder of course. That was some of the best roundball powder I ever shot. I used to sit on the range and shoot all day.
One of them cans was open for over four years and it never went bad on me. But I do store my powder in a room off from the wood stove, so in the winter the humidity in my house is normally 16%.
Actually can you remember when it was called Clean Shot? I bought four or five pounds of it on a clearance sale. And I was shooting it out of a side lock. It was 2f powder of course. That was some of the best roundball powder I ever shot. I used to sit on the range and shoot all day.
One of them cans was open for over four years and it never went bad on me. But I do store my powder in a room off from the wood stove, so in the winter the humidity in my house is normally 16%.
06-25-2010, 12:54 PM
#5
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Boncarbo,Colorado
Posts: 9,186
i dont know why anyone would leave a can of powder open, even smokeless i wouldnt do that with. Im keeping a half lb of APP stored in my powder horn for some what of a test and will see how the accuracy is later on. I hardly ever touch the horn so its almost like a hidden treasure when i need powder and find my horn still full LOL. Its nice when 3f goex is found in the other spare horn.
I just tested 80gr RS VS 80GR 3F APP and with 2 shots, American Won by 3/4". With the RS though, i could really notice the difference while reloading on a fouled bore. A gritty feel down in the breech.
Both powders though are accurate and will do the job in the field. Its just fun to get nit picky and try to squeeze the most accuracy we can out of these guns.
I just tested 80gr RS VS 80GR 3F APP and with 2 shots, American Won by 3/4". With the RS though, i could really notice the difference while reloading on a fouled bore. A gritty feel down in the breech.
Both powders though are accurate and will do the job in the field. Its just fun to get nit picky and try to squeeze the most accuracy we can out of these guns.
06-25-2010, 01:13 PM
#6
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 6,585
I guess I was not plain enough. I often shoot all day and we have a loading bench away from the firing line when some of the kids and grand kids are there there is somebody loading all the time , now every time I had this problem it was with a freshly opened can of powder we had been shooting from in the some with 90 + on both temperature and humidity. One thing is for sure I like to hunt and if I can not depend on something like a gun or a powder I do not use it. We are waiting right now for the hogs to migrate back through and if I am healed up enough to go I will hunt them when they come back through. I think we who hunt something thats liable to fight back need to be very aware of what is reliable. A fellow got mauled by a wounded bear near here a couple years ago. and he was using a high powered rifle.
