An interesting mistake
03-16-2011, 12:53 PM
#1
Dominant Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
An interesting mistake
Today was too nice not to shoot, but the snow was nasty. Before I could walk on the crust somewhat, but with the warm spell it was sink city. Every step was down in the snow past you knee. So I went only to the edge of the back yard this time and that is 35 yards.
I decided that since it was that close of a target I would shoot something traditional and open sights. I decided to shoot a Traditions Woodsman Hawkins.
Rifle: Traditions Woodsman Hawkins percussion lock 1-66 twist open adjustable sights.
Powder: Goex 2f
Primers: RWS 1075
Projectile: Lee mold .490 pure lead home cast roundball
Weather: 45º (hooray no jacket needed!!) overcast and calm
I got out to the shooting table and like always forgot a lot of stuff. I forgot the see through powder measure in the house. Being too lazy to go after it I took a brass hunting measure out. It was one of them you pull upward and each notch is supposed to be 10 grains.
Well I wanted to shoot 75 grains for starters and see how this shot. So I shot off three with that powder charge. I was shooting home cast roundball and moose milk pillow tick patches. I was surprised they were hitting so low. So I jumped the charge to 85 grains of powder and shot three more. Again, still low.
I had forgot to take my notes on this rifle with me, and I thought this was a 85 grain rifle. But I decided to go upward in the powder charge. So I pulled to what I thought was 95 grains of powder and shot several roundball. The group was good and so was the POI. So since I had to go in the house for more coffee.. I brought back the see through powder measure. Imagine my surprise when I poured a brass open measure into the see through measure and it read 105 grains of powder. I had noticed the crack of the rifle was good and powerful, but the recoil was nothing special IMO.
This little rifle with the slow twist is an amazing roundball rifle. I later checked my notes and it says 90 grains of powder for this rifle. It now also says.. up to 105 grains of 2f Goex.
03-16-2011, 01:01 PM
#4
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
Nice shooting. I think too many guys underestimate how accurate a slow twist barrel can be with a PRB. You can get those same results at 100yds too.
The problem I have with the PRB is it loses so much energy at 100 yds. Otherwise i'd never shoot an inline.
The problem I have with the PRB is it loses so much energy at 100 yds. Otherwise i'd never shoot an inline.
03-16-2011, 01:47 PM
#6
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: River Ridge, LA (Suburb of New Orleans)
Posts: 10,917
I have three of those TC U-Views and find that they all throw light charges.
Using GOEX FFg as a base, one would expect a 100 grain measure to throw a 100 grain weight charge. However the U-Views average around 90.5 grain weight when set at 100 grains volume, filled to overflowing and cut off without a tap down. Tapping down the initial fill and topping it off again before closing the funnel yields a charge of about 94 grains weight.
Using GOEX FFg as a base, one would expect a 100 grain measure to throw a 100 grain weight charge. However the U-Views average around 90.5 grain weight when set at 100 grains volume, filled to overflowing and cut off without a tap down. Tapping down the initial fill and topping it off again before closing the funnel yields a charge of about 94 grains weight.
03-17-2011, 07:25 PM
#9
Typical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Lake Saint Louis MO
Posts: 723
Awesome shooting there, it seems with Goex and other real blackpowders you can get away with a little goof. The new powders out there could send you to the ER if your not careful. By the way it was 82 here today in Missouri.
03-17-2011, 08:03 PM
#10
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: River Ridge, LA (Suburb of New Orleans)
Posts: 10,917
The new powders out there could send you to the ER if your not careful.