Lyman Trade Rifle eye opener
 

It finally stopped raining today and I decided to shoot. It was 70 degrees and sunny now. What more could you ask for. So I took a white paper plate and using black duct tape, taped that to the box. I had decided to shoot at 102 yards. And I figured that would be easy to see.

The rifle I selected was my 54 caliber Lyman Trade Rifle Flintlock. The rifle has a 1-48 twist and primitive sights. And I figured it was sighted in at 35 yards a little high. I was curious where it would hit at 100 yards. So my POA was the center of the X holding in the V upside down of the lower part. The cardboard was extra long so I could see how much drop there would be.

I was kind of shocked when I fired the first three shots. The load was 90 grains of Schuetzen black powder 2f, moosemilk patch, and a very oxidized Hornady .530 ball.



Shot #1 was on a clean barrel so I started making excuses for that. But #2 & #3 were fouled (no swabbing done during shooting). I could not believe they were hitting that high. It just did not make sense. Also why they were so far left.. again, it puzzled me.

So I aimed a little lower and shot #4,#5, and #6. OK, still to the left but much better height wise. So I adjusted my POA again to the right and shot #7-#10 well that was a little better.

The I got thinking.. is the rifle still dead on at 35 yards? So I pulled it down and walked it back to 35 yards and shot 5 shots with the same POA as first used... the upside down V the tape made. No adjustment for left or right. Granted the hits were two inches high above the front sight, but dead where I wanted them.

It just seemed strange to me that the ball would hit that high that far down range. But then, these rifles have amazed me for years. Maybe it was just poor shooting on my part. I hate long range with open sights. But the ignition was flawless with the flintlock.

Then after all was taken down, I started shooting at paint cans down there at 102 yards. Knowing the hold to use, hitting them was not that hard. But what amazed me.. a sabot with a good pistol bullet hits those cans and barely swings them. Having nothing in the can to slow that pistol bullet down, I think that bullet just slaps through it. When that ball hits those cans, they really jump.

looks like with a adj to the sights that gun would be in the pie plate every shot with 90 grains of power at 100 yards....Cayugad...when you hunt with prb is it as importiant to use 90 grains of powder or a higher charge than just shooting targets at a lower charge?...i see guys shooting 60grains at the shoots....I'm sure for a larger animal you'd need more charge... like elk vs deer, but for a deer what would you shoot hunting? thanks ed..i've never shot a deer with a prb

ive done similar shooting sessions with the same kind of results.sighting in close does nothing for my confidence.i kinda cringe when i see people at my local range say there gun shoots whatever at 50 yards so at 100 yards they should be good. i dont trust the ballistics data on the side of the box of ammo.all the ugly comes out at longer ranges.

90 grains is my hunting load in that rifle. So it is also my target load. I have shot smaller powder charges out of the rifle but see no reason to. I like to practice with what I shoot. Personally the power of 90 grains if very impressive. Even with a round ball. With the same powder charge, six years ago I shot a mature doe. She was at 50 yards. She faced me dead on, so when she bent her head down to eat, I aimed at her neck. I figured if I missed or it went through, that ball should still enter through the brisket and hit vital organs.

At the shot, the doe dropped in her tracks. On examination, I'd broke her neck, the ball entered the brisket, passed through that into the lungs, then went downward, out the bottom of the stomach, where it hit a hind leg and broke that also. From there the ball went somewhere into the woods. So when I considered all the bone and flesh that ball passed through, that is good penetration.

That same load, years before that hit a buck and went behind the shoulder in a high shoulder shot. He dropped in his tracks dead. But.. the ball went through him, and hit a doe I had not seen walk up..in the spine, broke her spine, dropping her, and lodged under the skin on the other side of the spine. I had the tags to cover the mistake, but again.. 90 grains has a lot of penetration power, and a round ball can and is deadly.

wow thats plenty of power

from what i have read in history readings, the mountain men usually only used 50 grains of powder in their .50 to .58 caliber rifles for deer and used a "double charge" of 100 grains for bear so i am assuming since i have yet to kill a critter, that my load of 90 grains of 2f goex behind a prb should be plenty for deer out of my 54.gpr.

Here's an eye opener on .54 ball trajectory for you Cayugad. This is my hunting load for my .54 Great Plains flintlock and is pretty close to what you were shooting. I sight in to be three inches high at 75 yards and know I'm good on deer out to 125 yards without thinking about it, and even 150 if I hold just below the spine.




As you can see, if you were sighted in about two inches high at 35 yards your trajectory pretty much matched this chart, and you would be about an inch and a half high at 100.

That really makes sense Semisane. And actually the three shot groups I was "attempting"
although left of the bull were in about the three inch or better group. For me at that distance, that is about normal. So that chart would make sense. All I need do in shift that rear sight to the right, and it should be good if I aim just a little low.

Hey Semi... how you get that .575 ball w/ a patch down the barrel? :)

Now that's a mighty good question WV Hunter. :s2: As you can see, that ".575" ball weighs only 234 grains. So obviously it could not be lead. So logically it must be rubber which, though difficult, I'm able to force down the bore. :s2:

Thanks for the heads-up. It's a .535 ball. I need to correct that chart.