Round Ball accuracy?

[JasonG]

Just Curious, what kinda accuracy would I expect from a round ball at say , 50 yards? Im shooting a lyman trade rifle 54 cal. Im also wondering how many shots should I take before cleaning? Sorry just trying to get this figured out. Thanks Jason

[Dan-o]

Do you know thee twist rate of your rifling?


Some barrels are rifled for round balls.... some for conicals... etc.   

For accuracy, you really want to shoot what the barrel was designed for. 

[Harleysboss]

I had your exact rifle. 50yds with good eyesight. should be small groups, like almost one large hole groups. I installed a peep sight on mine at the time and the groups really shrunk. 90 grns GoexFFG , .530 ball and a .018 prelubed patch. Off the bench accuracy should be excellent. Off Hand, well thats up to the shooter. Great gun you got there.

[JasonG]

Do you know thee twist rate of your rifling?


Some barrels are rifled for round balls.... some for conicals... etc.   

For accuracy, you really want to shoot what the barrel was designed for.

1-48

[JasonG]

I had your exact rifle. 50yds with good eyesight. should be small groups, like almost one large hole groups. I installed a peep sight on mine at the time and the groups really shrunk. 90 grns GoexFFG , .530 ball and a .018 prelubed patch. Off the bench accuracy should be excellent. Off Hand, well thats up to the shooter. Great gun you got there.

Did you mostly shoot round ball? What other options worked well. Im shooting .530 with .015 lubed patches , ffg. Im wondering if the patches need to be .018?

[jaymark6655]

Round ball out of a 1-48 should be around .5" at 50 and 1.5" at 100 if its anything like my .50 cal.  I try to clean every 3 shoots or it gets too hard to load. I heard the maxi-hunters work well and have bought some, but have not tried them.

[Harleysboss]

Believe it or no, I shot some sabots outta mine and they shot pretty good, My rifle seemed to have just a slightly over sized bore so conical fit was not great for me so the accuracy was not there. MMP Sabots sell a 54x50 purple sabot for the 54 cal. It takes a 50 cal bullet, like .499-.500. mine shot best at 100grn FFG Goex BP. I'm a shoot and swab guy. Meaning shoot once, then damp patch with windex , followed up by a dry patch once down and out flip the patch and down and back out. Keeps the bore very similar shot to shot. I did this with round ball shooting also. Probably a must if you try the sabot route. I shot a bullet that I bought from Midway USA rainer copper plated lead HP .500 335grns, cheap bullet but could easily be used as a hunting bullet. They really shoot great outta my Knight MK85 inline 54cal. I ordered my sabots right from MMP they have a website. Pretty cheap. There is a 300 grn 50 cal bullet I think by Hornady. Its pointed and looks similar to the SST that they sell for muzzy loaders. That would probably shoot good in a sabot and 1-48 twist. The twist dictates what will stabilize. 1-48 you have to keep the over all length and that means weight of your bullet on the short stubby side. 300grns will be shorter than lets say 350 grns and so on. Good luck. Keep on asking questions. One last thing, with round ball shooting, find your spent patches and look them over. If you see burn holes or excessive tearing then you need a thicker patch. Mine burnt holes with the .015 patch but that went away with the .018 size. Would think it matters that much but it does. .020 would load but it was very tight to push down the bore.

[MountainDevil54]

Accuracy depends on a lot of factors and the #1 factor is the shooter. I get mad when I go to the range and a friend shoots a 2" group with MY rifle. But guess what, they don't shoot all of the time, they don't know the sights, the loading pressure, the trigger pull. A ton of issues come into play with accuracy.

I would like to keep it at least 1" or less at 50, but again, if your sights are not comfortable to shoot with, its going to limit your accuracy.

[JasonG]

Thank you guys for all the info!! I really appeciate it!  Jason

[JasonG]

Do most people shoot and clean every other shot?

[Jim/WA]

I'm getting fist size groups at 75yds which is more or less my effective range for elk. My elk gun is a 54 cal flintlock loaded with 110gr 2F and a .530 prb. I run a brush down the bore followed by a lightly lubed patch after every shot.