fffg loads in a 50 cal.

[mykeal]

people use slingshots for small game with lead balls, there has to be a way you could shoot small game with a .50 rifle

I don't understand the logic here. What does using a slingshot with a lead ball have to do with using a .50 cal rifle? The slingshot load is not a .490 ball; it's more like 00 buck, and it's a lot slower than a powder-propelled ball even with a so-called 'mouse-fart' load. You're trying to make an apple out of an orange.

 

[Busyhands94]

I'm saying i used to hunt small game with a slingshot that had those black tubular bands, it was a very powerful slingshot. i bought a box of musket balls at a garage sale when i was younger before i shot blackpowder that looked to be about a half inch in diameter, those things would really soar when i fired them and carried quite the punch. i think that once i find a load that is just enough to get that ball out with a small amount of force i could shoot small game with it. i also discovered not too long ago i could shoot .454s out of my rifle with these real thick patches i have. i had tons of .454s on my last range trip and forgot my Minnie balls at home, and had only a few .490s left. i shot through my .490s real quick. in my range bag i had some patches that were too thick to shoot with a .490 ball, i had to force it every inch of the way. it got me quite nervous when i touched it off having to pound that sucker down. couldn't pull it either because i don't have a ball puller. speaking of witch i need to get me one of those. but with those thick patches i could get a .454 ball to fit just fine, i feel like it was tight enough, it did take a fair amount of force to seat the ball and patch on the powder. i will try that some more and see what kind of accuracy i can get with those, I'll shoot paper and see if they do any good. i might go shoot this coming week so I'll post pictures of my results. i don't really shoot paper all that often, but they hit cans just fine!

Levi

 

[mykeal]

Small game requires low mass, high velocity loads for a quick, humane kill without exploding the meat. And good accuracy. Large mass/low velocity projectiles have to walk a very fine line between destroying the meat and just stunning the prey; in fact, there's an overlap where you will just stun and cause massive bruising at the same time. That leads to a slow, painful death. Good luck, but you're going the wrong direction down a path that's been trod for a couple hundred years. There's a reason varmint rifles and loads are high velocity, low caliber rounds, and it's not because everybody else just missed something.

 

[wharvey]

As to small game, I wouldn't worry too much about destroying too much meat. That mostly comes from hydrostatic shock. BP velocities are too low. You can of course just do head shots or try barking the tree critters.

One thing to consider is your gun's rifling twist. Many of today's guns are designed for shooting sabots and have a fairly fast twist. My TC Renegade's twist is 1 to 48, (1 twist to 48 inches), and "suppose" to be good for either RB or conicals. A real RB gun will have a twist of about 1 to 66.

That isn't to say you can't shoot RB in a fast twist rifle, like a 1 to 24 I use to have. It just will probably not be as accurate.

 

[DoubleDeuce 1]

Willy,
Go to the fabric store and buy some all cotton pillow ticking. Wash it a time or two. I iron my ticking after washing. Lay the ticking out and cut into strips approx 1 3/8" wide give or take a smidgeon. Roll the strips up and toss them into your shooting gear. When you need a patch, just cut one square, lube it and you're in business.

For lube, I've used Three Rivers brand with good results. The bore butter stuff works well too.

 

[Busyhands94]

i was going through the town today on the way to the range, saw this destroyed couch that was made of pillow ticking beside the road. it was torn to shreds and nobody in the right mind would want it. so i pulled to the side of the road and parked there, got my Case knife and told my papa to stay there for a second, came back with a good sized amount of pillow ticking i was on the way to the range so that was pretty darn convenient.

as for small game loads in a .50, i did some testing today. i took a really thick patch, a .454 round ball made of very hard lead (i had some and i needed to use it, no point in letting it go to waste) and 25 grains of FFFG powder. the recoil is almost like shooting a .22, the energy as far as i can tell is about as powerful as a .22 Magnum, and it shoots good and flat.

i also got some thinner cotton fabric last night from my mom, she quilts so i can get patches for free if i ask nicely! although sometimes they have floral patterns on them! i found a .490 lead ball and 22 grains of FFFG powder shoots well, i only did a couple shots, but as far as i can tell that was a good one too. they both seemed decently accurate. although i really like how the .454 balls shot, i did some long shots onto some dry, loose dirt and the ball kicked up dust right where it should. seems to shoot flat and not be a problem even though it's slightly undersized. i would feel safe using this load for squirrel hunting, seems to be adequate. there is literally no recoil, stuff isn't all smashed like it is when i shoot it with the 1858 Remington, and it's really fun load to shoot. it's kinda like shooting .22s! for small game i am sure this load is perfect! i also installed a patchbox on my rifle a few weeks ago, i had been wanting to force myself to shoot more patched round balls. it's working!