Was out at the club range the other day and while there a black powder competition was going on.
One of the guys (about 75 yrs old at least) had quite a collection of black powder rifles - most of which looked pretty authentic.
We got to talking and I asked him about bullets - specifically the differences between spherical shaped and conical shaped bullets. He provided a lot of information including the best twist rates depending on the caliber and whether one was firing a sphere or conical bullet. I couldn't question anything he said (and most of it sounded right) because I know less than jack about 1700's/1800's rifles.
The one thing he did say that I thought was maybe at best an exageration was when I asked him if folks switched from the spherical bullet to the conical because the conical was more accurate. Well - he poo-pooed that notion in about a half a heart beat and flat out said that the spherical bullets were accurate out to 1000 yards. I didn't question his veracity on that point out loud but in my head I kept thinking - no way.
So - can a blackpowder rifle of good quality, with the proper twist rate for the caliber and a good load accurately shoot a spherical bullet out to 1000 yards?
Sounds a bit far fetched to me but then like I said I know jack about BP shooting and the guns that do it.
One of the guys (about 75 yrs old at least) had quite a collection of black powder rifles - most of which looked pretty authentic.
We got to talking and I asked him about bullets - specifically the differences between spherical shaped and conical shaped bullets. He provided a lot of information including the best twist rates depending on the caliber and whether one was firing a sphere or conical bullet. I couldn't question anything he said (and most of it sounded right) because I know less than jack about 1700's/1800's rifles.
The one thing he did say that I thought was maybe at best an exageration was when I asked him if folks switched from the spherical bullet to the conical because the conical was more accurate. Well - he poo-pooed that notion in about a half a heart beat and flat out said that the spherical bullets were accurate out to 1000 yards. I didn't question his veracity on that point out loud but in my head I kept thinking - no way.
So - can a blackpowder rifle of good quality, with the proper twist rate for the caliber and a good load accurately shoot a spherical bullet out to 1000 yards?
Sounds a bit far fetched to me but then like I said I know jack about BP shooting and the guns that do it.