Old Style Equivalents...

[Puncha]

....of modern smokeless loads/guns.

If I were shooting an S&W model 10 with a modern 158gr LRN .38 Special load moving at 755 ft/s out the barrel, what specific guns and BP loads in the following categories would produce roughly the same muzzle energy or wounding potential?

i) Flintlock pistol
ii) Ball and cap revolver
iii) Wheellock pistol?

As for modern shotguns like the 12ga remington 870 with 18" barrel shooting regular 2 3/4" 00 buckshot loads, how much black powder (with similar sized shot) would the most common smoothbore longarms of the 1700s and 1800s need in order to give similar wounding performance for hunting?

 

[Jim Watson]

ii) A cap and ball revolver, .36 caliber with conical bullet or .44 caliber with round ball, is very close in ballistics to a standard .38 Special. I can look up exact loads later if you require them.

i, iii; I have no velocity data on smoothbore muzzleloaders. I cannot see any difference between wheellock and flintlock excepting as the quality of powder was likely better by the time the flintlock was standard.

A 12 bore fowling piece with 3 drams (82.5 grains) of black will do about anything a cylinder bore shotgun will.