Accepting The Limitations Of The Round Ball When Hunting Larger Game
Birth Of The American Longrifle...
Even by the early 1700s, Europe was already densely settled, and the early muzzleloading big game hunters there were never really all that far from settlements where they could replenish their supply of lead and black powder. However, those settlers who had sailed to the Americas often found themselves in short supply of both - and guarded their loading components with their lives.
Among those first Americans were also this country's first gun makers, and with them they brought the short-barreled and large-bored rifles that had served them so well in the homelands. Still, by the mid 1700s, a rifle style that was truly an American original began to evolve. Produced by countless small local gun making shops all along the East Coast, especially in eastern Pennsylvania, the so-called "Kentucky" or "Pennsylvania" rifles were built with long 40-inch plus barrel lengths, and more often than not with a bore that rarely surpassed .50 caliber. Students of the flintlock rifles produced in this country from about 1750 to 1800 have found the most common bore size to be somewhere around .45 caliber.
Backwoods riflesmiths often hand forged each and every part of those rifles, including the barrel, which was often hammer welded from every piece of scrap iron they could get their hands on - from nails to old horseshoes and plows. Iron and steel were nearly as in short supply as the powder and lead needed to make these rifles shoot. And it was the exceptional lengh of the small caliber barrels that squeezed every bit of ball speed and every ounce of energy that could be gotten from the hand forged, hand reamed, and hand rifled barrels.
(Photo: The Pennsylvania style flintlock rifle shown in the above photo was hand-built by John Sorbie, of Gillespie, IL. The less ornate percussion Kentucky rifle was built by Ted Hatfield, of St. Joseph, MO.)
Even by the early 1700s, Europe was already densely settled, and the early muzzleloading big game hunters there were never really all that far from settlements where they could replenish their supply of lead and black powder. However, those settlers who had sailed to the Americas often found themselves in short supply of both - and guarded their loading components with their lives.
Among those first Americans were also this country's first gun makers, and with them they brought the short-barreled and large-bored rifles that had served them so well in the homelands. Still, by the mid 1700s, a rifle style that was truly an American original began to evolve. Produced by countless small local gun making shops all along the East Coast, especially in eastern Pennsylvania, the so-called "Kentucky" or "Pennsylvania" rifles were built with long 40-inch plus barrel lengths, and more often than not with a bore that rarely surpassed .50 caliber. Students of the flintlock rifles produced in this country from about 1750 to 1800 have found the most common bore size to be somewhere around .45 caliber.
Backwoods riflesmiths often hand forged each and every part of those rifles, including the barrel, which was often hammer welded from every piece of scrap iron they could get their hands on - from nails to old horseshoes and plows. Iron and steel were nearly as in short supply as the powder and lead needed to make these rifles shoot. And it was the exceptional lengh of the small caliber barrels that squeezed every bit of ball speed and every ounce of energy that could be gotten from the hand forged, hand reamed, and hand rifled barrels.
(Photo: The Pennsylvania style flintlock rifle shown in the above photo was hand-built by John Sorbie, of Gillespie, IL. The less ornate percussion Kentucky rifle was built by Ted Hatfield, of St. Joseph, MO.)
Developing A Load For An Early American Patched Ball Rifle...
American riflemen of that period really knew nothing of "feet per second" or "foot pounds of energy". Even so, they did recognize that it took a certain level of performance to deliver a patched round ball with enough authority to insure that a whitetail went down...or a hostile threat was stopped. Loads in those days were often developed as much by sound as anything else. When a new rifle was delivered, very often it came with a ball mould specifically cut for a bore that could be .42, .43, .44, .45, .46, or .47 (etc.) caliber. The shooter then often determined the efficiency of the rifle and load by listening to the report of the shot.
Commonly, they started with a moderate charge, then slowly hollowed out a powder measure until it produced a powder charge that gave just the right "crack" when the rifle fired. Most of the surviving original powder measures of the mid to late 1700s rarely measured a charge of more than 60 to 70 grains. But, as this country slowly became more settled and driven by modern technology during the 1800s, lead and black powder became more readily available, and by the 1830s the bore sizes of big game hunting rifles produced in the U.S. began to become larger...and barrel lengths shorter, much like the early rifles used in Europe.
Serious hunters, especially those who had headed into the West, where larger game like elk and buffalo were more common, found the smaller bore rifles of the East unsuitable. Small diameter .400- to .460-inch balls of 90 to 145 grains, pushed by light 60 to 70 grain charges of black powder simply did not deliver the knockdown power needed. And due to much more open terrain, they found it necessary to shoot at significantly longer ranges, where the light spheres of lead really lost game-taking effectiveness. The 30- to 34-inch barreled "Mountain" and "Plains" rifles of the period often featured .52 to .54 caliber bores, and were commonly stoked with as much as 120 to 150 grains of powder behind a tightly patched ball that generally weighed between 200 and 240 grains.
(Photo Above Right - Here's an early 1980s photo of the author with a dandy 400+ pound black bear, taken with one shot from a Dixie Gun Works (built by Pedersoli) .50 caliber Tryon half-stock "plains" rifle, shooting 110-grains of FFg black powder behind a patched 183-grain .495" soft lead ball. Distance of the shot was about 25 yards, the bear ran about 60 yards.)
Commonly, they started with a moderate charge, then slowly hollowed out a powder measure until it produced a powder charge that gave just the right "crack" when the rifle fired. Most of the surviving original powder measures of the mid to late 1700s rarely measured a charge of more than 60 to 70 grains. But, as this country slowly became more settled and driven by modern technology during the 1800s, lead and black powder became more readily available, and by the 1830s the bore sizes of big game hunting rifles produced in the U.S. began to become larger...and barrel lengths shorter, much like the early rifles used in Europe.
Serious hunters, especially those who had headed into the West, where larger game like elk and buffalo were more common, found the smaller bore rifles of the East unsuitable. Small diameter .400- to .460-inch balls of 90 to 145 grains, pushed by light 60 to 70 grain charges of black powder simply did not deliver the knockdown power needed. And due to much more open terrain, they found it necessary to shoot at significantly longer ranges, where the light spheres of lead really lost game-taking effectiveness. The 30- to 34-inch barreled "Mountain" and "Plains" rifles of the period often featured .52 to .54 caliber bores, and were commonly stoked with as much as 120 to 150 grains of powder behind a tightly patched ball that generally weighed between 200 and 240 grains.
(Photo Above Right - Here's an early 1980s photo of the author with a dandy 400+ pound black bear, taken with one shot from a Dixie Gun Works (built by Pedersoli) .50 caliber Tryon half-stock "plains" rifle, shooting 110-grains of FFg black powder behind a patched 183-grain .495" soft lead ball. Distance of the shot was about 25 yards, the bear ran about 60 yards.)
Shooting & Hunting With The Patched Round Ball Today...
Back during the 1960s and early 1970s, when interest in shooting and even hunting with a muzzleloader began to win over more and more modern day shooters, the patched round ball was still the most widely used muzzle-loaded projectile. Most of the so-called "reproduction" rifles available then were rifled with rates of rifling twist from 1-turn-in 48 to 66 inches. And these are the rates of twist needed to produce acceptable accuracy with a patched spherical projectile out of rifles of .45 to .54 caliber. Elongated conical bullets, often two or more times longer than in diameter, require more spin on the bullet for proper stabilization. (This will be covered on another page of this website.)
Today, the round ball has, so to speak, fallen from grace. Only about 5-percent of all muzzleloaders currently being built and sold feature round ball rifling. And the reason why muzzleloading hunters, who now make up the vast majority of muzzleloader shooters, have pretty much abandoned the patched ball is the same as it was during the 1840s, when rifle makers set out to develop rifles and longer bullets that performed better on game and at longer distance. Modern shooters have abandoned the patched ball simply because it does not deliver the foot-pounds of energy needed to cleanly and consistently take large game once ranges extend much past 50 or 60 yards.
However, there remains several hundred thousand shooters in the U.S. who enjoy the challenge of getting up close and personal with the game they hunt, and who continue to hunt with older style rifles and the ancient patched round ball projectile. Also, traditional muzzleloader only shooting orgnizations generally require the use of "patched round ball only" during official muzzleloading target competition.
Out of a quality bore, a properly loaded patched round ball can prove deadly accurate at the ranges it was truly intended for - and that is 25 to 50 yards. Serious target competitors commonly load with a ball that's just .005" smaller than the land-to-land measurement of the rifling in their bore. The ball is then commony patched with a lubricated tightly woven cotton or linen material of around .010" to .015" in thickness. Hunters often go with a .010" undersized ball, using .015" to .020" patching, which tends to load easier in the field, Most now use pre-cut patches. However, there are still many round ball shooters who will use a long strip of this patching material, then push the ball and lubricated section of the strip into the bore until the front of the ball sits flush with the muzzle. A sharp patch knife is then used to trim off the remaining material - by simply running the blade flat across the flat of the muzzle.
(Photo Above Left - Custom traditional rifle maker Jack Garner, of Tennessee Valley Manufacturing, is shown here with a nice Wyoming pronghorn buck, taken at about 50 yards with one of his round-ball Tennessee "Poor Boy" rifle models.)
Today, the round ball has, so to speak, fallen from grace. Only about 5-percent of all muzzleloaders currently being built and sold feature round ball rifling. And the reason why muzzleloading hunters, who now make up the vast majority of muzzleloader shooters, have pretty much abandoned the patched ball is the same as it was during the 1840s, when rifle makers set out to develop rifles and longer bullets that performed better on game and at longer distance. Modern shooters have abandoned the patched ball simply because it does not deliver the foot-pounds of energy needed to cleanly and consistently take large game once ranges extend much past 50 or 60 yards.
However, there remains several hundred thousand shooters in the U.S. who enjoy the challenge of getting up close and personal with the game they hunt, and who continue to hunt with older style rifles and the ancient patched round ball projectile. Also, traditional muzzleloader only shooting orgnizations generally require the use of "patched round ball only" during official muzzleloading target competition.
Out of a quality bore, a properly loaded patched round ball can prove deadly accurate at the ranges it was truly intended for - and that is 25 to 50 yards. Serious target competitors commonly load with a ball that's just .005" smaller than the land-to-land measurement of the rifling in their bore. The ball is then commony patched with a lubricated tightly woven cotton or linen material of around .010" to .015" in thickness. Hunters often go with a .010" undersized ball, using .015" to .020" patching, which tends to load easier in the field, Most now use pre-cut patches. However, there are still many round ball shooters who will use a long strip of this patching material, then push the ball and lubricated section of the strip into the bore until the front of the ball sits flush with the muzzle. A sharp patch knife is then used to trim off the remaining material - by simply running the blade flat across the flat of the muzzle.
(Photo Above Left - Custom traditional rifle maker Jack Garner, of Tennessee Valley Manufacturing, is shown here with a nice Wyoming pronghorn buck, taken at about 50 yards with one of his round-ball Tennessee "Poor Boy" rifle models.)
If You Want A Heavier Ball...You'll Need A Bigger Gun!!!
Keep in mind that the patch that folds up around the rear of that ball plays a critical role. Not only must it be tightly woven and strong enough to produce the necessary gas seal when the powder charge ignites, the material must also grip the rifling and transfer the spin of that rifling to the ball itself. (It literally serves the same purpose as the modern plastic sabot when shooting saboted bullets out of a modern in-line ignition rifle.) And in order for the cloth patch to be able to grip the lead ball requires that the ball be produced from soft, pure lead. Even as little as 3% antimony, tin or other materials added to the lead mixture can produce a ball so hard that it will likely fail to be properly spun by the rifling and patch.
Fortunately, pre-cast pure lead balls are available from large muzzleloading suppliers, such as Dixie Gun Works, of Union City, TN. Likewise, Buffalo Bullet Co., Speer and Hornady bullets also offer a great selection of very precise cold swaged pure lead round balls for the shooter and hunter who enjoys very traditional muzzleloading rifles - such as a true Pennsylvania flintlock of pre-1800 styling...or one of the large-bore percussion Hawken half-stock rifles favored by the mountain men of the late 1830s and 1840s.
On this website, you will find several pages of traditional round ball loads and ballistics. If your goal is to hunt big game with these rifles, please pay close attention to the energy level produced by the load you shoot. Keep in mind, that to cleanly harvest deer sized game requires hitting the game with at least 800 foot-pounds of retained energy, at the distance of the target - whether you are hunting with a pre-1860s desgin or ultra-modern design muzzleloader and load. For game as large as elk, 1,000 foot-pounds is considered minimum.
Following are links to the round ball data we have compiled for this site. Note that when moving up to a larger caliber, there's a significant jump in ball weight. The only way to increse energy levels is to increase velocity or the weight of the ball. If both can be accomplished, with accuracy and safety, a round ball rifle becomes more effective on big game. - Toby Bridges, North American Muzzleloader Hunting
(Photo Above Left - This 30-year old photo shows a much younger Toby Bridges with an 1,800 pound bison bull, taken with a custom .62 caliber full-stock percussion Leman rifle. Propelled by 140-grains of FFg black powder, it took three of the big 344-grain .610" soft lead balls to put the bull down for keeps. All three shots were inside of 70 yards.)
Fortunately, pre-cast pure lead balls are available from large muzzleloading suppliers, such as Dixie Gun Works, of Union City, TN. Likewise, Buffalo Bullet Co., Speer and Hornady bullets also offer a great selection of very precise cold swaged pure lead round balls for the shooter and hunter who enjoys very traditional muzzleloading rifles - such as a true Pennsylvania flintlock of pre-1800 styling...or one of the large-bore percussion Hawken half-stock rifles favored by the mountain men of the late 1830s and 1840s.
On this website, you will find several pages of traditional round ball loads and ballistics. If your goal is to hunt big game with these rifles, please pay close attention to the energy level produced by the load you shoot. Keep in mind, that to cleanly harvest deer sized game requires hitting the game with at least 800 foot-pounds of retained energy, at the distance of the target - whether you are hunting with a pre-1860s desgin or ultra-modern design muzzleloader and load. For game as large as elk, 1,000 foot-pounds is considered minimum.
Following are links to the round ball data we have compiled for this site. Note that when moving up to a larger caliber, there's a significant jump in ball weight. The only way to increse energy levels is to increase velocity or the weight of the ball. If both can be accomplished, with accuracy and safety, a round ball rifle becomes more effective on big game. - Toby Bridges, North American Muzzleloader Hunting
(Photo Above Left - This 30-year old photo shows a much younger Toby Bridges with an 1,800 pound bison bull, taken with a custom .62 caliber full-stock percussion Leman rifle. Propelled by 140-grains of FFg black powder, it took three of the big 344-grain .610" soft lead balls to put the bull down for keeps. All three shots were inside of 70 yards.)
Three Pages Of Patched Round Ball Loads & Ballistics Currently Published...
http://www.namlhunt.com/traditionalmldata1.html
http://www.namlhunt.com/traditionalmldata2.html
http://www.namlhunt.com/traditionalmldata3.html
The Traditional Side Of North American Muzzleloader Hunting Brought To You By...
Green Mountain Rifle Barrel Co. - www.gmriflebarrel.com
Traditions Performance Firearms - www.traditionsfirearms.com
To Check Out CCI's Percussion Caps - Click Here
