Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders 45 BP Loads

Can anyone help a new (to black powder) guy with starting loads? I inherited a 45 caliber rifle from my brother-in-law and have been reading up on it. The rifle seems to be a dead ringer for the Traditions(?) Kentucky rifle of a few years back. Anyway, I've picked up the appropriate accessories to get me started - 3F powder, round balls, and such, but I can't seem to find loading data for the 45. I was told that 3F powder would be preferable for the under 50 caliber rifle by an experienced shooter, but GOEX lists 2F for all their rifle data. Would 50 gr of 3F be a good starting point? All I want at this time is to develop a good load for punching paper. I'd appreciate any assistance.

Howdy Jaywalker!

"Kentucky measure " is grain weight per ball caliber.

Don't know where I read that, but it may have been a Dixie Gunworks catalog about 20 years ago.

That being said, a good place to start would be 45 grains of FFFG, and a patch to match your ball.

If you are using a .440 ball, you want a patch that is going to give you slightly over .45 , say a 10 thou. patch to make up the seal.

A thinner patch sometimes works better, though.


"mountain man" measure is had by holding a ball in your hand and pouring the powder over it till it is just covered.

I have tried this several times with different calibers and have found that it comes very close to a maximum book charge.


Catnthehat

well tell ya what jayhawker,,if you can't figure out what kind of gun you have,,then I guess you and "catinthehat" should find the powder charge for it,,,

Please forgive me,may the lord watch over all on this sight,,but I've little patciance for it. it's too much for me.
ya all know how to use the "web", it's not limited,,,,,,search

I was under the impression that a man could come to these forums to get help from those that are experienced in such matters.

Tacks, I think some people get more than a little intimidated about

looking up stuff on the internet and asking questions.

and some just don't like to move from one site to another..

I don't have a problem with helping somebody getting started, but I can relate to you being hesitent because somebody is liable to jump on your thread.

I don't like that when it happens, either, and it happens a lot more on the 'net than in real life.

Catnthehat

Whoa....I apologize if I touched a nerve somewhere. I was just looking for a load range to get started with. As I stated, all the sources I've found, including the GOEX web page, only listed loads for 2F powder. Few listed the 45 caliber at all. I was told that 3F powder was better for the <50 calibers. Was that wrong?



I don't really know much about the rifle I have. The barrel is simply marked "JUKAR" and Spain. Seems to be a rifle imported in the 1970's at the beginning of the BP craze. Looks like a dead ringer for the Kentucky rifle imported by Traditions according to the 2000 Shooters Bible. Gunsmith says it's safe to shoot so I want to give it a try.



BTW, this site was part of my web search.

Jayhawker

3F Goex is fine! I use 3F in my 58 caliber T/C. Start with 50 grains & keep adding five grains until shot groups spread. You may end-up with around 70 grains if sighting-in out to 100 yards. Even if you switch to a heavier conical, there should be no need to ever exceed 90 grains Real Black or Pyrodex.... 75 grains Triple Se7en. If that were my rifle, I'd max-out at 90 grains.

Sounds like a nice oldie you got there. Hope you have many years of enjoyment with it.

see if you can get a "lyman blackpowder handbook & loading manual" they have all sorts of loads for 45s. i use 3f in just about everything except my trade gun (that likes 2f). i find 3f burns better, but i don't shoot anywhere near max in my 54 or my 36.
the 2nd edition "lyman..." doesn't have as many barrel lengths as the first edition, so i'm gonna keep an eye out for a first edition at the gun shows.
they seem to max out the 45s at 100 grains but that sounds pretty stout for me. start at 45 or 50 & work up. the gun will tell you when to stop- groups will fall off etc. and it'll get cruddy with unburnt powder.
of course this is just my opinion and results will vary ( how's that for a disclaimer??)

Thanks, guys. I'm really looking forward to shooting this thing even though the gunsmith almost guaranteed I'd shoot the rod downrange at least once before I was comfortable with it. I do plan on proving him wrong, but I can picture the event so easily.

Jayhawker



Measure the wood ramrod you have then go buy one that won't break. Below is a link for two I recommend. One is black aluminum -- the other is brass. When you reach this site, you'll also see a scroll bar on the left. Scroll down to ramrods -- click -- then go about 1/2 way down on the right-side scroll bar to view them by manufacturer & size. I bought em' both last time I shopped. I use the black one to hook into the stock -- then I bought a longer brass one which is really strong for using at the range where it's best to have two ramrods.... one having a jag for loading/seating the bullet -- the other having a brush for bore swabbing/cleaning. I keep my wood ones parked -- they are dangerous since they break so easily.



Click Here For RMC Sports Ramrod Specialists

your gun is a c.v.a brand

Been my experience that it's getting harder to find 45 cal. goodies, especially in most larger chain stores. Everything now seems geared towards 50 cal. and up, primarily for the new inlines. Lucky fer me, there's a small shop in the area that'll stock anything the customer wants, including real BP.

Not an expert by any stretch, but I've had good results in my old T/C Hawken sparky, with 80grs of 2F Goex and the 255gr T/C pre-lubed Maxi Hunters. This rifle isn't supposed to shoot such bullets well, but it does. Most BP guys I know have little time for T/C lubes or their pre-lubed bullets, but thus far the combo has produced consistant groups and is fairly easy to keep clean.

Use of such bullets in flintlock deer season is still fairly new here in PA, as we were always restricted to patched round balls, up until about three years ago.