quote:

Originally posted by trisurvivor:
Ok guys, here is the deal. My fatherinlaw and I are looking at going muzzleloading next year for deer and i need some questions answered. I am very experienced in reloading and doing custom gun work so it is not like these are off the wall questions.

1)Why shoot 250-350gr 50cal bullets in 50 cals? You don't shoot 300gr 30-06 bullets at deer, so why do that in a slow twist barrel?
like sharpshooter says,lack of velocity.It actaully works well at closer ranges

2)Why is the rate of twist like 1in20 or more? Yet, in ar15 they bump up twist rate to like 1in6 or 1in8 for heavy bullets? Rifled slug barrels shooting the same bullets are faster. That is the twist needed to stabilze the bullet.Balls have slower twist,longer and heavier need faster twist.
Rifled slug barels are not shooting the same bullets,and are using smokeless powder,not blackpowder.

3)Anyone used just 45 cal pistol bullets for their 50 cals? We used 45 cal 185 xtp's and nosler custom comps. I have been using them for years.

4)How long should the petals on the sabot be? We used the short ones, but with 185's they still curl over quite a bit. It looked like the difference between the long sleeve for like 300's and the short ones for the 245's. just keep the shank of the bullet covered,so it doesnt contact the barell.

5)Powder issues: I realize it is measured by volume. So based on our measurement, 100 of the pyrodex select weighed 75grains by mass. How much does metering powder matter in muzzleloading? Triple7 pellets that were the 50/50's ranged from 29.2to 32.3, so with 2 pellets you could go from 58.4 to 64.6. I know in centerfire reloading this would be a huge problem. So do you pour or pellets? I pour myself,but slight variations shouldnt matter much.I have been told as much as 10 grains of BP is needed to make much difference in velocity,and my expirence bears that out.

Any help on any question would be greatly appreciated.

quote:

Ok guys, here is the deal. My fatherinlaw and I are looking at going muzzleloading next year for deer and i need some questions answered. I am very experienced in reloading and doing custom gun work so it is not like these are off the wall questions.

1)Why shoot 250-350gr 50cal bullets in 50 cals? You don't shoot 300gr 30-06 bullets at deer, so why do that in a slow twist barrel?

2)Why is the rate of twist like 1in20 or more? Yet, in ar15 they bump up twist rate to like 1in6 or 1in8 for heavy bullets? Rifled slug barrels shooting the same bullets are faster.

3)Anyone used just 45 cal pistol bullets for their 50 cals? We used 45 cal 185 xtp's and nosler custom comps.

4)How long should the petals on the sabot be? We used the short ones, but with 185's they still curl over quite a bit. It looked like the difference between the long sleeve for like 300's and the short ones for the 245's.

5)Powder issues: I realize it is measured by volume. So based on our measurement, 100 of the pyrodex select weighed 75grains by mass. How much does metering powder matter in muzzleloading? Triple7 pellets that were the 50/50's ranged from 29.2to 32.3, so with 2 pellets you could go from 58.4 to 64.6. I know in centerfire reloading this would be a huge problem. So do you pour or pellets?

Any help on any question would be greatly appreciated.