I am new to muzzeloading and am working up a load for my .54 caliber T.V.M. Leman Rifle shooting round balls. What kind of velocity can I expect? The rifle has a 32" barrel. I was at the range yesterday shooting over a chronograph and using 110 grs of FFg I got ~ 970 fps, moving up to 120 grs FFG I got ~ 1050 fps. I also used different patch thickness (not any noticable effect on velocity). I would like to develop a load suitable for elk hunting. Thanks for your help!

I'm lost as to how you can be that slow. I would guess that your chrony is simply wrong!

I use 95 gr of Goex 2fg to get 1775 fps in a 42" flintlock, .54 roundball.

I use 100 gr of Swiss 1.5 fg and get 1931 fps with the same gun. 10" of barrel does not 1000fps of difference make! Something else is going wrong and I'm betting you Chrony is the issue. Do you have the screens set at 4ft intervals but are calculating the velocity as though they are set at 2 ft? I think something like this is happening.

You are using real black powder right? (Goex, Elphant, Schuetzen, Swiss, Wano,,,,). If you are using Pyrodex or one of the other substitutes, that's your problem; it degrades.

Brent

My chronograph is fine. I was shooting another hi-power rifle also and it's velocity was right on. I think I was shooting pyrodex I will check tonight. It sounded kind of weak (I don't know how to expain it) when I was shooting my blackpowder gun. A couple times I thought I could actually see the bullet in the air - more like a "big" BB-gun if you know what I mean. Like I said I'm real "new" to this, but I thought that was kind of slow. Any suggestions would help me out a lot. When I get a load that "shoots" I will have to adjust the sights (may involve a file), so I don't want to get ahead of myself.

I cannot see my bullets, but I have had friends see my Sharps bullets (.45s at 550 gr and 1300 fps), but never my roundballs. I think you have a powder problem of some type. If you are not using "real" black powder, then I think you are cheating yourself big time.

Brent

MHC; According to the TC booklet I a holding in my hand 110gr should have given you 1931fps more less and 120gr would be 1983fps. But that isn't with you firearm so your figures would be a mite different. derF

The powder I am/was using is the following: [GOEX - Clear Shot FFg] it says on the can "black powder substitute for muzzleloading". Should I not be using this powder? Does this powder degrade with time? Thanks again for your help and any suggestions/advice would be helpful.

OK - Where can I mail order real black powder from? Thanks for the information.

MHC:

The Goex Clearshot is your problem. It and its' competitor Cleanshot are both sugar base derivitives and do not store to well and tend to lose their potency rather quickly. Your chrono proved that! I do not believe that the Clearshot is even actively marketed anymore. Goex had a fire in the facility that produced the Clearshot well over a year ago and my conversations with them at that time, they said that they were not going to rebuild because of the huge investment. So your powder, even if purchased recently, is well over a year old or more. That and the fact that Houston is not known for its' low humidity did you in.

As Brent said, good old Blackpowder. Or if you want to try one of the 'substitutes', the new Hodgon Triple seven, is very good and is not corrosive, unlike Pyrodex, and is relatively stable. It also maybe more available in some areas than BP

Chronographing black powder (and substitute) loads can be tricky because the smoke, wads, bits and parts coming out of the barrel along with the bullet can trigger the 'start' screen before the bullet gets there, causing erratic and unusually slow readings. When I chrono BP loads I need to move the screens as far away from the muzzle as I can to get consistent readings. Something else to worry about...

I've had good luck with the long term storage of Pyrodex (I'm still using some Pyrodex P I bought over 15 years ago). However, I've heard of problems with every other substitute. With BP you just can't go wrong. Also, if it gets wet just spread it out and let it dry. It will be fine.

As to velocities, I get about 1900-1950 fps (I can't remember OR find my notes) with 100 gr. of EITHER Pyrodex RS or GOEX FFG. This from my TC New Englander .54 and using the RB.

BP suppliers, good idea. Here are a few:

Maine Powder House
http://www.mainepowderhouse.com/

Coonie's Explosives & Black Powder, Inc.
512 East Lea, Box 2062
Hobbs, NM 88240
800-713-6321, 505-393-0166, Fax: 505-393-6060
E-mail: cooniesblkpdr@aol.com

Or look at the Goex distributors page:

http://www.goexpowder.com/distributors.html

Good to know there yet others who use the real stuff. I'm a muzzleloading coach for YHEC--have experimented to prove the point to the Dads re: black powder vs. substitutes---there are far more disadvantages and problems with the substitutes--and I'll be damned if I can find ANY advantages...Another place one can order black powder is www.thegunworks.com--Good people to deal with. I am guessing from the tone of this thread that some places folks can't buy black powder? ...........Chuck............

Thanks for all your help. I found some real black powder at our Bass Pro in Houston. However, I had to ask for it (they do not have it displayed).

Another source for black powder is Clarksville Guns & Rod @ 803 1/2 Vine St., Clarksville, AZ 72830. Their tel. no. is 479-754-8358

With 110 grains of FFg GOEX, I am getting 1750 from my Santa Fe Hawken with .530 balls and a .010 TC lubed patch. It has a 32" barrel.

Clear Shot is very clean powder, and relatively corrosion-free, BUT IT IS VERY WEAK STUFF!! It MAY degrade over time, but it is weak to begin with. It really doesn't work at all with round balls, they don't seal well enough to get any velocity. I recently used 150 grains of FFFg Clear Shot from a brand-new container, with a 295-grain Power Belt, (.50 cal.), and only got 1400 FPS, and this AFTER a fouling shot, which was WEAK SOUNDING AND GAVE HARDLY ANY RECOIL!! I have given up on ClearShot. GOEX needs to redo this fomula!!

ClearShot had a website...it ain't there no more!

[ 05-05-2003, 20:43: Message edited by: eldeguello ]