Flintlock Muzzleloader Ball and Patch question

[Rockrivr1]

At the Lunenburg gun show I picked up an old Traditions 50 cal Shenandoah flintlock for pretty much dirt cheap money. In talking with the guy he said his best load was with 65 gr of 3F using a .490 50 cal ball and a lubed .010 patch.

I easily found 50 Cal balls with a .490 diameter. My question though is with the patches. They list the caliber size and have a range. Basically they state the following

.010 for .40 to .49 caliber
.010 for .50 to .59 caliber

For my rifle using a 50 cal ball with a .490 diameter, do I use the .40 to .49 caliber patch because of the .490 diameter ball or do I use the .50 to .59 caliber patch because I'm shooting a 50 caliber ball?

Due to accuracy reasons I'm figuring a patch to big or two small will give me problems.

Thanks for the help!

 

[N.E. CHARTERS]

Patches, I'm dependin' on you, son

I shoot a mighty T/C .50 cal Halkins that I made as a kit many Moons Ago when the waters ran clear.. ( Well the Nashua River was Orange and Green and The Mighty Merrimuck was full of Brown Sludge)


I have tried most everything for patches from old T shits to Bed Sheets to Sythetics.

This is what you want for Round Ball.

Make some Lube with 50% Vegtable Oil Melted with 50% Beeswax and a squezze of Lemon scented Dish Soap. (Use Pine Scent for Hunting) if your having a hard time finding Bear Grease.

Or just give your patch a spray of Fluid Film before you load.



I would not use that much FFF for a Maine Charge.


Start off with 50 Grains of FF for your main charge and use maybe 5 grains of FFF for Pan Powder.

BLACK POWDER SHOOT THIS SAT at York County Fish & Game!


Pyrodex Ignites well in my Caplock. I change the nipple from #10 to a Musket Cap Nipple as Wally World put tins of Musket Caps on sale for 50 cents each so I bought all they had on the shelf. The Muskcrat Nipple works GREAT!

 

[sig shooter]

go with the 50cal patches for the 50cal balls, lube with bore butter or minkoil if its cold. bore butter lives up to its name when its cold.
.10 patches are what most use with 50cal balls but if your rifle doesnt pattern good try using a .15 patch.

trackofthewolf.com ...... its a awsome web site for traditional muzzleloading stuff

 

[jhrosier]

A patch too small will be a PITA to center up.
Slightly large will not be a problem, b'sides you can always trim them down a little if you have to.
You might have to experiment a little with patch thickness and lube to see what the gun likes best.
There aren't many hard & fast rules on this.
Deeper rifling or smaller projectiles need thicker patches.
Pick up a couple of patches from the ground after firing and look for signs of cutting or burning (both bad).
The patch is a simple gas seal between the ball and bore and helps the ball follow the twist of the rifling. A tighter fit is usually better, stopping just before the point where the ball is too difficult to seat.
Heavier powder charges are more challenging to get good accuracy and are not needed for target or plinking loads.
While BP substitutes can be made to work, after a fashion, real BP is much easier to work with.
Not all BP is created equal. The higher quality Swiss powder is probably worth the extra cost.
Flintlocks need good quality flints and a properly hardened frizzen to work well.

Jack

 

[springer]

I easily found 50 Cal balls with a .490 diameter. My question though is with the patches. They list the caliber size and have a range. Basically they state the following

.010 for .40 to .49 caliber
.010 for .50 to .59 caliber

You understand that they're both .010 thick patches right???? They're the same thickness only larger diameter. Choose the larger patch, the extra just harmlessly bunches up in front of the ball, and or can be cut off.

 

[sig shooter]

i got the address of a small shop that sells real BP goex, if you want the place PM me. to tell you the truth all BP is all the same whether its swiss or goex. BP subs will NOT work well in a flintlock or cap lock these are traditional guns not inlines they were not desigend to use subs.