777 FFFg velocity

[jevyod]

I did some looking but could not find much. Is there a chart somewhere that tells that in general x amount of T7 powder produces X velocity with x bullet weight?

I will explain why I am wondering... I am planning on taking up muzzle loading in the 2023 season. I am new to this, have asked several questions, and gotten good help. I plan on starting with Sabots and cast lead bullets because I already cast for my 358 Winchester and have some lead on hand. ( plus I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination, and saving money is a big plus!!) I do realize that I need to swab the barrel after each shot and that's ok.

I am planning on starting with a Lee 452-300 mold as a 300 grain bullet should be suitable for what I need. I am hoping to get a velocity of 1600-1700 fps at the muzzle, longest shot where I currently hunt is 75 yards. I will likely start with an alloy of 49-49-2 Pure-Clip on wheel weights-pewter. I would think that should give expansion out to 75 yards.

So as to my original question, I am wondering where to start for a target velocity of 1600-1700 fps. 70-80 grains? Powder is T7 FFFg.

As an aside, if it feels like I am barking up the wrong tree/wasting my time here please feel free to add other advice. Like I said, I am brand new to this and welcome input. I have not totally ruled out a Lee REAL bullet or something like that. Gun is a new CVA Wolf purchased black Friday 2022 so I believe it has the 1:28 twist. I plan on using Harvester crush rib sabots. Please keep in mind here I am trying to get by while keeping it reasonably low cost, so whatever mold I buy will likely be a Lee.... Maybe I should try a 250ish grain semi-wadcutter design to save on lead. I know revolver guys like them! Thanks for the help!

 

[Blacksheep]

You can go on the Hodgdon website or google it to get address it has some data. I think based on my experience your on the right track.

 

[HC]

I wouldn’t use the WW metal for hunting, they would expand little if any. The 300 gr 452 pure lead bullets should work good with 80 grs of T7. You can always tweak the powder charge + -.

 

[jevyod]

Would I not need to worry about the pure lead getting deformed during the loading process?

 

[michiganmuzzy]

With the right loading jag you shouldn't have a problem deforming a lead nose.
90-100 gr of ffg T7 will get you to the 1600-1700fps with a 300gr bullet sabot
https://hodgdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/muzzleloading_manual_2008.pdf

 

[rangerod]

Quite a few of the membership really love to shoot pure lead. Mostly out of sidelocks and flinters. Certainly nothing wrong with shooting it out of an inline. I think you're definitely on the right track. Keep us posted. Its always interesting to the members how load development works out for other members.

 

[deermanok]

If you get in the habit of swabbing the barrel between shots, you'll have no issues with loading a soft lead bullet or ball. Problems arise when try to ram a projectile down a dirty barrel.

 

[GoexBlackhorn]

Your original theory to use 70gr FFF powder sounds good. I'm betting the sabots will perform better than a 300gr conical.

That twist of 1-28 prefers the heavies.... at least 400gr conicals with 70gr 777 FFF.

 

[Fullbore92]

Here’s another piece of load data from Hodgdon.

 

[Martin JV]

I’d start with 75gr of T7 FFFG for propellant. That stuff’s pretty quick.
I’m thinking 300gr of soft lead in a sabot for 50-75yd shots will be plenty of energy.
At 75yd, I’d be ok going all the way down to a 225gr or less bullet, to squeak out velocity.
It’s only 75 yards… a lighter bullet will be faster than a heavy one for the first 50+ yards. (I’m guessing this, but either way, it’s gotta be close)
I don’t see a whitetail winning the argument with a 45cal soft lead bullet at 1600fps, whether that bullet weighs 200 grains, 300 grains, or 400 grains… lead hits so hard and dispenses energy so fast.
I know you didn’t ask about accuracy, but I’d be most focused on my accuracy, for the unlikely event of longer shots.
If the Crush Ribs don’t group well, I’d try some slightly tighter sabots.

I know this was way more than 2cents.

 

[Dolph1992]

https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/threads/hodgdon-manual-data.42635/Some data in the PDFs in this thread