- Joined
- Oct 23, 2020
- Messages
- 30
- Reaction score
- 34
Let me start off by stating that I am new and know very little. Please do not think I am seasoned or have tried everything. With an almost 5 month old, I have limited shooting time and I have not had a chance to try all solutions yet...
Rifle I am working with - Thompson Hawken 50 percussion.
With that said, I am not familiar with terminal ballistics/performance of a patched round ball. Initially I started finding an accurate load at 80 grain by volume of pyrodex fff. I fired a 3 shot group running wet and dry patches between each shot (pretending every shot was the 1st shot of a hunt). I increase by 5 grains all the way up to 100 grains by volume. (Max for the rifle according to the book is 110 grains. I stopped at 100.)
I am using Hornady .490 ball and .18 prelubed pillow ticking. We noticed the more powder, the higher on the paper (makes sense) and tighter the groups got! I see many people using 70 grain to 80 grain by volume for thier prb loads.
I am wanting to hunt whitetail (in our part about 170# to 180# is a good size buck and hogs (much tougher hide, bone and all around tougher.) Average hog in our area is 120# to 180# with the common bigger hog at 260# to 280#.
The question, should I look for an accuracy point for a lighter load of 60gr to 80gr by weight knowing I am keeping my shots inside 50 to 75 yards? Or keep it at 100 gr for the size of hogs?
Never shot an animal with PRB and need to know your experiences. Thanks!
Rifle I am working with - Thompson Hawken 50 percussion.
With that said, I am not familiar with terminal ballistics/performance of a patched round ball. Initially I started finding an accurate load at 80 grain by volume of pyrodex fff. I fired a 3 shot group running wet and dry patches between each shot (pretending every shot was the 1st shot of a hunt). I increase by 5 grains all the way up to 100 grains by volume. (Max for the rifle according to the book is 110 grains. I stopped at 100.)
I am using Hornady .490 ball and .18 prelubed pillow ticking. We noticed the more powder, the higher on the paper (makes sense) and tighter the groups got! I see many people using 70 grain to 80 grain by volume for thier prb loads.
I am wanting to hunt whitetail (in our part about 170# to 180# is a good size buck and hogs (much tougher hide, bone and all around tougher.) Average hog in our area is 120# to 180# with the common bigger hog at 260# to 280#.
The question, should I look for an accuracy point for a lighter load of 60gr to 80gr by weight knowing I am keeping my shots inside 50 to 75 yards? Or keep it at 100 gr for the size of hogs?
Never shot an animal with PRB and need to know your experiences. Thanks!