Flintlock Real Bullets

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pearcetopher

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Hello all,

Ive always shot roundball through my pensylvania flintner but I saw in an article people are starting to use the 50 caliber non patched lee precision r*e*a*l bullet as it has better ballistics.

Myfirst question, is this useable in a firearm without a removeable breech plug for cleaning? I imagine leading would be quite bad with this bullet as its not supposed to be lubed or patched.

My load right now is 80 grains of FFFG under a 490 round ball with a cotton patch. This projectile weights 167grains but if I used the r*e*a*l bullet the lightest they come in is 280gr I think.

Thoughts?
 
I always lubed my real bullets. What's your twist if it is 1:66 or slower you will not see accuracy increase? As for leading, as long as you use soft lead and scrub it with hot water it should not be a problem. What are you trying to achieve with the bigger bullet? Big game or bigger bang. The co-efficient is better but not much.
 
to be honest im trying to prove my dad wrong

he says theres no way I could ever take a deer with that rifle.

I know I could do it with round ball but I thought one of those real bullets would make it alot easier

maybe ill just stick to the spheres
 
I would not suggest it with a RB except at max30 metres. The energy is not there unless your shot is perfect. Real bullets will do it but you need to know the twist of your rifling. Mine is 1:48 and I use the plastic sabots in front of 90 grains of FFg. My energy is good to 75 meters and ver accurate. But you can take a deer, people have done it for 200 years with similar
 
because hes an old useless fart his idea of hunting is sitting in a truck driving around for deer so chances are I will be unable to get within 100 yards.

I could make a 100 yard shot with a flint lock I have done it before but not sure if I could do it under the stress of hunting
 
I took a big mule deer in Fort St John a few years back with my 50 flinter longrifle.

Dropped him one shot at 60 yards.

That was with patched round ball.
 
Pearcetopher, I think you are within harvesting range as long as you keep your shots into the size of a football at that distance you mentioned here.

Soft lead 50 calibre RB can do considerable damage and pancake out transmitting the total energy into the chest cavity of a mere bambi.
 
My wife and I shot many white tails over the past 28 years with round balls out of .50 and .54 cal muzzleloaders. Shots were Anywhere from 15 feet to over 100 yards. My largest was 210 hanging in the butcher shop, so that would put live weight around 300 lbs. If you put the ball through the lungs inside of 100 yards, you should get a pass through, or at the very least, the ball will be flattened under the hide on the off side. I no longer shoot balls, but it is only because I switched to a scoped inline that will not shoot balls accurately. Good luck and happy hunting
 
I have a .54 cal Flint Investarms 1:48 and shoot 330 grain R.E.A.L.'s, I got the mould with the rifle so I tried them out. The beauty of these bullets is you don't have to swab the bore after a few shots, on several occasions I have shot 30-40 rounds without any binding up due to fouling. For me this saves time which means I can actually keep up with the rest of the shooters on Black Powder Day (This Sunday @PCDHFC).

 
round ball should be enough out to 100 yards if the bullet is placed where it needs to be but id say put targets up at varying ranges and when you can't place the shots in a 6" circle that's your max yardage stay within this limit and pass up any iffy shots you are looking for a heart/lung. its not hard to get close most of my shots are under 50 yards and I mainly hunt the edges of farm fields
 
I have shot more than a dozen deer with 45, 50 and 54 cal patched round balls from 25 to 110yds and in every case the ball passed completely through on a broadside chest shot. I have not recovered a ball - yet. Realistically, your range limit is determined by your accuracy and confidence in placing your shot.
 
You breach being removable or not has nothing to do with anything. I have never owned a flintlock or a caplock side hammer rifle with a removable breach. Now as to using a slug or bullet in your flintlock. What is the twist? If it is 1 in 42 or more U may be able to shoot a slug or a bullet. If your twist is less, lets say 1 in 60 or 1 in 70 U will only be able to use a patched round ball. A 1 in 42 twist is a compromise twist. It will allow U to shoot both but not as accurately as if it were rifled for PRB or slugs exclusively. I own 3 Hawkens all in 54 caliber. One is a flintlock with a 1 in 66 twist, One is a cap lock with a 1 in 66 twist and 1 is a caplock with a 1 in 32 twist. Each rifle shooting PRB or bullet in the right twist rifle is very accurate. I can hit a 10 inch gong with primitive iron sights at 100 meters in offhand most every time. Do not care about MOA accuracy, all I am looken for is minute of moose or deer. As to lube I sometimes paperpatch my bullets with cigarette roller papers and no lube, when I do lube I use a mix of beeswax and Tenderflake lard with no salt. I also lube my PRB with the same lubrication. I alter the beeswax and lard mix depending on ambient temperature. Using this mix I can get about 20 or so rounds of PRB before I have to clean out the crud ring at the breach. Now as for leading of the barrel. After cleaning and douching with hot soapy water and patching out with clean water until yur patches come out clean and drying do a final patch out with WipeOut lead out and leave er sit. This will remove any leading from yur greased bullets. As long as your MV stays around 1400fps or so leading should not be a problem anyway.
 
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