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SOG DonationsWell, I guess today I got to get the muzzleloader whipped back in shape today. I hadnt shot it in about 3 or 4 yrs. Heck maybe 5. Barrel pretty dirty i had previously took it all apart and sprayed some cleaner in the barrel had the plug out of it . Hopefully get to go Friday or Saturday. Only got 3 Sabots left . Guess I only need one if I dont miss …lol
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That’s right, no bring back the 
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Heck Robert i would settle for a tasty doe too. Its either sex this week.
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Clean me muzzleloader several times a year. In After rondy season I do a deep clean and put it away until the first rondy in Jan. (dang close :- )
Shoot only round ball and hole black. None of that fake modern stuff.
Yet magically every year there is meat in the freezer.
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Yup only need one. Line 'em all up in a line, put in a heavy powder load in, and see how many dsa/dnc hogs you can kill with one shot…HEY that sounds like fun maybe I need to get black powder weapon too.
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Firearm: a arm that uses compressed gas to send a projectile down range.
Weapon: Any instrument used to inflect bodily harm on a living entity.
According to the feds a black powder firearms are considered class “C” fireworks.
and yes you should build a rifle or but a revolver, it is a vast upwards learning curve.
First thing you have to do is forget everything you know about modern firearms, none of it applies.
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A falsehood. A barrel and caliber can only fire so much powder. period.
The rest of the powder is wasted.
This formula was developed to stop wasting powder. It will tell you the maximum amount of powder your barrel can burn.
This is for a 50 cal with a 28 inch barrel, you can plug in you caliber and barrel length and see how much you are wasting.
.50 (caliber) divided by 2 = .25
.25 x .25 = .0625
.0625 times Pi( 3.1416)= 0.19635
.19635 x 11.5 = 2.2580
2.2580 x 28 inches( barrel length)= 63.22 grains of powder.
For years I did the same as a lot of folks, I had an accurate load (55gr)
and would double charge it for over 100 yards.
After using this I found my barrel can only burn 75 grains, the rest was a flame ball.
It changed the way I load my rifle.
Removing professor hat, putting dunce hat back on, dang it belt fed where is my dunce hat?
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Thank you for that, phew, talking over my head 
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Uh, uh
.50 (caliber) divided by 2 = .25
.25 x .25 = .0625
.0625 times Pi( 3.1416)= 0.19635
.19635 x 11.5 = 2.2580
2.2580 x 28 inches( barrel length)= 63.22 grains of powder.
,… what did you say 
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First BP gun i bought was a 54 caliber TC renegade. The book said you could shoot 120 grains BP. well by golly i’ll do that, i bought some 500 grain or close to it maxi balls and loaded 120 grains and sit down on the ground to shoot and it rolled my ass over.
Now renegades were known for extreme recoil, especially with one of them heavy maxi balls, which wasn’t a ball. it was a huge conical bullet. i went down to 80 grains and it was much better but i hated the buttplate on that gun and gave it to my son and bought a Hawken.
Guess the last deer i killed with a ML was a 9 point. haven’t hunted with one in a while. they shortened the season big time. only 3 days the first season. not worth the drive to go and second season i am usually tagged out. but haven’t been hunting in 2 years with anything. i sure miss it.
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We would get the end rolls of news print from the paper office and roll out 20 feet in front of where we shot . We would step up our powder charge until we saw unburnt powder on the paper then back of the charge 5 grains .
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And what, this would make it less fun? 
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I understand the formula up to the point 11.5
What is this factor? Is it the burn rate? I have a 46” .50 cal flint lock. 1/2 dia squared x 3.1416 x 11.5?
Fill me in on this as I even find it most accurate at the lesser powder rates too. I shoot only patched ball as the slow twist in the barrel is for a patched ball.
The formula makes sense. Is it the burn rate of 3F?
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Now Multiply that number( area) times the 11.5 to get the amount of powder in one inch of your bore. Multiply that number by the length of your barrel to get the total capacity for your whole barrel.
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Scouring the corners of the internet, & having yet to own one, a possibly deranged question crossed my mind… Can a STEEL BALL of the proper size be safely fired from a black powder revolver, & if so, is there a change of powder measure required? Or is this simply folly? 
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I wouldn’t do it, might work but it won’t run down the grooves like a lead ball. also won’t expand none when it hits a target. I would always use lead. most black powder guns tell you what the limit on powder is for that gun, you should never go over that and NEVER use modern smokeless in one.
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@Belt-Fed is correct it needs to obturate as it is fired meaning the hot gasses will leak around the steel ball .
In a muzzleloader the lead is soft usually BHN 12 even BHN 10 (brinell hardness) meaning it will mash. When a muzzle loader ball is shoved down the barrel upon firing it actually gets pushed into the lands and grooves and they are cut into it somewhat. Then when fired it mashes the rest of the way out but also melts enough to go out of the barrel.
More than likely the steel ball wont seal and if you try and jam one the same size down it it will get stuck and create a squib (stuck projectile and is a serious explosion event) .
Again @Belt-Fed is right Do NOT do it .
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You could put it in a sabot to get a seal but I dont think it is a good idea to try.
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They make saboted bullets to shoot in revolvers, but they are not needed as the also make conical bullets that seat like a round ball.
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