Okay, pistol's being made - now I need load advice

[Darren Haverstick]

Thanks in advance for your patience, you all. I've got no experience with BP pistols so I don't know much about them.

A friend of mine is in the process of assembling my pile of gun parts into a working flintlock Kentucky pistol. After some lengthy conversations with Ryan, at Muzzleloading Builder's Supply, I got a .62 caliber 12" smoothbore barrel and a large Siler lock. My intent is to kill a deer using PRB (yes, it's legal in Missouri) and small game using shot.

My question is, how much powder would be a good starting point for each type of load? I will be using 3F in the barrel and 4F in the pan. I'll be using #6 chilled lead shot and .6" balls. I am assuming that my maximum effective range for PRB will be around 25-30 yards due to my ability; not the gun's.

Any guidance would be appreciated!

Darren

[Riley/MN]

If it were me (& I am NOT a pistol expert!), I would start somewhere between .5 grain and 1 grain per caliber (31-62 grain in your case), so maybe start with 45gr? Shoot over a white sheet, so any unburned powder will show up. 12" is not a lot of barrel to burn powder in. If a lot of powder shows up on the sheet, drop the charge down a bit, looking for most efficient load. Of course, you may have to expel some unburnt powder to achieve optimum performance....

[TallTexan]

I would start at 30 grains and go up in 5 grain increments from there, plus I would go with 2f.

However, with regard to deer hunting with a black powder pistol, even though it's throwing a .62 RB and it's legal I urge you not to try and take one with it.  A 12 inch barrel, even stuffed with powder is simply not going to build up enough velocity for you to make a quick and humane kill.  You owe it to the animal you are hunting to put it down as quickly as possible and even a 62 caliber ball needs some velocity to do that.  

Small game with shot?  Sure, just realize that the shot will be spreading out very quickly and the effective range will be greatly limited.  Also be aware that with such a short barrel that the danger of hitting someone standing nearby is much greater.  You will have to really do some work and know what kinds of patterns it throws at what distances.

[Darren Haverstick]

TallTexan, I'm a little surprised by your response. Are you saying that a ball from a .62 pistol would not penetrate a deer? I've killed lots of critters in my time with a longbow and firearm and a slow moving projectile that goes through the heart and/or lungs is just as deadly as a fast one. My dad killed 2 deer a couple of years ago with his Navy Colt 45 BP pistol at 25 yards and they didn't go any farther than deer I've seen shot with a 30-06.

[TallTexan]

Hmm, I replied about 5 hours ago but it never showed up...

Anyway, no I am not implying that a .62 will not penetrate a deer.  The point I am trying to get across is that you will be severely limited in taking a deer quickly and humanly when using such a short barrel.  Even a large caliber round ball needs a decent amount of velocity to penetrate sufficiently to cause the animal to bleed out quickly and with a 12 inch barrel you will be hard pressed to do that.  I'm not going to say that the bullet needs to generate X amount of energy at ____ number of yards or repeat any of that internet nonsense, I am going to say that even stuffed with a maximum safe charge of powder, the effective range of your pistol is still going to be extremely limited.  Add to that is your sight radius which won't even be the full 12 inches of the barrel plus a number of other variables makes for a terrible plan in my opinion.  Yes, I know that modern pistol hunters using things like the T/C have shorter barrels and hunters regularly take deer at more than 50 yards with them but that is the big difference between smokeless and traditional black powder as far as either's ability to push a bullet to a sufficient velocity with which to put the animal down quickly.

As a responsible hunter you owe it to your game animal the quickest, most humane death possible. Using your pistol loaded with shot (which I assume is a smooth bore) for small game at limited range is I think, fine, safety concerns aside.  Loaded with RB on a deer is ill advised and has a very real chance to be unnecessarily cruel.

Lastly, a razor sharp broad-head even at relatively slow speeds does a lot of damage quickly because the frontal surface area (the razor's edge & what impacts the flesh and/or bone) is minuscule compared to a round ball.  To compare the two is an unnecessary tangent and not related to your original question.  You admit that you do not have experience with black powder pistols and asked for guidance so that's what's been given.

Please don't take a chance on wounding a deer by using your smoothbore pistol even if it is legal in your area.

[Daehenoc]

Thanks in advance for your patience, you all. I've got no experience with BP pistols so I don't know much about them.

A friend of mine is in the process of assembling my pile of gun parts into a working flintlock Kentucky pistol. After some lengthy conversations with Ryan, at Muzzleloading Builder's Supply, I got a .62 caliber 12" smoothbore barrel and a large Siler lock. My intent is to kill a deer using PRB (yes, it's legal in Missouri) and small game using shot.

My question is, how much powder would be a good starting point for each type of load? I will be using 3F in the barrel and 4F in the pan. I'll be using #6 chilled lead shot and .6" balls. I am assuming that my maximum effective range for PRB will be around 25-30 yards due to my ability; not the gun's.

Any guidance would be appreciated!

Darren

How did it turn out?

[Hanshi]

A pistol at 25 yards has similar velocity to a rifle ball at 100.  You'll do just fine with it.