What powder charge did the 69 cal rifled musket use in the Civil War?

[EPPS1919]

I?m using 70 gr 3f and thinking it?s to light for the mini bullet


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[MR. GADGET]

It takes a bunch.
Last time I was shooting mine 50 would not expand the bullet so I ended up running some of my roundball charges at 84 grn and it would shoot.
I really think I can get it to shoot in the 65 to 70 grn range and that is what I plan to try next time.

[EPPS1919]

I was thinking about a 100gr I will try it and see if it helps with group size Mine at 50yd was about 6? groups from the bench rest


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[John Holland]

Unless you are trying to emulate original loads with the original type projectile, the modern semi-wadcutter 0.69" caliber projectiles with thinner skirts shoot very accurately with much less powder and recoil.

[MR. GADGET]

Unless you are trying to emulate original loads with the original type projectile, the modern semi-wadcutter 0.69" caliber projectiles with thinner skirts shoot very accurately with much less powder and recoil.


I was shooting for fun and deer.
Big bullet big charge.
Sometimes you just need something to beat you around..... better the gun than the old lady!

[EPPS1919]

9446
I?m shooting in a 1/2 scale rifled Williams Gun that I just finished building I have a Lyman old style bullet .69 cal that I?m using in it


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[Maillemaker]

The US Ordnance Manual of 1862 lists 70 grains powder for the 1842 with Expanding Ball, and 110 grains with Round Ball.

The information is on page 270.

https://books.google.com/books?id=wwY6DT2Sc_cC&pg=PA270#v=onepage&q&f=false

Steve

[EPPS1919]

9447
Here?s my first 50yrd target with 70gr 3f
The barrel is only 24? long Next time at the range I bring some 80, 90, and 100gr charges


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[EPPS1919]

I have no idea why the ? Keeps popping up ln my post. It autocorrects


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[Carolina Reb]

According to Lewis, "Small Arms and Ammunition in the United States Service", The altered (rifled) M-1842 musket cartridge was 80 grains of musket powder and a 640 or 730 grain elongated ball. The altered musketoon used 47-50 grains with the same bullets.

The ? keeps showing up because your phone uses a different character set than the BB. When the BB comes to a character code it doesn't understand it throws up a ?.

[EPPS1919]

Thanks for the reply?s everybody


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[gemmer]

I get very good accuracy in my original 3 band with 70 gr of 2F goex and the Rapine minie. I have a carbine length original that doesn't do as well with 70 gas., I'm sure due the short barrel and slow twist. I may try bumping up the charge and moving to 3f to see if there's any improvement but I don't want to push too far. It does quite well with patched ball over a 12 ga. cushion wad with the 70 gr. charge.

[EPPS1919]

Hope to get to the range this weekend and experiment with different charges. With a short 24? barrel 3f might work better. Faster burn rate


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[John Holland]

EPPS1919 - Now I understand your questions about Gov't loads!

[gemmer]

Hope to get to the range this weekend and experiment with different charges. With a short 24? barrel 3f might work better. Faster burn rate


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It's 26". I'm going to try some 3F Swiss.

[hobbler]

When looking at .69 relic bullets, some have really thick skirts.
Some have really thin skirts.
It's made me wonder over the years about the powder charges.
I have two base plugs for an altered #68569. Never have maxed out the thick skirted one.

[EPPS1919]

When looking at .69 relic bullets, some have really thick skirts.
Some have really thin skirts.
It's made me wonder over the years about the powder charges.
I have two base plugs for an altered #68569. Never have maxed out the thick skirted one.

Yep mine has a thick skirt and I think that?s the problem. I m going to try heavier charges this weekend. I think I will make a thicker base plug


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[Carolina Reb]

I shot a rifled '42 for a while. Started off with a home made mold based on some bullets we dug up at Ox Hill. They were about 730 grains. It was very accurate, but brutal. I shot one skirmish with it, mainly because Carl Jensen said he couldn't believe that anyone would shoot a whole skirmish with a 69 cal. musket. Then went to the Rapine 500 gr., semi-wadcutter and 60 gr. of GOEX FF. That shot well too. Won a trophy with it at the old Daniel Morgan shoot.

[EPPS1919]

I shot it today with 90gr 3f and it did a little better. Sill need to keep playing with different charges https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200426/b2ced8dba227af57b19ea9a24e212063.jpg


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[EPPS1919]

Got some.69 cal wadcutters by Moose molds from a friend and with 74 gr 2f Swiss it did Great at 50yd see pix 10008
10009
Time to Order a Moose mold[emoji846]


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[EPPS1919]

https://youtu.be/BY_vUCyqeXk.
Here?s a link to my gun shooting


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[Maillemaker]

I was about to be super impressed when I saw a 100 yard target but even at 50 that is very good. Looks like another winner mold from Moose Molds!

Steve

[EPPS1919]

Shot it at 100 yrds this past weekend and it?s starting to look good I?m going to play around with powder charges next. 10 shoots in that target 10075


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[Maillemaker]

Looking good!

Steve

[toot]

a very nice group.

[Eggman]

The US Ordnance Manual of 1862 lists 70 grains powder for the 1842 with Expanding Ball, and 110 grains with Round Ball.

The information is on page 270.

https://books.google.com/books?id=wwY6DT2Sc_cC&pg=PA270#v=onepage&q&f=false

Steve
I'm not sure I'd rely on this data. As I recall, in the winter of 1864, during an inspection tour of the Army of the Potomac, Grant noticed that a large percentage of 3rd New Jersey troops were cross eyed. Grant ordered the Army Medical Department to investigate this. It turned out the 3rd was equipped with '42 smoothbores and shooting the 110 grain charge. The medical folks did experiments and found that the soldiers' eyeballs were bouncing off the backs of the sockets when they fired this round, and the eyeballs did not always bounce back into alignment. After that the 3rd was always placed on flank duty.

[Eggman]

There is some confusion as to why they were placed on flank duty. Of course guys with an eye skewed to the left, and better than average observation off in that direction, marched along on the left flank, and those with eyes skewed right marched along on the right flank for the opposite reason.

[Wrekreation]

The US Ordnance Manual of 1862 lists 70 grains powder for the 1842 with Expanding Ball, and 110 grains with Round Ball.

The information is on page 270.

https://books.google.com/books?id=wwY6DT2Sc_cC&pg=PA270#v=onepage&q&f=false

Steve


Thank you for the reference. Fascinating read.

[Maillemaker]

I made a video a few weeks ago concerning shooting historically-accurate cartridges with correct loads.

Turns out that I loaded them upside-down - the ordnance manual states that in one motion after turning your hand palm-outwards to dump the powder you should then put the cartridge in the barrel, which means it should go paper tail end first down the muzzle.

But anyway, they were astonishingly accurate to me at 25 yards.


https://youtu.be/95XE788WdFo

[hobbler]

It seems like the rifled .69's would be prime candidates for an expanding flat base, something that operated on the same principle as a TC maxiball. But, at least a hollow base helps us achieve that with lighter weight projectiles.

An alternative I've thought about trying is a thin skirted shuttlecock design with the lube in the base but no lube grooves. Something like a second hand #575213 with the .577 portion machined out to suit the .69 bore and the #68569 plugs.