I used 2F in this rifle for heavy hunting loads and accuracy shooting. It would shoot up to 3 drams of 3F, equivalent velocity as 100gr. of 2F, but was on the edge of being too high pressure for the patches used at that level with WW balls. The accuracy with 3 dram 3F and light(up to 120gr.) 2F loads was poor - double those of heavy loads of 2F. In other words, 3" at 100 yards was the best it would do with light loads. As well, the trajectory became poor having a short point blank range. It is a delightful thing to have a point blank of 120 yards from a round ball gun where the ball is not more than 1-1/2" above nor below the line of sight. No large bore slug gun can compete with it, out to about 175yds or so. It also shot 4" groups at 150yards, and 8" at 200 yards, using the first 2 leafs. The third leaf is zero'd at 300 meters for a gong target sometimes shot at club competitions. This rifle has never missed that gong, no matter who was shooting it.
: The point blank range of 3 drams 3F and 100gr. 2F is only 80yards, where the ball is no more than 1 1/2" above or below the line of sight.
: It is being held by my hunting buddy, not me. He's the new owner. I traded it to him in a fit of mental illness (HA!).
: Unfortunately, the twist is faster than I'd prefer, being a Green River barrel(out of business now) with .714" groove dia, and .690" bore - .012" deep rifling and 60" twist. I used a .684" ball mould, Italian made with idential appearance to a Lyman mould.Pure lead balls weighed 484gr. and in WW metal, they went 466gr.
: The problem with antique rifles in bore sizes, is that few Engish mftr's used proper twists. Rapid twist rates and slugs (minnie-type balls) were in vogue in the mid 1800's, according to Forsyth, and many had twists as rapid as 36", which is way to fast for a 12 bore rifle for round balls. The problem comes from shooting poorly with sufficient powder to obtain a flat trajectory.
: With 6 drams, my point blank sight was zero'd at 100meters, and only about 1 1/2" high at 60yds. The velocity was 1,550fps with that load.
: Off the bench, it continualy gave 1-1/2", 5 shot groups with paper ctg. loads with .686" WW balls, as well as, .020" thick denimpatches and .684" pure lead balls. The paper ctgs. were used for a fast second shot when hunting, shot to the sights, and gave the same accuracy as patched balls. Their only downfall, is only 10 could be shot in a row, when a shooting a cleaning shot with patched ball and 3 drams of powder was used to effectively clean the barrel. A paper ctg. could be loaded and capped, ready to fire at 8 seconds per shot.
: The styling is straight English - the very best for a hunting rifle there is. It points like a good shotgun, a bit muzzle heavy, of course, but the sights come up exactly on whatever you are looking at. The 1/8" dia. bead front sight is no more than 1/8" off the barrel to the bead's centre. This gives a flat trajectory, and more powder barely raises the ball at all, merely extending it's point blank range as Forsyth said it would.
: I'll be building another, but it will have a 95" to a 120" twist with rifling no more than .008" deep. This will allow heavy hunting loads with hard lead balls and cloth patches, something that cannot be obtained with faster, deeper twists due to the mechanics of moving hard lead into the grooves. Faster twists require a tighter fitting load to seal, something difficult with hard lead. The patch cannot take the pressure of heavy loads, which is actually very low compared to .54 and .50 cal rifles.
: In testing, 267gr. gave 1,700fps, but kicked too much for any benefit it might give.
: TINKER- thanks for showing the Pinfires. Forsyth spoke quite highly of them, but did indicate low powder capacities for these "Lefaucheau Principal" guns. They came into their own, however, with explosive shells for tiger and buffalo.
: I made a slug mould for my rifle, 580 to 1,200gr. (adjustable) but the trajectory and recoil were prohibitive. Since, as Samual Baker said a hardened ball will exit an elephant's head, and I know they will a broadside moose, I see no reason to handicap myself with a slug. the bal is already expanded, and penetrates just fine.
: I have a friend up here, who has a .75 rifle made by my bro, similar to mine, who had to drop his load to 120gr. 2F to keep a round ball inside a moose. This took a few seasons, as he started at 200gr. and dropped 20 gr. per year until he could recover the balls. He used .735 balls, weighing 545gr. & .030" denim patch. It had grooves WAY too deep for such a large bore.
: 3 of us (2 Englishmen and myself)made a 5 shot group at 50yds with Keith's .75 rifle with a mere 100gr. 2F, (2 fired 2 shots) and with the 5 shots, made a 1-1/2" group, offhand. These were modern rifle shooters, but fellows who practise.