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The 2 1/2" brass case was probably meant for up to 4 drams, maybe 5 or 6 drams max. That is 12 bore. Now, Baker said a 14 bore muzzleloading rifle, shooting a 15 bore ball was dead meat on Indian Elephant as well as buffalo and bears- India, again.

That should give you an idea what a 12 with a mere 4 drams can do - in the hands of a good shot. Now - Old Rule of Thumb - If you increase the bore size, but retain the powder charge, as long as velocity is sufficient for penetration, you gain killing/stopping power.

I don't know if the 5 dram load would fit as I don't have any 2 1/2" brass 12 bore cases.

My 2 1/2" 16 bore cases will easily handle about 4 1/2 drams, I think. I am only loading 3 drams in them along with 1" of wadding + a 440gr. ball for camp-robbing grizzly bears. It has enough power for them - trust me on that.

Forget about having to drive the balls to modern bullet velocities to kill something. As long as you have enough velocity to penetrate through the vitals and destroy them, you've enough power for that animal. These balls have enormous stiking power due to their size on impact and the wide open shock wave that accompanies them that disrupts tissue well away from the actual ball's path. They do a LOT of damage, even though they are not travelling at warp speeds. We've been all through this - at least a year go.

The book will be a good read. I for-see a lot more questions coming. I suggest you read the book to find some answers on what load he used. I would suggest a 12 bore, loaded with a hardened round ball, driven by a mere 5 drams of black powder would be much more effective stopping a charge than a BPE .577 - perhaps dependent on the animal, of course. It should stop an Indian elephant, but I don't know about African. 'm not going African Elephant hunting with a 12 bore - but I'd like to - especially with Sarg's rifle. What a fantastic trip that would be. His 12 double for heavy stuff and my old 14 bore muzzleloading rifle for everything else. Dang- have to borrow both guns - HA!
You do not want to fire 9 drams out of anything lighter than about 14 or 15 pounds. Just look at the recoil on the chart on the other thread with similar name as this one!

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Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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