209x50 w/ Roundball?

[gurtie]

Anyone ever shoot a roundball out of the 209x50 encore?
I'm going to give it a try.  I'll post my results.

[Thomas Krupinski]

Gurtie,

I would be interested in that question.  Going to try it also when I get around to shooting mine.  What I suspect will happen is that it can be done with lower powder charges and velocity to slow the ball down.

[Steve E]

I tried them in my 209x50 and they wouldn't hit the 2 ft x 2 ft target at 100 yds, actually 1 out of 5 hit the target at that range. And that barrel will shoot 1 1/2 inch at 100 yds with 250 Gr. Barnes in the sabot's. You can hit the broad side of a barn with them though, you just have to be in it with the door closed.

                                                 Steve E.........

[Thomas Krupinski]

Steve, how small of a powder and charge did you use when you tried them and got those poor results?  Did you try them at shorter distances like 50 yards also?

[tlyne]

Your 209 X 50 Encore barrel has a 1 in 28 twist. You must have a 1 in 54 twist rate to stablized a round ball. You can order such a barrel from the Custon Shop.  Hope this helps , Twyman

[rickyp]

hornady makes round ball that sits in sabots. these may give you a little better results.

[Keith L]

Buffalo used to make a "ballett" that was a ball on one end and a bullet on the other (ball end was the front).  They worked well in some of the compromise twists but I think they are a little small for that fast a twist as well.

[Twanger]

Gurtie - You can shoot patched round-balls out of a fast-twist gun, but there's a couple of caveats.
1) The rifling must be deep enough to grip the patch well
2) The powder load can't be too high, or you'll tear the patch.

You might try some light loads at 50-yds until you get things settled. 50gr of pyrodex RS would be a good place to start.

Also be aware that the right patch/ball combo is CRITICAL or you may just get 2-foot groups anyway. Even with a 1:66 PRB gun you've got to fiddle around to get good accuracy.
One shortcut is to find a patch and ball combo that's tight but still goes down without hammering, and then put a 50-cal pre-lubed wonder-wad BETWEEN the patch and ball. This will seal when other combo's will not.

[Steve E]

Thomas K,

                I'm not entirely sure but I seem to remember trying 70 gr., 85 gr. and 100 gr. of Pryodex RS. I don't think I ever tried the round balls at 50 yds. Unless you just absolutely have to use the round balls I would give the Barnes 250 gr. Red Hot bullets with the sabots. You usually can get them from Wally World. They come in a pack of 10 packed on a piece of cardboard and arranged in a circle. They are usually a little more expensive than some of the other bullets but they usually shoot better.
And they really do a number on the deer.

                                               Steve E......

[Hopalong7]

Never tried round balls in my 209 X 50, but I have in my White Mt Carbine which has an even faster twist of 1:21.  Actually accuracy was quite good out to about 50yd, but beyond that things got erratic. If memory serves, I used 70-80gr of Pyrodex RS.  As has already stated, patch fit is critical.  Good luck and GOOD SHOOTIN',  Walt  :grin: