Bare Ball Experiments | Northwest Trade Gun | Flintlock Blackpowder Test

Today we're on the range experimenting with roundballs in my Northwest Trade Gun flintlock smoothbore. This is a 20 Gauge, or .62 caliber. When preparing for this experiment, I realized I didn't have any .595 roundballs, so I decided to try using .600 and .610 roundballs using a "bare ball" loading method, as seen in a variety of journals from the 18th century. I've got the Garmin Xero Chronograph out to gather some data on speed and power.

Bare Ball Trade Gun Chronograph Data

.600 Roundball, 70 Grains 2F

1057

1057

1049

1090

906

1054

1061

846 - Cleaned after this shot

1020 FPS Average, 74.4STD Deviation, 755.3 Ft-LB

1075

1097 - Cleaned after this shot

1086 FPS Average, 11.2 STD Deviation, 852 Ft-LB

1124

946

965

1070

1052

1044

1074

953

1028 FPS Average, 61.7 STD Deviation, 766.6 Ft-LB

.610 Roundball, 70 Grains 2F

1015 FPS

989

958

879

942

857

873

967 - Cleaned after this shot

1001

1001

1154

1189

1093

993 FPS Average, 102.1 STD Deviation, 757.4 Ft-LB

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