It could also be that the gun isn't rifled for ball and patch. I have a .50 cal with a faster twist rate; it won't shoot ball and patch well, but it's as accurate as anything else I own with a 370gr TC Maxi-Ball.
It was a very old rifle very slow twist rate can't remember exactly but 64 or 72 cal. 1:66 twist.
Odd ball deal and he was just about to give up on it.
I have had fun with muzzle loaders.
One friend had a 1:36 twist inline that never shot good and he got a bullet stuck in it. that bullet stayed there for over 10 years
and he never cleaned it after it stuck.
I drilled the bullet out because it was really stuck. Nothing moved it not even heat.
Did not want to heat the barrel to the point of no good you know.
We eventually drilled the barrel smooth and cut it short then polished it inside.
Thick wall inline muzzle loader shotgun!!!
We use pyrodex or whatever black powder is handy then place a square of toilet paper over the powder then bird shot then more TP.
Packet tight.
That gun will spread to 3 feet wide pattern almost instantly But shoot it at 30 yards and the pattern is still like 3 feet wide.
Oddest thing I ever witnessed... excellent shooter though.
Odd ball deal and he was just about to give up on it.
I have had fun with muzzle loaders.
One friend had a 1:36 twist inline that never shot good and he got a bullet stuck in it. that bullet stayed there for over 10 years
and he never cleaned it after it stuck.
I drilled the bullet out because it was really stuck. Nothing moved it not even heat.
Did not want to heat the barrel to the point of no good you know.
We eventually drilled the barrel smooth and cut it short then polished it inside.
Thick wall inline muzzle loader shotgun!!!
We use pyrodex or whatever black powder is handy then place a square of toilet paper over the powder then bird shot then more TP.
Packet tight.
That gun will spread to 3 feet wide pattern almost instantly But shoot it at 30 yards and the pattern is still like 3 feet wide.
Oddest thing I ever witnessed... excellent shooter though.
I would say you ended up with your final packed load different from the 3 ft. instant spread compared to the load that held together to get a 3 ft pattern at 30 yds. Deformed shot can alter some of the shot impact but not to the extent your saying.
Same load. It was actually measured.
There were 8 guys there playing with this gun blasting melons and other stuff.
We had regular 12 gauge there to compare the patterns with.
Another observation I made when patterning MY shotguns is that the taper into the barrel makes more difference than the size of the choke when it comes to pattern size.
I used to think long full choke would have a tighter pattern.
I found this is just not true.
I think the shot gets disrupted or something in certain tapers and causes large groups.
My shorter barrel in the browning 12 gauge groups much tighter vs the stevens long barrel 12 gauge. I found the extra full turkey choke on the browning actually makes the group slightly larger than a modified choke.
Money wasted on the turkey choke.
Odd things that do not follow the book. I end up with a lot of odd things though.
That is why we shoot. We need to see what happens.
My bullets from my rifles do not follow the trajectory calculator answers either.
I shoot at 5 foot tall cardboard at different distances to get my drops.
Probably because at different velocities a bullet will have different BC. and the calculators I have been trying do not ask for that input.
There were 8 guys there playing with this gun blasting melons and other stuff.
We had regular 12 gauge there to compare the patterns with.
Another observation I made when patterning MY shotguns is that the taper into the barrel makes more difference than the size of the choke when it comes to pattern size.
I used to think long full choke would have a tighter pattern.
I found this is just not true.
I think the shot gets disrupted or something in certain tapers and causes large groups.
My shorter barrel in the browning 12 gauge groups much tighter vs the stevens long barrel 12 gauge. I found the extra full turkey choke on the browning actually makes the group slightly larger than a modified choke.
Money wasted on the turkey choke.
Odd things that do not follow the book. I end up with a lot of odd things though.
That is why we shoot. We need to see what happens.
My bullets from my rifles do not follow the trajectory calculator answers either.
I shoot at 5 foot tall cardboard at different distances to get my drops.
Probably because at different velocities a bullet will have different BC. and the calculators I have been trying do not ask for that input.
Well there is your answer!!!
Yes taper of barrel has an affect on patterns, but choke size makes more of a difference.
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