# The Morgan Shingle



## GREENCOUNTYPETE

one shot cold bore only hits count 

the target a shingle 7 1/2 inches wide by 10 inches tall the range 250 yards ,not that hard with a modern rifle and optics but the challenge and do it with a muzzle loader and irons sights 

to be accurate a round ball and flint lock


as a reduced target it would be a 3 by 4 inch target at 100 yards but that really doesn't account for the huge loss in velocity and drop in trajectory you will experience with a round ball at 250 yards.

the history behind this is that in 1775 the continental congress tasked General Daniel Morgan with forming a company of Rifleman , his test to find riflemen for his company. 

one shot cold bore on the Shingle , 250 yards , hits join the Rifle company , misses , the continental army will be happy to have you with musket and bayonet.

who is up for giving it a try
100 yards 3x4 inches 
200 yards 6x8 inches 
250 yards 7 1/2 x 10 inches 

try it an tell us how you did , pictures if you can

you can practice, realistically when men heard of the challenge they would have paced it off and practiced before traveling to Morgan to answer the call, but once you say this is for the score , it's one shot.


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## Fishindude

That's a good shot shot, even with a modern muzzle loader using saboted bullets, modern powders and a scope.
Those big slugs drop like a rock beyond about 150 yards.


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## Jolly

We used to shoot bowling pins at 300 kinda like that.

I don't think I could hit anything that size consistently with a muzzleloader. I'm just not that good.


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## Texaspredatorhu

I think it's remington that has the "ultimate muzzleloader" now. They claim it's good to 300 I believe. I have an old POS traditions that my dad gave me when he got a new one and I wouldn't trust that thing past 50-75, hence the reason it mostly stays in the safe. Hell it ain't even pretty! Anyways, that would be a very tough shot and it would be pretty incredible to see what those boys could do with a modern rifle.


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## alleyyooper

I could have done it with my T/C Hawkins with a round ball at one time way back. Today I don't think I could see the shingle with my nackid old eyes with out any sights, buck horn or peep even.

Yup Remington bought the Johnson design ML and call it the 700 ultimate and say it is good for some really long ranges. Every charge it seems is a quarter of a bottle of BH209, pricy stuff.

 Al


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE

I can't do 250 at my range but I am going to start with 200 if I can get 200 then I will head to a friends place where I can get out to 400 once the corn comes down

my 45 Kentucky with a patched round ball , but also a modern inline with a lee r.e.a.l are on the docket to try

I ran some numbers the round ball looks like about 48 inches of drop is the place to try and see were it lands from there
the conical look closer to 24 inches of drop 

I went to buy a can of BH209 after I got a newmetrics breech plug for my NEF Huntsman I decided the plug was worth it to get rid of NEF primer carriers and it works very nice best thing it comes out with a regular socket wrench and not that crummy breach plug tool 
but 40 dollars for not even a full pound of BH209 and I decided real black would work fine for me


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## Bearfootfarm

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> I decided real black would work fine for me


Try some Hornady 777.
It's much better than BP


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE

I tried 777 , it will give more velocity , I don't know about much better , there are trade offs in both directions.

3fg black has been working well for me.

especially in side locks and flint locks the 3FG has a real advantage in getting it lit compared to the 777 , in the inline the 777 can give you more energy

clean up is about the same and I found a year few year old can of 777 just doesn't seem right , where a few year old can of black is the same as it was.

I am also getting black for about half the price of 777 yes it has to come from a specific dealer ad not off the shelf in any store.


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## krackin

I never shot much round ball. I always felt it was too low energy years ago as a kid when I first started black powder late 60's early 70's. It was handy when bores got too fouled for minies and half an hour of winter daylight was still at hand.

Elevation will hold pretty true, that windage may get ya. Sounds like a ball though.


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## 1OldBear

I had a old .58 cal some years back but decided that muzzle loading wasn't fun enough to make up for all the work keeping it clean. BP cartridge guns have some appeal but not enough to get me to spend money on them. My personal love is vintage shotguns.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE

it doesn't have to be a muzzle loader 

if we gave this a modern day for modern equipment equivalent could you take your scoped rifle and sling. no rest ,no bipod just you the rifle , sling , one round and hit a 12 x 12 inch 1/3 of a three tab shingle hung at 400 yards.

if you don't have a longer range , try a target the size of a dollar bill folded in half at 100 yards that would be 3 tall by 2.5 wide start with that, if that isn't a sure thing work on making it a sure thing.


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## 1OldBear

A 4" square at 100 yards in prone with sling? I'm in. Hell, with a stinking M16 I once put six shots in the same hole at 25.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE

once you do it prone , try siting and standing 3" tall 2.5" wide a folded dollar bill


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## 1OldBear

Sitting I can to. Off hand would require a tree to lean against!


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE

I got out this morning , the weather stunk but , it is good to shoot in horrible weather

I shot 2 targets , I was able to get back to 225 yards so I adjusted the target size according

when I got to the range it was just a steady blowing mist then it started raining , then raining hard visibility everything was hazy from the mist in the air 

first up was the 223 I didn't check the balistic calculator before shooting that was after , had I , I would ave known to hold low , I just held on the diamond.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE

second was the 300 black out , again even though I had a wind I held on the diamond but with my first hash , this works well for 200 yards but 300bo starts dropping fast past 200 so 3 inches low at 225 makes sense and fits what the calculator said
a hit but just on the edge of the target , I marked the edge with a line the round is breaking the line but just barely.

both targets were first shot cold bore , take the gun out of case , get in position load and fire , change target , change upper and shoot second target.


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## 1OldBear

Keeping in mind that while the Morgan Square is something to be proud of and shows skill in hold and wind doping, for practical game shooting all you really need is 'minute of volleyball' because that's the size of the kill zone on almost all N.American game. On African game, it tends to be even larger.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE

minute of volleyball or lung is all that is really needed for most game true 

but the hole point of the Morgan Shingle was to separate the Rifleman from the man with a rifle.

the reading the wind , knowing the dope and holding steady enough that you can make the shot.

the difference is knowing your rifle , load and how to make it work to the capability of the round and not just the capability of a point blank range.

the 300 black-out target above is a very good example , while a hit , not a good one , and 3 inches lower than a 200 yard hold and 3 1/4 inches left due to wind. I held center and was on the edge of the target , had I looked up my dope before I shot I could have made a center hit.

the learning is in shooting and learning what the round does at different distances in different conditions so that you know for later and can hold appropriately making shots farther than just your zero


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## 1OldBear

Absolutely. And Morgan wasn't looking for hunters, he needed snipers who could take out the enemy at a distance. I once read that the FWS estimated that 90% of big game in N. America was taken at under 125 yards. I believe it. I've hunted both here and Africa and cannot remember taking a shot at over that distance. But war is different and the demands were different. Anyone who can't hit a Morgan shingle needs to spend more time at the range.


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## krackin

In my neck of the woods I'd venture that most shots are 50 to 75 yards now. Most farms were sold and grew up or are house lots. Even the depredation hunters coming in on my farm set up for 150 yds or less. That's ok, they do produce. I seldom take a shot less than that. The difference is that they don't want to miss and I can't afford to miss.


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