Ok I know I am really opening myself up on this one, but there is a safety question behind this that I need some advice on.
During a recent trip to the shooting range I was breaking in my new barrel for a Lyman GP Hunter in .54 cal. Since I was just trying to get lead through the bore I downloaded to 75 grains of Pyrodex (from my normal 90 grain hunting load).
The folks next to me got interested in my rifle so they started asking alot of questions. Normally I ignore folks during the loading process for this very reason, but this time I indulged for the sake of winning a new traditionalist. During one of these questioning episodes I noticed that when I fired the rifle it barely recoiled and the shot was REALLY low.
Figuring that I just had some fouling interference or something I cleaned the bore real well then shot a number of flawless shots after it. A few shots later the folks asked more questions and the same thing happened again. On the third time I noticed that I almost capped the nipple before ramming the conical all the way home. At this point I realized my mistake, I believe that I short started the projectile but forgot to ram it home before firing the rifle.
I checked the barrel REALLY carefully and couldn't see any bulges or cracking, then I pushed a conical down a clean bore to make sure I didn't notice any "easy" spots. Basically looking for any preceptable expansion in the barrel. All looked and felt ok.
Has anyone ever had this happen to them? I believe the rifle is still safe to shoot for a number of reasons that I won't go into now, but you guys are the smartest muzzleloaders I know so I am interested in your opinions.
I realize this is a REALLY stupid mistake and should have known better than to talk to folks about something I am passionate about while loading - so lesson learned. But I want to know if you'd keep shooting the same barrel or discontinue its' use.
Thanks for your advice!
During a recent trip to the shooting range I was breaking in my new barrel for a Lyman GP Hunter in .54 cal. Since I was just trying to get lead through the bore I downloaded to 75 grains of Pyrodex (from my normal 90 grain hunting load).
The folks next to me got interested in my rifle so they started asking alot of questions. Normally I ignore folks during the loading process for this very reason, but this time I indulged for the sake of winning a new traditionalist. During one of these questioning episodes I noticed that when I fired the rifle it barely recoiled and the shot was REALLY low.
Figuring that I just had some fouling interference or something I cleaned the bore real well then shot a number of flawless shots after it. A few shots later the folks asked more questions and the same thing happened again. On the third time I noticed that I almost capped the nipple before ramming the conical all the way home. At this point I realized my mistake, I believe that I short started the projectile but forgot to ram it home before firing the rifle.
I checked the barrel REALLY carefully and couldn't see any bulges or cracking, then I pushed a conical down a clean bore to make sure I didn't notice any "easy" spots. Basically looking for any preceptable expansion in the barrel. All looked and felt ok.
Has anyone ever had this happen to them? I believe the rifle is still safe to shoot for a number of reasons that I won't go into now, but you guys are the smartest muzzleloaders I know so I am interested in your opinions.
I realize this is a REALLY stupid mistake and should have known better than to talk to folks about something I am passionate about while loading - so lesson learned. But I want to know if you'd keep shooting the same barrel or discontinue its' use.
Thanks for your advice!