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crazyhorse

32 Cal.
Joined
Dec 26, 2007
Messages
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Today will be my first time shooting my rifle. It is a traditions 50 cal percussion magnum 1-32" twist and it takes the musket caps. The book says most accurate 50 to 75 grains 2f maximum 110. I bought triple 7 ffg. Is there some thing I need to know so I won't damage the rifle or my self?
Thanks for any info.
 
crazyhorse said:
"...I bought triple 7 ffg. Is there some thing I need to know so I won't damage the rifle or my self?..."

1) Read the 777 info carefully...I don't know personally but have seen several comments that it is not a 1:1 comparison to real BP...more energetic...and that a typical load BP charge should be reduced some when substituting full power charges of 777, etc.

2) The same amount of powder as the caliber is usually fine for plinking around, particularly getting used to a new rifle so you might try that...40/50/60grns are usually good round ball plinking charges for .40/.45/.50/.54/.58/.62cals (and if you use plinking charges like these you won't have to worry about/bother with reducing the charge any as they're already low and safe)

3) Until you get comfortable with what's going on, you might consider wiping the bore after every shot with patches dampened with something like TC #13, or Hoppes No9 PLUS BP, or even damp with water just to keep most of the fouling wiped out and the bore condition the same for every shot.

4) Always ensure the patched ball is sitting down firmly on a powder charge before firing.

5) When you get a load of "powder, patch, and ball" correctly seated, a good thing to do is to create a "witness mark" while the ramrod is still in the bore. A simple way is to wrap a piece of electrical tape around the ramrod so the bottom edge of the tape is flush with the muzzle...that creates a "witness mark" so you'll know at a glance when you make your next reload if you forgot to put in the powder (tape will be lower) or accidently put in two balls (tape will be higher) etc...the witness mark stopping in a different place will tell you something is wrong.
And of course if you change and start using different sise powder charges, then the tape will need to be repositioned to make an accurate witness mark for that new series of powder charges.

6) Very handy items to have are ramrod screw on attachments such as a patch retriever, brush, ball puller, and T-handle (or screw on wooden ball) for your ramrod so you can get a firm grip in case you get it stuck down bore...and if you do, don't just pull it straight back out with gorilla power as the ends of the ramrod can pull off...twist the ramrod clockwise and gradually pull while doing that, etc...
 
You might want to start at about 40 grains. Not so much from a safty standpoint but a fast twist rifle like you have will print better with lighter loads. Find the load that gives you the best group. There should be a second sweet spot at a little less than twice the charge that gave you the best groups with the milder load. When you hit the sweet spots with a fast twist rifle it will be dramatic. Four or five inch groups at 50 yards will drop down to about an inch within a five grain differnce in load.
 
Loved it, just got back and with everyones help it went smooth. I liked it at 70 grains the best. I did not like using the double set triggers made the firing trigger way to lite, and the ramrod is not very good had to use both hands at 3" above the muzzle to seat the ball. Can't wait till it warms up some to really try different loads. Thanks for all the info it helped alot.
 
crazyhorse said:
Loved it, just got back and with everyones help it went smooth. I liked it at 70 grains the best. I did not like using the double set triggers made the firing trigger way to lite, and the ramrod is not very good had to use both hands at 3" above the muzzle to seat the ball. Can't wait till it warms up some to really try different loads. Thanks for all the info it helped alot.
If you're referring to "starting" the ball at the muzzle, you may want to invest in a "short starter".

If you meant you had trouble "seating the ball all the way down the bore", that might suggest that too much fouling was allowed to buildup in the bore from previous shots...or the combined size of the patch & ball are approaching being too big for the bore diameter...or there was not enough lube on the patch.

Also, need to be aware that under those tight conditions if you don't stay choked down to just a few inches like you described, a wooden rod can snap/splinter and hurt yourself.

Overall sounds like you had a good outing...
:thumbsup:
 
crazyhorse, Triple Se7en is a great powder but has a habit of leaving a dirty ring down by your charge that people have come to call a "crude ring". When shooting at the range you should lightly clean every 2-4 shots with a damp and then two dry patched to get rid of this. It will make loading the last few inches easier than what you experienced.

All powders seem to make this ring but the Triple Se7en one is hard to push through to seat the ball right.

Now the good thing is simple water is good enough to clean the crude ring and if you get your ramrod stuck cleaning just adding a little extra is all you need to do.

If you are using a ball starter drilling a 1/2 deep hole in it the size of your ramrod so you can push the round down the last couple of inches with something other than your bare hands is very helpfull even with a clean barrel sometimes.

Good luck welcome to the forum and happy shooting :hatsoff:
 
The ramrod is really flimsey like it is made out of plastic, I used pre-lubed pillow ticking patches and used hoppes#9 powder solvent after each shot also cleaned the nipple after each shot. But I really like shooting the rifle. Will probaly have to upgrade a few things as I go. There is a muzzle loader shoot club not to far from here, they meet next Sunday and if I can I will go and watch them and try to learn more. The ramrod in not wood, and I stuck a magnet to it and it is not metal.
Thanks
 
I certainly wasn't trying to imply that you had. My "reply" should have been addressed to the initial poster, not you, Sorry. I was just thinking of things it took me a couple of times to remember when I started with muzzleloaders.
 
FPDoc
I know you wasn't I meant that as a question to make sure I did thing right. Being new to this I didn't want to do the wrong thing. One person I know loaded 250 grains in his muzzleloader and all kind of thing went wrong, and I don't want that to happen to me.
 
There is an old standard that says powder charge should be 1-1.5x the bore diameter, so for a "fifty cal" you would use 50gr to 75gr of black powder (I do agree however with a previous post that recommends a very modest load for Patched Round ball (PBR) with a 1:32 twist rate). I also have a "plastic/nylon/whatever ramrod that came with a rifle that I got from a friend. I don't "like" it but it is pretty indestructible (haven't had it out when it's way below zero weather though). I keep it around "in case" and at the cleaning bench. I use a 3/8" brass rod with a muzzle protector for most shooting. It fits the thimbles to carry, adds quite a bit of forward weight which I don't mind for offhand shooting and it is NOT going to break on me. It isn't a bad habit at all to use or have to use fairly short strokes to seat a ball like you had to do with the flexible rod. It is remarkably easy to break a wooden rod if you don't pay attention to proper technique. You can cause yourself severe injury if you run the spear-like broken ends of a broken rod though your hand or wrist. Short strokes to seat the ball (recommended by some is a "thumbs down/palms away" grasp that probably is safer if you were to suffer an ignition while ramming). If you don't have a "short starter" you might buy or make one, it is one way to ease difficulties with starting a ball/patch in your bore.
 
I did go and get a short starter it did help a lot. The ramrod couldn't slip off of the ball and it made it easier to seat the ball.Now I want to take some of my shed horns and make some powder measures for my self when it gets alittle warmer.
Thanks for all the help.
 
A nice Range Rod wouldn't hurt either---they're easier to index with the tape and won't affect the look of the rifle! :wink: Most organized BP Leagues start a shoot with a rod in the bore for some sort of inspection by a Range Safety Officer :wink:

Good luck with the rifle and welcome to the Dark Side!

Dave
 
Don't let those double triggers blow your mind. When I first fired my Hawken I couldn't even lay my finger on the trigger and not have it go off. I have some nerve damage in my trigger finger, a result of a construction accident, therefore I had to be able to feel my finger touch the trigger ever so slightly.
They say they can't be adjusted heavier but after messing with mine some I managed to get it where I can feel the trigger as I begin to tighten my finger. Before you turn the screws look at your manual it will tell you the one is factory set so as not to allow for accidental discharge, take note of their position. Count the number of turns you put on the other screw as adjusting, that way you can return to the origional setting if you don't like the result! If I remember correctly I had to screw it almost as far as it could go and not come out of the threads. I have even heard folks talke about replacing the screw with a longer set screw!
They real key is your breathing in my opinion! I am on target the moment I finger the set trigger and the real concentration and breathing comes in to play, as I tighten on the trigger. That way I never antisapate the shot. It atake time to get use too and if you'll give yourself that time to get accustomed to the light pull, well, "you gotta love it"!!!!!!!
 
To FPDoc,


I certainly wasn't trying to imply that you had. My "reply" should have been addressed to the initial poster, not you, Sorry. I was just thinking of things it took me a couple of times to remember when I started with muzzleloaders.

This new lack of telling who is replying to who thing is going to take a bit of getting use to but I understand why Claude did it.

Now I just need to figure out how to tag the quote :rotf:
 
I'm not exactly sure WHY myself yet! And I can see it may cause some problems, such as entire posts needed just for clarifying who is responding to whom.

Dave
 
Pittsburghunter said:
To FPDoc,


I certainly wasn't trying to imply that you had. My "reply" should have been addressed to the initial poster, not you, Sorry. I was just thinking of things it took me a couple of times to remember when I started with muzzleloaders.

This new lack of telling who is replying to who thing is going to take a bit of getting use to but I understand why Claude did it.

Now I just need to figure out how to tag the quote :rotf:
Are you hitting the quote button?
 
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