Pedersoli Mortimer, getting there

Bit the bullet and picked up a Pedersoli Mortimer flint rifle.

First time out was Tuesday. Played around with the usual things, flints, patches etc. Got it home and made some rough sight adjustments in preparation for serious load work.

Today wasn't the best day, gusty, rainy, etc., but it seems to like 80gr FFFg Goex, .530 ball and my usual drill patch and spit lube.

Have to wait for calmer weather to really wring it out. Two, three shot groups at 50 yds.


Went 4 for 5 offhand, on 50 meter chicken silhouettes.

Considering the poor conditions, it looks like putting all in the 10 ring is not out of the question. Looking good.

Ooo, ooo... New, used?
hotoSmile:
Look forward to more range reports...

Pretty good shooting Bill considering conditions. Not sure what part of Oregon you're in but, it's a might nasty here also. :thumbsup:

Alden said:

Ooo, ooo... New, used?
hotoSmile:
Look forward to more range reports...

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New. Flew in from Italy the end of April.

WillametteT said:

Pretty good shooting Bill considering conditions. Not sure what part of Oregon you're in but, it's a might nasty here also. :thumbsup:

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Portland. Been dodging rain showers and thunderstorms all day.

BakeovenBill,

My "target" load for the Mortimer .54 is 65 grains of Goex FFFg, a .535 RB and .015" Pillow ticking patch with 6 to 1 Balistol "dry-lube" It does take a hard whack with the short starter to get the ball going down the bore but my loading tools are fitted to the ball's curvature. I wipe the bore with a damp cotton (muslin) patch between shots.
The Pedersoli Mortimer flint is a fine rifle with an excellent, fast lock. It will also shoot the Lee .54/300 R.E.A.L bullet with a bit more powder (75 grains) and a felt wad under the slug. On a good day (for me, mostly) I can get 5 bullet holes close to touching at 50 yards (off sand-bags) with either load.

Thanks for the information.

This rifle is intended for target/trailwalk/hunting so I'm trying to get it set up with all three in mind. The few .535 ball combos I've tried were just a tad too tight for comfort in a trail walk scenario, but its too early in the game to rule anything out. Based on other rifles I'm usually better off going the thick patch, small ball route.

Have been told by others that it will shoot conicals. Once the bore is broken in a bit more will try some Hornady Great Plains just to test it out. Can't hurt to have the option.

Out of curiosity, how do you have your sights set up. I'm thinking of setting the lower sight to be 3" high at 50 yds and the flip up sight 3" high at 100. Seems it would work for a 6 o'clock hold on the target range at both distances and be a good set up for mule deer out to about 120 yds.

Looks like pretty darn good shottin to me considering conditions and newness of the rifle. :hatsoff: :hatsoff:

Mine has a "fixed" rear sight which made the gun shoot low (PRB-50 yds) I filed the front sight for a 6'oclock hold at 50 and a center hold at 100 yards. (using the standard NRA 100 yard target)

I tried the Hornady Great plains bullet but they were tipping (egg-shaped bullet holes) at 50 yards even with heavy loads. The Mortimer .54 has a twist rate of 1 turn in 60 inches so it probably was not stabilizing. The Lee .54 REAL 300 grain bullet is .575" long and is very accurate in my rifle.

Thank you. Someone with previous experience is always helpful.

Better conditions today. Managed a 1/2" group at 50yds (the single large hole) and a 2 3/4" group at 100. Think I found the sweet spot. Time to file a bit on the front sight.

The little bit of patch cutting I experienced earlier seems to have gone away.

Bakeoven Bill said:

The little bit of patch cutting I experienced earlier seems to have gone away.

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That's a natural result of use. Repeated firing will take the sharp edges off the rifling and at the muzzle. The #0000 steel wool thing just speeds up the process but persistence will prevail! :wink: :thumbsup:

As an aside, at least one "fine, English-made Mortimer rifle" was carried by Dr. James Grant during the Texas Revolution of 1835-1836. Grant had lived in Mexico, being the secretary of the Coahuilla y Texas legislature. He tired of Santa Anna's flagrant abandonment of the 1824 Constitution and joined the rebels. On a horse round-up for Fannin's men at Goliad (La Bahia), his party was attacked by dragoons and although they could have escaped, Grant and Georgian Reuben Brown rode back into the fight. These two escaped through the cavalry line and led them on a 7 to 8 mile chase til their horses sustained enough wounds to prevent their complete escape. The lancers got Grant several times and Brown later wrote"...I saw Grant fall, pierced by many lances...After Grant fell is saw some ten to a dozen officers go up and run their sword through his body. He was well known to them, having lived a long time in Mexico. They had a bit of a grudge against him."

You think?!!

Have either of you fellas with the Pedersoli Mortimer rifles done any work on the sear in the lock to get a better trigger ?
Mine could do with a bit of lightening off for me. Just wondering how yours came & if you are happy with the trigger ?
I found some info on doing a trigger job on English side lock shotguns & it is pretty much the same setup as the Mortimer lock.
I also found out that a double set trigger gives the trigger bar a quick slap to set off the sear. This may also be my answer; To fit a double set trigger.
What do you guys reckon ?
O.

Does your rifle have the reduced size ( inside diameter ) patent breech chamber ? I hear Pedersoli uses these a lot on their guns now , and heartily wish they would get away from that feature , due to the complications caused in cleaning ; particularly in the field .

?

My Pedersoli Mortimer does have the patent breech.
Harder to clean, well maybe, but is it a good feature in other ways ? The idea seems sound to me in creating a flash channel to the main charge & not getting so much fire back out the touch hole.
I brush the patent breech out with a .22 cal brush & with the flash hole liner out as well as the blank screw plug on the opposite side out. This way everything is open to be cleaned right out. More trouble, time & effort, yes, but like with reloading centre fire ammo on a single stage
press I find it a relaxing part of the hobby. The part where a tinny or three down ya neck helps you along with it.
I steam clean at the end of a shooting day & really do no field cleaning other than damp patch between shots. Any crud build up getting pushed down the breech channel has never caused a miss fire & I am starting to wonder if dislike of a patent breech is more imagined than real.
O.

19 16 6 said:

Have either of you fellas with the Pedersoli Mortimer rifles done any work on the sear in the lock to get a better trigger ?
Mine could do with a bit of lightening off for me. Just wondering how yours came & if you are happy with the trigger ?
I found some info on doing a trigger job on English side lock shotguns & it is pretty much the same setup as the Mortimer lock.
I also found out that a double set trigger gives the trigger bar a quick slap to set off the sear. This may also be my answer; To fit a double set trigger.
What do you guys reckon ?
O.

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Trigger on mine is great. Breaks clean, no creep. Not sure of the weight, but it's not bad.

There's no fly on the lock so double set triggers won't work.

smoothshooter said:

Does your rifle have the reduced size ( inside diameter ) patent breech chamber ? I hear Pedersoli uses these a lot on their guns now , and heartily wish they would get away from that feature , due to the complications caused in cleaning ; particularly in the field .

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Like 19166 said, it has a Nock patent breech. The vent plug is removable and there's an identical unvented plug on the opposite side of the breech. Access to the small constriction (guessing it's around .30") is easy. Haven't had any issues on the range, trail walks or four days of mule deer hunting. Range sessions are usually 25-30 shots.

When cleaning I pull the vent plug, do the breech in a bucket of water cleaning drill and then run a pipe cleaner into the constriction to check for fouling. Comes out clean every time.

Must be doing something right, won the Rifle Trail at the BTLR Rondy this year.