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Jackman

32 Cal.
Joined
May 11, 2012
Messages
64
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5
I've never shot black powder looking for any help to get started. I just finish a Lyman Great Plains flintlock rifle kit, it came out really nice imop :) unfortunately I don't have pic posting skills so I can't post a pic :(.......... Anyway I'm gung-ho to shoot this thing and need advice what all do I need as in powder, mini-ball, powder measure-er, cloth for the mini-ball, just anything that will help me get started .
 
I’m guessing there will be a lot of help on here, but I would recommend finding a muzzleloading club in your area and talking to the shooters there. You’ll probably get to try out a gun or two as well.
 
I admire your jumping in and building your gun just on pure faith with apparently very little ML shooting knowledge. :)
I predict you will go far in the hobby.

That said, I don't have the fortitude to do a tutorial on my phone. A full starter would be a big project. The advice above regarding getting with a club is excellent. You should advise your location for specific help.
 
There's a ton of information on the forum about shooting flintlocks but to get you started I'll list a few basics.

You will need something to measure your powder charges. This can range from using an old empty cartridge case to an adjustable powder measure. I recommend using the adjustable measure.

Flintlock guns do not like any of the modern synthetic black powders like Pyrodex, 777, or a bunch of others. They only work reliably if you are using real black powder.

The size of the ball for your gun will be about .010 less than the bore size. For a .45, use a .440 ball. For a .50, use a .490 ball and for a .54, use a .530 ball.

The patch should be 100 percent cotton or linen. Look for patches that are about .015 thick. I do NOT recommend buying "Pre-lubed" patches. They often have become weakened by long periods of being oil soaked and they will often fall apart when the gun fires.

The patch should be lubricated. Some use spit but I think a vegetable oil works better.

You will need a "short starter", a ball with a short dowel sticking out of it to start the patched ball into the bore. That's because the size of the ball and the thickness of the patch will make it larger than the actual bore size. You want this condition because the patch must seal off the rifling grooves too.

You will need a metal cleaning jag, a brass plug with grooves around it that is smaller than the bore size, to clean the bore after you've shot it. Don't put off cleaning the bore. Black powder fouling will absorb moisture out of the air and this will rapidly rust the bore, in many cases, totally ruining the gun.

I'll let the others carry on from here.
 
I've never shot black powder looking for any help to get started. I just finish a Lyman Great Plains flintlock rifle kit, it came out really nice imop :) unfortunately I don't have pic posting skills so I can't post a pic :(.......... Anyway I'm gung-ho to shoot this thing and need advice what all do I need as in powder, mini-ball, powder measure-er, cloth for the mini-ball, just anything that will help me get started .
FIRST - finish your profile. Many here are very willing to help - first hand. Have to know where you are though.
I HIGHLY recommend you get with experienced others to help you learn from scratch. There are many things in the sport you do not want first hand experience, let others help you in not making those kind of mistakes.
Welcome to the affliction!
 
There's a ton of information on the forum about shooting flintlocks but to get you started I'll list a few basics.

You will need something to measure your powder charges. This can range from using an old empty cartridge case to an adjustable powder measure. I recommend using the adjustable measure.

Flintlock guns do not like any of the modern synthetic black powders like Pyrodex, 777, or a bunch of others. They only work reliably if you are using real black powder.

The size of the ball for your gun will be about .010 less than the bore size. For a .45, use a .440 ball. For a .50, use a .490 ball and for a .54, use a .530 ball.

The patch should be 100 percent cotton or linen. Look for patches that are about .015 thick. I do NOT recommend buying "Pre-lubed" patches. They often have become weakened by long periods of being oil soaked and they will often fall apart when the gun fires.

The patch should be lubricated. Some use spit but I think a vegetable oil works better.

You will need a "short starter", a ball with a short dowel sticking out of it to start the patched ball into the bore. That's because the size of the ball and the thickness of the patch will make it larger than the actual bore size. You want this condition because the patch must seal off the rifling grooves too.

You will need a metal cleaning jag, a brass plug with grooves around it that is smaller than the bore size, to clean the bore after you've shot it. Don't put off cleaning the bore. Black powder fouling will absorb moisture out of the air and this will rapidly rust the bore, in many cases, totally ruining the gun.

I'll let the others carry on from here.

Thanks that is an excellent post lots of good info :)... I;m scanning web sites for the needed tools no purchases yet , bur soon enough I'll be shooting :cool:
 
Might be someone here that is geographically close to you. But, we seem to be back to very few members having their general location on their profile, so we don't know where you are. Thus can't refer you directly to help.
Almost anyone here will advise you to use real black powder regardless of flint or cap lock type. But with the flint it is a must. Not sure where to send you to get it. You can order it, but have to order a bunch to break even on the haz-mat fees.
Adjustable powder measures are easy to come buy, even Cabelas has them. Remember we are measuring in grains by Volume Not by Weight. A general starting load for load development seems to be a match between number of grains and bore size, so for a .50 caliber start out at 50 grains and work up from there. As was said earlier, there are numerous threads on here dealing with load development.
Something to pour the powder from into the measure is a good idea, either one of the spouts designed to fit to a specific brand of powder's can/bottle, or some type of flask (spilled powder can be hazardous) such as this...
15704937611613725539211494045232.jpg
Avoid prelubed patch material, but, don't be afraid to use precut patches for now. Again, there are a ridiculous number of topics here relating to patch lube.
 
FIRST - finish your profile. Many here are very willing to help - first hand. Have to know where you are though.
I HIGHLY recommend you get with experienced others to help you learn from scratch. There are many things in the sport you do not want first hand experience, let others help you in not making those kind of mistakes.
Welcome to the affliction!

Thanks I appreciate the post, I'm going to remain incognito (my internet rule) but I am a gun club member but have yet to meet anyone in my club that shoots black powder, I do on the other hand have a fair amount of firearms experience minus the black powder/muzzle loaders . Very confident I can sort this out and safely shoot this thing :)
 
You never said what caliber you have. That would help us with answers to your questions.

With minie balls, you have to know the land to land diameter of your barrel. For best performance, the minie ball diameter needs to be 0.001" to 0.002" under the land to land measurement in the barrel. Next issue is the lubricant. It needs to fill the grooves to keep fouling soft for the next load.

One observation you will find is that if you have a 54 caliber rifle, the recoil will get your attention and you may think that round balls aren't such a bad idea after all.

Since you are starting out, I am going to recommend Dutch Schoultz's method for getting the most accuracy from your muzzle loader. His method is focused on round ball shooting, but the method can be applied to shooting minie balls too. If you want to get familiar in hurry with black powder muzzle loader performance and work up an accurate load. My advice to you is to get a copy of Dutch Schoultz' accuracy system www.blackpowderaccuracy.com and follow his advice exactly. He will really get you there.
 
Might be someone here that is geographically close to you. But, we seem to be back to very few members having their general location on their profile, so we don't know where you are. Thus can't refer you directly to help.
Almost anyone here will advise you to use real black powder regardless of flint or cap lock type. But with the flint it is a must. Not sure where to send you to get it. You can order it, but have to order a bunch to break even on the haz-mat fees.
Adjustable powder measures are easy to come buy, even Cabelas has them. Remember we are measuring in grains by Volume Not by Weight. A general starting load for load development seems to be a match between number of grains and bore size, so for a .50 caliber start out at 50 grains and work up from there. As was said earlier, there are numerous threads on here dealing with load development.
Something to pour the powder from into the measure is a good idea, either one of the spouts designed to fit to a specific brand of powder's can/bottle, or some type of flask (spilled powder can be hazardous) such as this...
View attachment 16308
Avoid prelubed patch material, but, don't be afraid to use precut patches for now. Again, there are a ridiculous number of topics here relating to patch lube.

Thanks I appreciate the post !
 
Thanks I appreciate the post, I'm going to remain incognito (my internet rule) but I am a gun club member but have yet to meet anyone in my club that shoots black powder, I do on the other hand have a fair amount of firearms experience minus the black powder/muzzle loaders . Very confident I can sort this out and safely shoot this thing :)
Hey there Jack, YOU are the one that asked for help. If you intended to "sort this out" by yourself and ignore what many folks here are telling you, why did you come here in the first place? Your gun was DESIGNED for round ball, decided by the barrel twist rate.
If you wanted a cone gun, then you needed a lot faster twist rate.
 
There are quite a few books around that give the BP basics and that's what you need to start with. Books by George Nonte, Sam Fadala just to name a couple. Check out what's available.
 
As far as local a muzzle loader shooter, do a google search for clubs in your state. You may have a club close by and most are very happy to help a tyro. They may have a member in your community who can give you good get started information.
 
Duelist 1954 has lots of videos on y**tu** out there shooting your exact weapon. He's got a lot of good info and goes step by step.

Welcome from NW Missouri!

I'm a Duelist junky have and still watching all of his great plains build and shooting videos excellent imop :) , currently I'm trying to choose a starter kit such as this one https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1015809620 , gotta buy some flints,powder and miniballs etc, etc
 
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