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Recent content by Oldbear63

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  1. Oldbear63

    Short Barrel Rifles verses Long Barrel Rifles test. Details Below...

    Science!
  2. Oldbear63

    Spru possition

    Just to interject something very confusing into this discussion, have you seen this video on rotating objects? The rotation of a lead ball with the asymmetry of a sprue might be much more complex than we realize!
  3. Oldbear63

    Louisiana

    Hmmm... beautiful weather, bad politics vs humidity and mosquitoes and right-wing politics... Hmmm... (although we now have a mosquito problem here too)
  4. Oldbear63

    Louisiana

    I'm from New Iberia, but live in California. Bringing my rifle out for a shoot would be too much trouble, but I still go to the Gumbo Festival every year!
  5. Oldbear63

    How do you prime?

    This is a very basic question. When shooting a flintlock rifle, at the range or on a hunt, how do you prefer to prime? From your main horn or flask (yes, I know that is dangerous)? From a small priming flask? From a priming do-hicky that discharges 4 grains (is that enough or do you have to...
  6. Oldbear63

    Cleaning jag getting stuck

    At the range I usually clean between shots and I have experienced a lot of stuck cleaning patches. I finally realized that my patches were too large and were jamming against the taper on my cleaning jag. Trimming off the corners of my wipes and using a smaller wipe helped a lot, don't use too...
  7. Oldbear63

    ball roundness

    I observed this one day when the sun was just right; I could see my balls traveling down range in a perfect spiral. There is a YouTube video about the statistics of 5 shot groups (nearly useless, you need hundreds of rounds to get statistical signifigance). One point of the video is that the...
  8. Oldbear63

    ball roundness

    I made a ball swage with two steel 1 1/2" cylinders and a 1/2" ball end mill. I can swage the sprue out nicely with this, though I have not done a thorough test for accuracy. It does tend to flatten the balls a bit or even create a rim if I hammer too hard. Something I realized: From a...
  9. Oldbear63

    Shooting sticks

    I just found two 3/4 square and 5 foot long sticks in the garden department. I planed the corners down and pointed one end and put on a bit of oil for good measure and use them without any connections besides my hand. Simple and works great for sighting in or test shots at my monthly shoot. KISS
  10. Oldbear63

    SOLD Dixie Tennessee Mtn. Rifle .50 cal. Thanks Columbus, enjoy, it's a good un.

    Would anyone know if these can be converted to flint?
  11. Oldbear63

    Revolutionary War

    Steve, Congratulations on a great family hierloom. A word of warning: Aside from light dusting or qualified professional attention don't DO anything to it! Much of its value lies in its grime and wear and any incorrect cleaning or polishing might harm its value and historical interest. Also...
  12. Oldbear63

    Build advice

    Luthiers (violin makers) as well as many historical furniture makers used linseed oil extensively as a first coat, applying a harder coat or shellac over that. Oil finishes were supposed to bring out the 3D quality of a good figured wood. One way to accelerate linseed oil drying is to treat it...
  13. Oldbear63

    Finally hit paper!

    I made a derringer kit last year. When I took it to a shoot and tried to hit paper with it I couldn't even get it on the target frame. This Sunday I tried again, sneeking up closer and closer until I finally found a hole on paper, but all I could manage was a wide shotgun pattern at about 15...
  14. Oldbear63

    Tips and advice

    I have successfully made several pistol and rifle kits, but not recently and my new kit has a few new twists. I just received an Investarm Gemmer Hawkin .50 flintlock kit. The stock is an unusual wood with quite a bit of figure, but should turn out OK (I am experienced with wood). The hardware...
  15. Oldbear63

    Custom Relic Wood Boxes - What do you Use to Store your BP supplies?

    At my regular BP shoot most shooters use modern tackle boxes or wood cabinets. I decided to go primitive and made a simple wood crate. I tend to be the most HC person there.
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