Who needs a rifle!

Did some target shooting today and a little experimenting.
When you see the target below the flyers (two off the paper) was the experimenting. The grouping was as follows.
70 GRN 4f.
Thin card.
Two thin leather wet with oil wads.
.440 ball.
A thin card.
Distance was a goodly strides fifty paces.

Sights need a slight adjustment but I am delighted with the performance of this smoothrifle.

B.

That's a good group at 50 paces. When you get it down just a couple inches you'll be spot on. 50 paces is a long ways. I killed three deer with my flintlock last season and I don't think any of them were over 50 yards away. You used 70 grain of 4F? Is your powder designation different from ours? i have never seen anyone use 4F for the main charge, only pan priming.

Logcutter said:

That's a good group at 50 paces. When you get it down just a couple inches you'll be spot on. 50 paces is a long ways. I killed three deer with my flintlock last season and I don't think any of them were over 50 yards away. You used 70 grain of 4F? Is your powder designation different from ours? i have never seen anyone use 4F for the main charge, only pan priming.

Click to expand...

I have been using 4f for a couple of years now but I only recently came out!
The one in the black is by drawing a finer bead, I have been having to shoot with the front post proud of the rear hence the high group.

4Fg as a main charge? Brave man.....!!!

Sidney Smith said:

4Fg as a main charge? Brave man.....!!!

Click to expand...

There has been an entire discussion about using 4F as a main charge. Bravery has nothing to do with it....

Gentlemen, please do not turn this thread into a discussion of 4F powder.
We've had more than enough of that debate on this thread:

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/4f-powder.113450/

Britsmoothy said:

Did some target shooting today and a little experimenting.
When you see the target below the flyers (two off the paper) was the experimenting. The grouping was as follows.
70 GRN 4f.
Thin card.
Two thin leather wet with oil wads.
.440 ball.
A thin card.
Distance was a goodly strides fifty paces.
View attachment 6763
Sights need a slight adjustment but I am delighted with the performance of this smoothrifle.

B.

Click to expand...

Thumbs up. A Brit working for HBC said rifles were unnecessary as to sixty yards a smoothie carried as well as a rifle. And that was hunting range. My rifles can cut near one hole at fifty yards....from a rest on a good day .... if the Gods of black powder are smiling.
However not once in my life have I seen a day when a group any smaller then yours makes any difference at all. Fact is I like my smoothies, and rarely shoot a rifle.

tenngun said:

Thumbs up. A Brit working for HBC said rifles were unnecessary as to sixty yards a smoothie carried as well as a rifle. And that was hunting range. My rifles can cut near one hole at fifty yards....from a rest on a good day .... if the Gods of black powder are smiling.
However not once in my life have I seen a day when a group any smaller then yours makes any difference at all. Fact is I like my smoothies, and rarely shoot a rifle.

Click to expand...

Thanks.
Just to add. I shot offhand too.

B.

Zonie said:

Gentlemen, please do not turn this thread into a discussion of 4F powder.
We've had more than enough of that debate on this thread:

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/4f-powder.113450/

Click to expand...

Don't worry Zonie I won't. I don't need to.

B.

Congrats Brits Good Shooting.

Out of curiosity... have you filed any on that guns muzzle?

Britsmoothy said:

I have been using 4f for a couple of years now but I only recently came out!
The one in the black is by drawing a finer bead, I have been having to shoot with the front post proud of the rear hence the high group.

Click to expand...

Zonie said:

Gentlemen, please do not turn this thread into a discussion of 4F powder.
We've had more than enough of that debate on this thread:

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/4f-powder.113450/

Click to expand...

No argument here Zonie. If it works for Brit, and judging by all the game he kills it does work, then I have no problems with it and I say good luck Nate, good hunting!

Britsmoothy said:

Thanks.
Just to add. I shot offhand too.

B.

Click to expand...

Great shooting Nathan!

Will you say why you place the thin card on top of the load? Is the load so loose, it is used to keep it from shifting perhaps?

Possibly you've found it gives better accuracy for some reason?

Thanks for sharing Skychief.

Britsmoothy said:

Thanks.
Just to add. I shot offhand too.

B.

Click to expand...

You should be proud of yourself. I used to shoot the SE Regionals and my best target was the 50 yard bull shot offhand. I managed to take a 3rd place one year with a group worse than yours. And we were all shooting rifles. In fact, you should make a trip across the water and attend some shooting competitions over here. It should be easy to drum up some bets against that smoothbore of yours. You could probably make a couple of million bucks. Everybody knows Yanks can't shoot.

Britsmoothy said:

Did some target shooting today and a little experimenting.
When you see the target below the flyers (two off the paper) was the experimenting. The grouping was as follows.
70 GRN 4f.
Thin card.
Two thin leather wet with oil wads.
.440 ball.
A thin card.
Distance was a goodly strides fifty paces.
View attachment 6763
Sights need a slight adjustment but I am delighted with the performance of this smoothrifle.

B.

Click to expand...

I don't recommend that you continue to use 4FG as a main charge, I am surprised your barrel is still in one piece!!!
Keith.

smo said:

Congrats Brits Good Shooting.

Out of curiosity... have you filed any on that guns muzzle?

Click to expand...

No sir. No need.
Thanks.

Skychief said:

Great shooting Nathan!

Will you say why you place the thin card on top of the load? Is the load so loose, it is used to keep it from shifting perhaps?

Possibly you've found it gives better accuracy for some reason?

Thanks for sharing Skychief.

Click to expand...

Friend. It needs a thin card to hold the ball down. No patch is used.
The experimental shots were infact trying your principle of loading for shot with wet heavy wads on top of the ball but alas it seems it does not work.
B.

Thanks B,

My 16 gauge likes the wad on top as well,
Including shooting Roundballs .

Bloody nice group!! Cheers mate!!

I’ve found my smoothbore single shot pistol to be extremely accurate too!

Britsmoothy said:

Did some target shooting today and a little experimenting.
When you see the target below the flyers (two off the paper) was the experimenting. The grouping was as follows.
70 GRN 4f.
Thin card.
Two thin leather wet with oil wads.
.440 ball.
A thin card.
Distance was a goodly strides fifty paces.
View attachment 6763
Sights need a slight adjustment but I am delighted with the performance of this smoothrifle.

B.

Click to expand...

Why the two thin leather wads over the thin wad? Why not thin card over powder , ball, then thin wad over ball? Great shooting.

Britsmoothy said:

Thanks.
Just to add. I shot offhand too.

B.

Click to expand...

SHOW OFF