Too Tight?

Just starting to shoot a new Pedersoli Blue Ridge .50 cal. Using .490 balls with prelubed .010 patches. Grouping was ok, but the ball and patch seemed tight going down the barrel. I could barley get the ball in and ramming it down til seated was difficult. Will this get easier over time? I ordered .005 patches to see if that will help. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Lube your own patches and use ball starter.
The new barrel may be slightly rough, that will smooth out over time.
Did you clean the factory grease out of the barrel?

Store bought pre-lubed patches are junk. IMO.

Yes cleaned thoroughly before shooting, did not use water boil method though just solvent with patches and jag. Ball starter was used, then range ramrod. Maybe now that I have water boil cleaned the barrel it will be better? Thanks Carbon 6.

FingerLakesPurd said:

Yes cleaned thoroughly before shooting, did not use water boil method though just solvent with patches and jag. Ball starter was used, then range ramrod. Maybe now that I have water boil cleaned the barrel it will be better? Thanks Carbon 6.

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Naturally as you shoot the ball can become tighter due to fouling, but the first shot should go down fairly easy. the culprit is often the patch, ball, lube combination.
Try a wet spit patch for comparison.
If it's a new barrel you will also want to examine spent patches for tearing, shredding, or burning.

Sounds like you need a smaller ball. Get some Hornady .480s from Track to try with a thicker patch. Maybe .015 or ,020" I think those European guns are called .50cal., but they are made on metric equipment. It might not be a true .50.

What lube?

how tight is tight? it should be tight. like Zonie said pre-lubed patches are sometimes not lubed well at all. you should be able to at least spit patch those pre-lubed ones and they should go down fine. or try some Crisco, most guns use .015 to .020 patches to seal the bore.

The 0.490 ball should be correct for your rifle. Pre lived patches often sit on the shelf long enough for the material to deteriorate. You are much better off using 0.015 unlubricated patches that you lubricate just before loading. Suitable lubricants range from spit, dish soap, Murphy's Oil Soap, or any of the 16,000 + versions we use. I use a mix of one part Ballistol and 7 parts water to dampen the patch just prior to loading. You may need a short starter to facilitate loading.

Read up on how to keep your flint sharp and the touch hole clear.

Welcome to the art of muzzle loading and especially shooting of flint locks.

As for lubes, Hoppes #9 BP Lube is about the easiest seating lube I've ever used, except maybe for "Black Solve" from DGW.

I think Zonie is correct. You need to be sure all the shipping grease has been removed from the barrel. As stated, brake cleaner, Carb cleaner, or alcohol should strip the grease from the bore. Since you have shot the gun a few times, the left over grease gets baked on. You need to do an in depth cleaning, and use a brush to remove the baked on grease from the groves. Once the bore is cleaned, your load using a .490 ball and a .015 lubed (not store bought lubed patches) patch should load easier.

FingerLakesPurd said:

Pedersoli Blue Ridge .50 cal.

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The Blue Ridge Hunter aka the Frontier by Pedersoli is notorious for cutting patches. You can take a piece of green scrubby (as one uses to scrub a pot or pan; found in the supermarket dish washing aisle) and using a .45 jag, and scrub the inside of the bore to remove any burrs and such that may be giving you grief.

LD

As Loyalist Dave said, scrubbing the bore with a geen scotch brite pad will help to remove burrs left in the barrel. I use JB bore paste on a patched .45 caliber jag and give the bore a good 100 or more strokes to smooth out the rough spots.

Grimord said:

I use JB bore paste

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You use JB Bore Restore as a lapping compound? Interesting.
LD

Loyalist Dave said:

You use JB Bore Restore as a lapping compound? Interesting.
LD

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I’ve used JB bore paste for lots of fine lapping jobs. It’s so fine is pretty hard to hurt anything. Although nothing is foolproof. BJH

A .490 ball with .010 patching will load very easy in a Pedersoli. Don't know what lube you are using (you just say prelubed) but as others have stated it is most likely the cause. A .490 ball and .015 patch will load easily in any Pedersoli 50 I have tried, and the .490 and .010 combo is what Pedersoli recommends.

hanshi said:

except maybe for "Black Solve" from DGW

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Thought I was the only one who still used/remembered this stuff. I've always thought it to be the closest to spit patch of the commercial lube/cleaners.

BJHabermehl said:

I’ve used JB bore paste for lots of fine lapping jobs. It’s so fine is pretty hard to hurt anything.

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Yeah I've used it with miraculous results on modern rifle barrels having too much copper, and cowboy barrels where the feller cast his own bullets for reloading cartridges from pure lead , but I've not thought about using it to lap a BP barrel. Thanks!

LD

The .490 balls being used may be too hard. Once a tight ball and patch w good lube is popped into the bore, the lead deforms and seating might be snug but it will be smooth.

Loyalist Dave said:

The Blue Ridge Hunter aka the Frontier by Pedersoli is notorious for cutting patches. You can take a piece of green scrubby (as one uses to scrub a pot or pan; found in the supermarket dish washing aisle) and using a .45 jag, and scrub the inside of the bore to remove any burrs and such that may be giving you grief.

LD

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I have used 4 ought steel wool, scotch brite and also have built a freshening slug with valve lapping compound, to eliminate burrs in the barrel.