Pedersoli Frontier .54 Range Report

I was dying on the vine. 6 weeks with no range time. New flinter sitting on the lockdown.
I gave in, gathered enough stuff from the moving boxes to make it to the range.
Small flints had not arrived yet, so I struck down a couple of the Bess flints to be narrow an fit the gun. The flints are French Amber from Heritage.
All shots from bags on the bench, at 50 yards. All shots got a Windex wipe in between.
All loads were 70 gr FFF OE, prime was the same.
First load, .530 ball and .015 patch, tight as tight can be and almost had to pound it down the barrell..
First shot - 8" low and 8" left.
Second sot - 10" low and 12" left
Third shot - back close to shot 1
Over the next 10 or so shots, I got some erratic non patterning. Was getting a bit downhearted.
Over the next 10 or so shots, they started grouping up some and getting closer to POA.
By the time I got to 20 or 25 rounds, I was getting 2-3" groups all of which were 2" low and 2 inches left.
Starting to feel a lot better here.
Next 5 shots were a good 2" group low and left. As long as they are grouping, I can fix that later. Balls were loading very smoothly with that "just right" feeling. Patches on the ground looked good. Dark where they should be, no tears or burns or signs of powder bypass.
All this 30-40 shots, one flint, no misfires. Flint looks good enough to keep on going.
Overall - very happy with the gun. It points easy from a bag, recoil is manageable.
Wish I had taken some pics, but I didn't.
Gun is relatively light at 7#11oz. I like it and in the next 2 or three weeks it will be tuned and ready to hunt with. My season starts Nov 1st.

Glad to hear. Just bought a .50 blue ridge which is a cheaper version, made by pedersoli as well. Only put 4 balls through, but going more tomorrow morning. Did You grind your front sight to dial in? If so, how much did you grind of at a time? Any advice on that would be appreciated. Best of luck to you this season!

FingerLakesPurd said:

Just bought a .50 blue ridge which is a cheaper version, made by pedersoli as well.

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The Blue Ridge from Cabela's is the same rifle as the Frontier. You can get a better price from Cabela's than you can from many places that sell the Frontier, but that's because of Cabela's buying in bulk. Cabela's contracts with Pedersoli to sell that model rifle under the Cabela's name. Hatfield did the same for a time, and ordered their version with polished and blued barrels, better wood, and the name "Hatfield" engraved on the barrel.

LD

FIRST - Are you a new shooter to the black powder world?
Is your new gun cap or flint? What are you using for a propellant?
Do you have access to a couple of ball sizes and patch thicknesses, maybe even a couple of different lube options?
Find the right load first, get the gun broken in good. Get the groups tight, don't be concerned with hitting the + yet.
I would advise NOT making any adjustments to the sights until you get the barrel broken in good.
As the barrel slicks up and breaks in the POI is going to change.
Once the gun has settled down and produces consistent and stable groups, then start making those adjustments.
I start by making small adjustments to the powder to see if I can get the elevation set by power.
If you have specific powder limits (like for terminal performance for hunting loads) then that may not be what you want.
Getting the ball\patch\powder where it shoots it's best group is the most important. Don't worry about POI until you get the groups as tight as possible. Consistent is always #1 priority with a new one. I set my goal to get that done at around 100 rounds. But that is the guns decision, it make take more or less rounds to get it there.
THEN start working on point of impact and sight adjustment. Since the changes you make to the sight height is non reversible, then try and make sure you get it right the first time.
Drift the sights in the dovetail(s) for windage adjustments until you get that perfect. Then start on the elevation.
For most I have talked to, the front sight comes from the factory taller than it needs to be, shooting low.
That means filing the sight down. Don't get in a hurry, a little at a time is better than too much.
Take your time and enjoy the process. It's not a job, it's an adventure. A bad day at the range beats a good day at work - every time!
What part of the country are you in?
If you are close enough, we could meet up and hit the range.

Wow you guys are always great giving detailed advice. So appreciated. I am new to flintlocks. I will put many more rounds through as advised. My windage was perfect out of the box. I’m shooting 5-7 inches low right now at 40 yards. Using 70 grains of fff. Going to keep playing with patches and powder to tighten grouping. Hope to be ready for gun season in NY (11/16). I live in Farmington NY.

Thanks for posting your results grizz! Looks like you may end up with a good shooter there! Greg

Was tinkering today and decided to pull the liner out and see what she looked like. I had used a flush kit to clean and had not pulled the liner since it came out of the box. That was a mistake. That should have been done before I ever sent the first ball downrange. The vent liner was all but glued in by the gooey manure Pedersoli used to pack the thing. Afet soaking a bit and using a big shaft screwdriver I finally got it to move. All the way out it felt like it was crossthreaded. Tight and fighting until the last thread. After an hour or so I finally got it all cleaned back up. The whole process took a toll on the liner driver slot. I ordered a new liner.
I was also surprised to see that the liner did not go directly into the main charge area on the barrel. Instead there was a small hole drilled through the bottom of the breech plug into the cross drilled hole for the liner. My other flinters (without liners) are drilled directly into the barrel powder charge. The design does not seem to effect the operation of the gun. On the maiden voyage with this gun I went about 40 rounds and had no misfires or slow timing on ignition. I was just surprised at what I found in there.

I believe that Pedersoli uses some variation of the patent breech. This makes it easier in the manufacture of their firearms. They only need one barrel for flint or percussion guns. Of course that smaller than bore chamber does become a trap for fouling and you need a loading and cleaning procedure that removes the fouling. Usually cleaning involves a 30 or 25 caliber bore brush wrapped in a cleaning patch followed by a pipe cleaner or a dental flossing pick through the touch hole. Otherwise you will end up with that build up of fouling at the touch hole that leads to misfires.

I am sure you know by now to use anti seize on the threads of your vent liner and only need to snug the liner in place.

During the break in I did not block the vent hole. Using 3f powder I did not see any powder dribbling from the vent, so it needed no attention. The small patent style breech was also no issue with ignition. It went bang every time.
I will be using a forced flush with MAP in the first phase of cleaning though, just like I do with my cap guns.
Overall, I like this flinter. I seems hardy and has proven itself to be reliable. I did learn the hard way about how to properly swab a barrel, and with this one it is important not to knock a bunch of crud down the tube when wiping. I can see where that little 3/16 powder channel could be an issue.

Did a lot of hunting and found 2 sources for the 8 mm X 1.25 mm vent liners. (That were actually in stock)
Very few suppliers even list that size. They call it the one for easy conversion from/to flint and percussion.
I will have to look into a lock and drum for the gun. Sounds intriguing.
Track and the Possibles shop.
Track carries the stainless like what came in it,
The possibles shop had Ampco material and a Beryllium model. The Ampco was 6 bucks, the Beryllium just under 13.
I ordered one of each so see what fit best and which will in the future, be the hardiest.
So far, a really fun gun. Near future - a hunting piece.

Treso makes the Ampco ones, the Beryllium are from Pedersoli. Flintlocks etc caries the original Pedersoli's too.
One down side to the Treso is that you will have to file them flush to the outside of the barrel, which makes the screwdriver slot pretty shallow.

I like them both a little better than the S.S. ones.

I don't think the gunk you mentioned was Pedersoli oil/grease- it's fouling. I have run into that everytime I have removed the vent.
I do think the vent should be removed, cleaned, and have anti-seize or choke tube lube put on every time you clean the gun. It will come out easily after firing with the anti-seize on their. I bought a Magna- Tip bit from Brownells that fits the liner slot perfectly- for 5 or 6 bucks it's a worthwhile investment.

I have the maple version in .45 and it's one of my favorite guns.

AlanG said:

Treso makes the Ampco ones, the Beryllium are from Pedersoli. Flintlocks etc caries the original Pedersoli's too.
One down side to the Treso is that you will have to file them flush to the outside of the barrel, which makes the screwdriver slot pretty shallow.

I like them both a little better than the S.S. ones.

I don't think the gunk you mentioned was Pedersoli oil/grease- it's fouling. I have run into that everytime I have removed the vent.
I do think the vent should be removed, cleaned, and have anti-seize or choke tube lube put on every time you clean the gun. It will come out easily after firing with the anti-seize on their. I bought a Magna- Tip bit from Brownells that fits the liner slot perfectly- for 5 or 6 bucks it's a worthwhile investment.

I have the maple version in .45 and it's one of my favorite guns.

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Flintlocks did not have them in stock when I checked.
The SS vent that came in it was pretty soft. I too have some good quality tips and I had to really bear down on it and use a small pair of locking pliers to break it loose. If it was not the Pedersoli grease then it was Pedersoli's lack of using the proper treatment in the first place. I use the copper base antiseize on nipples and sparkplugs and after 2 years and 10's of thousand's of miles, the plugs still come loose easily.
I really wanted the maple, what a work of art. Maybe someday.

TX-GRIZ, you might want to check out Dutch Schoultz' method. Here's a link:

http://blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/

this is, to my mind, the best non shooting accessory you can buy, and Dutch guarantees that, if you follow his instructions, your groups will shrink.

Make good smoke!

MSW said:

TX-GRIZ, you might want to check out Dutch Schoultz' method. Here's a link:

http://blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/

this is, to my mind, the best non shooting accessory you can buy, and Dutch guarantees that, if you follow his instructions, your groups will shrink.

Make good smoke!

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Not only am I already a disciple of the DR.., I have gifted his book to several new shooters on this forum and a couple who are members of our gun club. I have been a precision shooter for decades 1,000 yds (+) and many of his methods are things I adopted decades ago. He does tailor it towards the muzzleloader world and I too found it very useful, especially concerning bore fit and lubes. It is an excellent guide especially for new white smoke shooters. Keep pushing it!

Got back out to the range yesterday and continued the break in of the Frontier.
This session I changed to the .535 ball and a .010 mink patch. They load a little easier than the .530 with .015 that I used last week. Accuracy seems a little better, but that could also be attributed to the barrel getting used enough to help smooth it out.
This gun has been very dependable on ignition. Another 30 rounds (or close to that) on one flint with zero failures of any kind.
The flint was one of the recently arrived French ambers from Heritage. HIGHLY recommended. After 30 rounds the flint stills looks good enough to go another 30.
The groups are getting tighter and I have not even started on load workups yet. Just doing rounds to get it smoothed up.
It's producing 2-3" groups at 50 yards and very consistent.
I bet with a proper load workup it will get down to 1-2" easily. But I am being patient. Patches are looking good too. Still a little bit of fuzz but otherwise the picture perfect patch.

Rifling depth is different with each brand. My barrel is an H&H with deep rifling so a .535" ball and a thick patch is needed. using Dutch's method even a cigarette paper between the ball and patch took me to a one hole group at 50.
TC says .530" ball but the fact is a larger ball is better. Adjust the patch. Rifling will vary from .010" to .003". I do not know Pedersoli dimensions but they make fine guns. I do not believe in break in at all since every gun out of box shot better then it ever would. FIT is the answer. I truly believe a ball must be engraved by the patch at least .005" at groove, yes hard to start but to thumb push a patched ball in is no better then a slingshot.