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  1. B

    Barrel length and velocity?

    Ahh McManus,, Ed Zern, Havilah Babcock.. et al.. they don’t grow writers like those guys anymore :)..
  2. B

    Barrel length and velocity?

    Exactly. Once the expansion of gasses is complete, the acceleration slows and the remaining barrel length can in some instances become drag. In ml or modern guns. With realistic charges there’s not much velocity advantage in long barrels. I made a 42” rifle once, took it to the range and...
  3. B

    Leather recommendation

    Best leather conditioner I’ve ever found is “saddle butter” sold by Ray Holes saddle company in Grangeville, ID. Great stuff. I’ve used it for decades on saddles, holsters, shooting bags, sheaths etc. Snow Seal by atsko is another good one. Neatsfoot by itself always seems to leave it wet...
  4. B

    Help with refinishing my muzzle crown

    That’s the way I do crowns as well cartridge & ML. and have also used the Brownell lathe crowning tool and made several similar ones. I make a brass bore size mandrel and center with a dial indicator in a 4 jaw Chuck. I like to put a radius on the crown with no sharp edges. Makes it easier...
  5. B

    Bedding Your Rifle Barrel

    Well, I’ve never seen any increase in rusting due to bedding. In 45 years building guns. Quite the opposite in fact. Water absorbed into raw wood or poorly sealed wood exacerbates rusting by keeping a wet environment in contact with the metal. I don’t EVER want ANY water soaking into my...
  6. B

    Lead Sled....just don't

    It’s important to know that shoulder deterioration is an ongoing process with age. Most over 50 have some damage and it gets worse over 60 and up. Some activities aggravate it. It’s cumulative. Did some research while convalescing from torn rotator cuff surgery, mostly from damage of shooting...
  7. B

    Hege-Siber pistol. Look out 10 ring

    Beautiful pistol. It should be a shooter. I thought Hege was a German company that had specialty guns made to their specs. Could be wrong. I imported a Hege-Uberti 36 revolver in one of my shipments from Germany. A British high master pistol shooter at the friendship nationals saw it and...
  8. B

    Lead Sled....just don't

    This is the one I’ve used for years and recommend it highly. It spreads the impact over a wider area and absorbs a lot of the shock.
  9. B

    Bedding Your Rifle Barrel

    Not at all, just telling the way I do it, and why and how it works for me. Do it however it makes you feel good. But don’t criticize someone using a synthetic bedding compound while holding up a marvel of modern manufacturing techniques and state of the art materials, as being made the old...
  10. B

    Rust blue advice needed

    Mark Lees is a good rust blue. I’ve rust blued a lot of guns with it after year using the Swiss federal Armory formula from the angier book. Lee’s works best for me at very high humidity. I live in FL and have it naturally so didn’t need a sweat box. Often 90+% humidity. Rusting was always...
  11. B

    Bedding Your Rifle Barrel

    I always find it amusing to see people who decry the use of a modern material in their “traditional” muzzle loader. They eschew the use of epoxy, or stock stains and finishes. and extoll the “old ways”.. All the while proudly displaying their rifle, with a barrel made with modern alloys, CNC...
  12. B

    Lead Sled....just don't

    Yes, it’s good to be able to keep shooting.. or start shooting. Totally disagree with that poster who said to just stay home if you’re recoil sensitive. Kids and women would often just have to be discouraged from shooting or hunting. The strap on pads work well, and the padded shirts with...
  13. B

    Bedding Your Rifle Barrel

    Glue or rosin wouldn’t be as good as epoxy, but are better than nothing. I’ve taken originals apart that were bedded with both, along with wax and tar. And the bedding is still intact. I have found some old guns with the metal still tight, and a bunch with the metal flopping around in the...
  14. B

    Bedding Your Rifle Barrel

    Rig is excellent for that. It was second in effectiveness in my salt spray corrosion testing. And bedding doesn’t create an environment forcorrosion. If anything, inhibits it, by restricting the absorption of moisture into the wood.
  15. B

    Bedding Your Rifle Barrel

    Huh... ? Not sure what your point is here..? Mules?? I would have bedded everything on a stock Even without epoxy. Back in the old days, would have used glue or pine rosin. It allows a slim, graceful stock to be stronger and more stable.. club?? On the contrary. It seals and stabilizes...
  16. B

    Bedding Your Rifle Barrel

    I bed everything. Using industrial epoxy Not so much for accuracy, though it may help some, but for strength and stability. Barrel channels, inletted parts like lock, tang, plates, even patchbox and buttplate. On slim longrifles, with erratic grain in the wrist (curly maple), often reenforce...
  17. B

    New lube.

    It seems we’re mixing up shooting lubes and cleaning/preserving procedures. Yes, I took chemistry in high shool...and college. my day job for 15 yrs was a corrosion chemist. Where I had access to a state of the art lab and a PhD (who knew his **** wrt corrosion) I took advantage of that to test...
  18. B

    New lube.

    Actually, it’s quite wet when the load is rammed down the bore. 3-4 drops on a 36 patch. And using the same very tight wet patch combo each time, makes a very consistent bore. The fowling from the previous shot goes out both the shot, keeping most everything ahead of the powder. In my scoped...
  19. B

    New lube.

    I use only alcohol based lubes, because I hate putting water down my barrel when shooting. Water and black powder, don’t like each other. “Keep yer powder dry :) ) The alcohol is simply a Carrier and solvent for fouling from the previous shot as it’s being rammed home. Once the ball is seated...
  20. B

    New lube.

    I tried 91 & 70% in my testing, but the 99 definitely is better at keeping the lubricant in solution. You do need to keep the lid on. I use a flip top when shooting. That’s true for any alcohol, absorbing moisture, also alcohol evaporates leaving the water behind, decreasing the ratio. I...
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