I have a flintlock Kentucky pistol with a Pedersoli marked barrel given me by my father for Christmas about 5-6 years ago, which I've fired less than 10 shots through in that time. He was told by the man he bought it from that it was a .45 caliber.
So we took it to the range with some .440 round balls, which I couldn't even come close to starting with a patch, so we shoved them down the barrel bare (and it still required a fair amount of force) and fired a few shots, generally needing two or three pulls of the trigger to set off the pan, and often two pans to fire the main charge.
I think we took it out one other time to try it with .433 balls, and they were better, but then I dry-balled it and it's sat in the safe since.
Recently I was starring at the poor thing sitting in the safe, and so I ordered a ball puller, which came looking like a screw with a snapped off point, but I tried to use it anyway. Which resulted in a bent cleaning rod and a dished out but still thoroughly stuck ball.
I tried poking FFFg BP through the touch hole, but I think the ball is so far down as to be blocking the hole.
So now, even if I can get the ball puller solidly in the ball, I can't figure out how to apply enough force along the rod to pull the ball, and I'm plum out of ideas.
So I'm looking for two things:
Ideas for getting the ball out.
And ideas on a proper size ball for this pistol. Groove to land it measures .440 per my calipers, but I can't say I'm an expert in using them.
I can't find anything smaller than .433 until you get to .395, and that just seems like a large gap to fill with patch. (I have thought of using running them through a sizing die, but I can't find anything between .417 and .427)
If no one makes balls sized for this barrel, could the barrel be "freshened" out to a .45?
Thanks.
Jason
So we took it to the range with some .440 round balls, which I couldn't even come close to starting with a patch, so we shoved them down the barrel bare (and it still required a fair amount of force) and fired a few shots, generally needing two or three pulls of the trigger to set off the pan, and often two pans to fire the main charge.
I think we took it out one other time to try it with .433 balls, and they were better, but then I dry-balled it and it's sat in the safe since.
Recently I was starring at the poor thing sitting in the safe, and so I ordered a ball puller, which came looking like a screw with a snapped off point, but I tried to use it anyway. Which resulted in a bent cleaning rod and a dished out but still thoroughly stuck ball.
I tried poking FFFg BP through the touch hole, but I think the ball is so far down as to be blocking the hole.
So now, even if I can get the ball puller solidly in the ball, I can't figure out how to apply enough force along the rod to pull the ball, and I'm plum out of ideas.
So I'm looking for two things:
Ideas for getting the ball out.
And ideas on a proper size ball for this pistol. Groove to land it measures .440 per my calipers, but I can't say I'm an expert in using them.
I can't find anything smaller than .433 until you get to .395, and that just seems like a large gap to fill with patch. (I have thought of using running them through a sizing die, but I can't find anything between .417 and .427)
If no one makes balls sized for this barrel, could the barrel be "freshened" out to a .45?
Thanks.
Jason
