50 cal smoothbore

[Britsmoothy]

i think brits 'beer mats' are what we call coasters.not the carton.

Thanks yes, cartons are good also.

 

[Pete453]

i think brits 'beer mats' are what we call coasters.not the carton.

Got it now, thanks

 

[Banjoman]

Nice gun. Can’t help with the builder unfortunately.

I’ve been thinking about turning one of my pitted TC .50 caliber barrels into a smooth bore. You got me thinking more about it now.

 

[Pete453]

I’ve been thinking about turning one of my pitted TC .50 caliber barrels into a smooth bore.

I can recommend it, this is a T/C barrel on this one, L&R Queen Anne lock. It's bored 5/8", uses a .600 ball with .018 patch. It's been a good gun with both ball and shot

 

[BoomStick]

I just picked up this 50 cal smoothbore. It's slim and trim, and light in hand. The makers stamp looks like J. W. Heckert. It's a beautiful gun, and I would like to contact the maker. Does anyone here know of this person?

J Wayne Heckert is a member of the contemporary long rifle association. He's in the Harrisburg PA area.

 

[BoomStick]

And that's a pretty little gun. Probably quite handy in the squirrel and rabbit woods.

 

[Pete453]

J Wayne Heckert is a member of the contemporary long rifle association. He's in the Harrisburg PA area.

Thank you very much!

And that's a pretty little gun. Probably quite handy in the squirrel and rabbit woods.

I'll find out

 

[Pete453]

So, I finally got a chance to pattern my smoothbore on the patterning board at the club. I used Goex 3f, 40 & 50 grs, lubed Durofelt wads, thin card wads, and for some, brown paper shot cups. All shooting was from 20 paces.
Shots 1&2 were 40 & 50 grs of powder, wads only, 40 & 50 grs #6 shot. Both had holes in the pattern. Next, #3 I tried it with the paper shot cups with a thin card overshot card and 40 grs powder.That was more like it.
Number 4 was the same with 50grs powder, pattern started to open a tad, but still a good hunting pattern.
Number 5, I folded the paper cup over instead of tearing it off at the shot and put a card wad over it. Good pattern.
But look at the patterns in yellow, those were with the same load column of 40grs powder, lubed felt wad, 3 thin cards, paper shot cup, 50 grs #4 shot, and a thin card. Those are turkey patterns! I tried the same load with 50grs of powder and the pattern started to open up, but still very useable.

These are the first 2 cleaning patches after 8 shots.

To say I'm pleased is an understatement
Oops Edit: I mixed up the order of 3 and 4

 

[Britsmoothy]

How did poa work out?

 

[Pete453]

How did poa work out?

It worked out well, but the sights are small, they definitely weren't made for 57 yr old eyes. Without my readers on the notch in the rear sight blends with the front blade. I painted the front orange and wearing 1X readers helps a lot.
I hadn't shot ball from it either. Our club has the Last Blast New Year's Eve woodswalk, and the people working the event shot the course today. I shot 26 steel clangers, with 19 hits, from 10 yards out to a couple over 60 yards. When I fix the heavy trigger pull I think I can bring the hit count up. I'm pleased with it, I think we're going to get along just fine.