Bess carbine tryouts

[TreeMan]

Got my new brass .735 mold in yesterday from (no title) out of England. It’s very nice! Only took 8 days for delivery from England to Virginia. Great service. I made up a batch last night and gave them a try at 25 yards in my new Pedersoli Bess Carbine. 90 grains of 2F, two thin overshot cards and a .010 patched ball. It’s tight, but not short starter needed tight. This weekend I’ll try them at 50. Pics for entertainment and yes I know that is an enfield sling on my Bess and it is backwards. I got frustrated taking it on an off a dozen times and called it quits for the day.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Tha looks to have potential. We'll done sir.

 

[MountainSmoke]

Nice mold and good shooting. Enjoyed the pics.

 

[R.J.Bruce]

Nice shooting. Are you using the sling as a shooting aid?

Gotta love those Tanner ball molds. If not for Jeff, and now his son, the patched ball community would have virtually no source for anything but the most common sizes of ball molds. Especially, now that Covid-19 has basically shut down Lee Precision, and Lyman from manufacturing any kind of molds. And, you can bet that ball molds will be at the end of the list when production starts up.

 

[Historian]

I do not know if I would say that or not. His molds are good and yes I have 2 of them but take a look at this guy. I just received my #1 buck mold from him. Going to try it out soon.
(martysarms.com)
Looks like he will make about anything. I think I will post a thread about him as well.

 

[R.J.Bruce]

I do not know if I would say that or not. His molds are good and yes I have 2 of them but take a look at this guy. I just received my #1 buck mold from him. Going to try it out soon.
(martysarms.com)
Looks like he will make about anything. I think I will post a thread about him as well.

Was not aware of this man. Anyone stepping up to fill the void is much appreciated. From conversations that I have had with several purveyors of muzzleloading goods, it's the foundries that are one of the primary blockages in the flow of parts to build new rifled and smoothbore guns. A lot of people don't realize how many parts in a lock from L & R, the breech plugs that Track of the Wolf sells, and so much more, starts at a foundry.

And, a lot of foundries don't want to mess about with the small, piddly orders that are generated by the small 1-5 man companies in the muzzleloading community. The few that do take small orders are swamped with business, so when some company like Track of the Wolf runs out of a particular breech plug, they can't necessarily afford to reorder right away. And, if they can afford to reorder immediately, the foundry might put them on a many months long backlog list.

 

[TreeMan]

Nice shooting. Are you using the sling as a shooting aid?

Gotta love those Tanner ball molds. If not for Jeff, and now his son, the patched ball community would have virtually no source for anything but the most common sizes of ball molds. Especially, now that Covid-19 has basically shut down Lee Precision, and Lyman from manufacturing any kind of molds. And, you can bet that ball molds will be at the end of the list when production starts up.

No I just use it for carrying. I never could get the hang of using a sling as a shooting aid.

 

[Britsmoothy]

No I just use it for carrying. I never could get the hang of using a sling as a shooting aid.

Nor me.

 

[Artificer]

Nor me.

Have either you or TreeMan tried what is known as a "Hasty Sling?" BTW, this is NOT for shooting shot, but can be very useful when firing a single ball.

Gus

 

[Britsmoothy]

Have either you or TreeMan tried what is known as a "Hasty Sling?" BTW, this is NOT for shooting shot, but can be very useful when firing a single ball.

Gus

No sir, will have to check it out.

 

[Artificer]

No sir, will have to check it out.

You can do it with a "period correct" sling, but it has to be adjustable and normally that is with a buckle and the sling should be of 2 piece construction as shown below.

The idea is you loosen the sling as much as you can, then hold the gun by the wrist with your shooting hand. Your other hand and arm goes through the open sling, then over the sling and back through the sling again. You need the adjustment in the sling to make it long enough there is some tension applied, but not so much your arm hurts.



Gus

 

[Artificer]

P.S. I guess you could do it with a one piece sling, but it would have to be long enough to use it as in the video. The adjustable sling allows you to do it with differing amounts of clothing over your torso and size it correctly for each amount.

Gus

 

[Britsmoothy]

P.S. I guess you could do it with a one piece sling, but it would have to be long enough to use it as in the video. The adjustable sling allows you to do it with differing amounts of clothing over your torso and size it correctly for each amount.

Gus

Yes I have tried that method in the past but never really felt it helped
Thank you though

 

[Artificer]

Yes I have tried that method in the past but never really felt it helped
Thank you though

You are most welcome.

The problem for must of us in the ML game is we don't have slings on many/most of our arms, so we really don't get to try/use it enough to see just how well it works. Even with ML guns equipped for slings, they aren't allowed very often in ML competition, though in comparatively rare matches they are.

I was taught this technique on Active Duty and once mastered, it does make a big difference for Offhand Shooting, though it can have some limitations when swinging on a moving target. It's not something one would use on shooting rabbits or "shooting flying" for the most part. I did use it to take a 10 point running deer here in Virginia, though and he was moving pretty fast across my front.

Gus

 

[TreeMan]

You are most welcome.

The problem for must of us in the ML game is we don't have slings on many/most of our arms, so we really don't get to try/use it enough to see just how well it works. Even with ML guns equipped for slings, they aren't allowed very often in ML competition, though in comparatively rare matches they are.

I was taught this technique on Active Duty and once mastered, it does make a big difference for Offhand Shooting, though it can have some limitations when swinging on a moving target. It's not something one would use on shooting rabbits or "shooting flying" for the most part. I did use it to take a 10 point running deer here in Virginia, though and he was moving pretty fast across my front.

Gus

I might have to give it a try. I couldn’t get any worse haha

 

[OhioHawkeye]

No I just use it for carrying. I never could get the hang of using a sling as a shooting aid.

Nor I

Have either you or TreeMan tried what is known as a "Hasty Sling?" ....

Problem is, most shooting black powder do not use a style of shooting / arm position to allow its use.

e.g. I use a shotgun stance even with my rifles due to certain "parts" getting in the way. I found having my arms square and elbows parallel to the ground is much more steady than having my left humorous resting on my book which offers zero stability.
Most men I know use such stance for trap shooting. They use the left upper arm pressed back into the chest with the forearm vertical to rest the rifle very well.
Like I said, neither style offers ability to use the sling to shoot.

 

[sportster73hp]

What was your final cost shipped? Are those Lee handles?
I called Log Cabin and they had lyman in stock

 

[TreeMan]

What was your final cost shipped? Are those Lee handles?
I called Log Cabin and they had lyman in stock

Yes they are Lee handles. When I ordered I got them to send the mold including the handles. Total was right at $100.

 

[TreeMan]

Yesterday I broke this Bess out for some plinking. I still haven’t sat down and tried to group this gun at 50 yards with this same load. The massive front sight/bayonet lug makes it tough to even think about. I have a range off my front porch. I had a friend over so I let him shoot it a few times at 25 yards. I then broke into my stash of accumulated empty coffee cans. I sat three of them on the ground at 50 yards. All three of them took a hit from the Bess. No misses. Two leaning on a porch post and one offhanded. If I can whack coffee cans consistently at 50 I’m confident of putting a ball into the boiler room of a deer or bear at that distance. That .735 ball sure knocks a coffee can for a loop. This gun is a hoot. There is a certain satisfaction in making hits with a smoothbore.