Bullet board

[Pilgrim]

My next project is to make a bullet board for my .32 Kibler SMR. I'm thinking about using a piece of pallet wood. Can anyone share experiences about patterns that work better than others? I will use the gun for hunting, shooting matches, and such. All comments are very much appreciated.

 

[tenngun]

Boards may not have been in use before cr 1840, maybe later.
A piece of wood with a hole in it ain’t much of an invention so I THINK they are earlier. But can’t prove it.
So
You need a hard wood. Some pallets use poplar and that’s too soft even though it’s hardwood. All confusing
You just need a little thinner then the ball. Then it’s just a matter of size and your hands comfort
I had a six shot for my .62. Weighed a ton when loaded.
A five shot string is nice.
We see historic ones with a dozen or even twenty
Historic ones seem to be long ovals.
Drill a hole to size then use a round file to open it up enough to admit the ball with thumb pressure
Oil it well so it doesn’t swell in humid weather in the holes and outside
I find a greasy patch works better even in cold weather then oiled

 

[LRB]

Boards may not have been in use before cr 1840, maybe later.
A piece of wood with a hole in it ain’t much of an invention so I THINK they are earlier. But can’t prove it.
So
You need a hard wood. Some pallets use poplar and that’s too soft even though it’s hardwood. All confusing
You just need a little thinner then the ball. Then it’s just a matter of size and your hands comfort
I had a six shot for my .62. Weighed a ton when loaded.
A five shot string is nice.
We see historic ones with a dozen or even twenty
Historic ones seem to be long ovals.
Drill a hole to size then use a round file to open it up enough to admit the ball with thumb pressure
Oil it well so it doesn’t swell in humid weather in the holes and outside
I find a greasy patch works better even in cold weather then oiled

I made a two ball board for deer hunting kept it around my neck protected with a thin leather draw string cover to keep dirt and debris off the greased patch. Also kept two powder loads in sealed coin wrappers in my pocket along with very small priming horn.

 

[Grimord]

I have posted this before. This is my deer hunting field kit. It contains two pre-measured powder charges, two patched round balls, a short starter, and the sleeve contains caps or could be exchanged for a different sleeve that has a touch hole pick and pan brush when I am using my flint lock.

 

[Thomas.bill92]

I love me a good ball board! I use them for hunting, woods walks and range time. Mine are all made of some sort of hardwood, oak, maple, walnut, etc. I recommend finding a set of forstner or brad point bits as they make much cleaner holes compared to regular twist bits. I have always been a function over form kind of person so there's nothing fancy about the boards I make, they just work haha! A plus with the .32 is you can utilize a fairly thin board, the 6 hole board was made with a piece of maple train track that I grabbed from my kids toy train set, the oak boards are scraps of flooring that I planed smooth and the walnut was from a woodworkers scrap bin.

 

[Rancocas]

Looks good Thomas.Bill92

They can be made in any shape and hold as many balls as you like. Oblong. Round. Cloverleaf. Shaped like a fish. Carve a design or do some wire inlet to fancy it up. Stain or paint it. Whatever. Get creative!

As has already been said, make the board a little thinner than the diameter of the ball so that the patched ball can stick through a bit beyond the wood and be easy to center in the gun's bore prior to ramming it home.

I use a fowler for small game and so do not have need of a bullet board/loading block. However, for big game hunting I like a board with only 3 round balls. Starting with a loaded gun, that makes 4 balls ready. I figure that should be plenty for a day in the deer woods, and it doesn't weigh too much. I hang it around my neck and tuck it inside my shirt so it doesn't dangle and get in the way before I need it.
For target matches I might use a board with as many balls as needed for the course. Or, at least half as much depending on the size and weight of shots needed. Make two.

Of course, I carry extra balls and patches in my shooting bag.

 

[TDM]

Let your imagination guide you. There’s no hard and fast rules, except use some type of hardwood or your holes will quickly enlarge with use. Depending on your muzzle type, you can notch your board on the bottom to fit a barrel rib or cap.

 

[Grimord]

Here are a few of the bullet boards I have made for hunting and trail walks. the beaver board on the top center picture has a built in powder measure, and the tail is used to hold caps. The blonde colored board at the top of the first picture is for my .32's and it is made from a piece of moose antler.

 

[Freedom]

Heavy leather works very well too.