tac, I have to admit that the charges used in proofing U.S. rifle-muskets were far greater than any of the loads mentioned on here, and those barrels were made of iron, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere near when they tested them. Given the fact that none of the imports made today are proofed, I wouldn't be surprised if a fairly "tame" load busted a barrel at some point, especially if the shooter allowed the bullet to move forward while handling the gun. This is very easy to do especially if using very loose bullets. I'm actually surprised that I've not heard of any such mishaps. Wait and see I guess.
And David, it is true that you never hear of any organized moderate ranged musket matches here. The country is full of r-m's and many shoot live rounds in them though most are only used in re-enacting. I would like to see it happen around here. Our club used to have a "military musket match" at our big Memorial and Labor Day shoots, but since we relocated we don't have the 3 day shoots nor the musket matches. They were only 50 yd. offhand matches at that. A few of us still take the time to shoot at 50 and 100 yds offhand at targets and gongs, but it's not organized. And every now and then some who have carbines will chime in and I'll get out the Whitworth and do a little offhand shooting to go with it. The N-SSA of course have their matches, but you just never hear of any competitive paper target shooting with these things. It's a shame.
pappa bear, that's our problem. Our club has just enough room for 100 yds. Up in the head of a holler. There is a modern gun club nearby that has 300 yd targets, but the cost to join just to shoot long range once in a while is prohibitive. And those guys wouldn't appreciate the smoke screen several muskets would put out whilst they was shootin' their plastic guns.
