Hatfield .45 caliber rifle

[cruiser96]

ok guys im new to blackpoder rifles. i just recently purchased a .45 caliber hatfield rifle. shot it for the first time today. was told to start off at 30 grains of powder. when i fired it the first time nothing happened. replaced the primer tried again and the ball barely made it out of the barrel. any ideas on what i need to be looking at as far as how much powder to be using?

 

[Rick Son]

Did ya make sure it is clean first?My Kentucky rifle i shoot 50 for a 45,now i am a real novice and haven't been able to shoot for some time and when i started i wouldn't have known to make sure the barrel was clear,i'm sure yours is and that's just me.

 

[lorren68]

What was your complete load? Ball size, patch thickness, type of lube, and was the barrel clean and free of oil before loading?

 

[Clovis]

The Hatfields were nice rifles and should be trouble free if they are in good shape. We are going to need more information about your loading process and ball size, patch, lube and powder. 30 grains should have moved the ball out very nicely and would make a decent small game load.

 

[cynthialee]

my guess with it bearly coming out of the barrel that you had an undersized projectile
or you fouled alot of powder that didn't ignite and only a small amount of the charge went off

or both

 

[M. De Land]

My .45 caliber underhammer with a Green Mtn. barrels best load is 65 grains of 3F and a .018 patched .445 diameter ball.
Once you get the most accurate load you need to mark your ramrod at the muzzle to make sure you get the ball seated to the same depth each time with that charge volume.
Kinda sounds to me like you may not have got the ball all the way down on the powder and this is a very good way to ring a barrel. MD

 

[cruiser96]

i cleaned the gun when i fisrt got it a week ago. ball size is .445, patch is .013 thick. but did not use a lube. what do you recommend? and there was hoppes lubricating oil left from cleaning it. will remember to swab next time before i shoot it. missed that one from what i have read about shooting black powder.

 

[redwing]

Make sure the barrel and chamber are dry of cleaners and oil before loading. I suspect you had something wet in the powder chamber. I think these rifles have patent breechs. You must clean those with a very small patch wrapped around a .22 cal bore brush. A load of 45 grs. should be a good start. :grin:

 

[George T.]

That's a very lite load for a 45 cal. I would stare at 45 and expect to go higher. My guess is that oil killed some of the powder. Did following shots do better? Good Luck! Geo. T.

 

[rafterob]

Yeah, I agree the oil probably killed the powder. Heck 5 grains of powder would shoot that ball 30 or 40 feet. Next time start with 45 grains of powder and see how it shoots.

 

[cruiser96]

thanks for the info. i made sure it was good and clean of oil. took it to the range this morning. fired every time without any problems. now the problem is why i cant hit anything. used 60 grains of powder but never could tell where i was hitting. i will just have to take time to learn what i am doing wrong.

 

[Rick Son]

Spit on your thumb and rub it on the front site,Fess Parker tought me that :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

If you can't hit anything, the first thing to do is to move towards the target until you can hit something.

I don't know about your gun but many of the factory made guns (like Lyman) come with their front sight intentionally left tall.

These tall sights will cause the gun to shoot 'low' until the front sight is filed down a bit.

With this in mind, set up a target on a LARGE piece of cardboard. Use the center of the bullseye as the aim point and shoot at least 5 shots.
Find out where they are hitting and then start adjusting the sights to bring the group to the point of aim.

Be sure to collect the patches that were shot.
Their condition will tell you (and us) a lot about what is happening when the gun is loaded and fired.