Quick range update from last evening.
My powder arrived from Graf's yesterday afternoon so I headed to the indoor range down the street where I'm a member to smoke up the place.
I get to my lane, load the old girl up, put her to my shoulder for my first ever shot with real BP and... Pop. No boom. No smoke. :td: New cap. Same result. Rinse and repeat 4 or 5 times. :cursing: Pull the ball, clean as best I can, and change to a new nipple (the first was actually a brand new nipple as well), same result. Zero ignition. :cursing:
:cursing:
Pull the ball again and this time drop a small charge of my old powder (FFG T7), which gives a pretty long hang fire but finally goes off. Loaded a full charge (85gr) of T7 and she fires like usual, beautifully. Shot 3 more times with T7 with the same good result. :hmm: I'm thinking, what's that thing about it not being broke??
Switch back to the Graf's FFG, and BOOM! Fires off great with no issue. Repeat 10-15 more times with a combos of round balls and REALs with no problems. :idunno:
Here's a link to a representative group (sorry can't figure out how to post photos from my phone yet). I know it's only 25 yards but not bad.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/95870650@N03/x71e1c
I expected the BP to be more dirty, but didn't expect it to be this substantial. A swab with a damp patch was an absolute necessity. The fouling was thick and black (see photo link below after one shot). I also noticed a fair amount of sparks flying out the barrel.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/95870650@N03/9tcVB4
I don't know what to think about the early issues. Maybe something lodged in there that somehow didn't get cleaned out last time. However, the thick crud and sparks make me think I'm not getting a full burn. The range closed before I had a chance to do much more experimenting, but I'm at a bit of a loss. Curious to hear people's thoughts on this experience. :bow: