My first ever shoot went well.....

[Mad Mucus]

:grin: :thumbsup: :hatsoff:
Pretty much sums it up.

Took my new to me GPR .54(as new with only 60 shots through it by previous owner) outa the safe, metho swabbed the bore, inserted the new ampco nipple, gathered all the gear together including vials of 60gn Wano fffg, .015" moose milked patches, .530" balls and Rem #10 caps, loaded up the Subaru and headed off to the range.

Signed in, bought the largest target available for a backing to my A4 target expecting to shoot low, selected a bench, set up, hung my target at the 25m mound and proceeded to load using all the tips gathered here.

Parked my butt on the stool, sighted up 6 o'clock hold, pressed set trigger and fired..... sweet! All shots landed within a 2" wide by 3" high group slightly right of centre starting about 1/4" above aim point.

Thanks all for the help and I can't wait to visit the range again after I crank out some .535" balls from my new mould.

MM

 

[Roguedog]

Good deal mate. Sounds like things are going your way!

Jeff

 

[stinkyfeet]

Its great when a plan comes together.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Good first time out.
Did the #10 caps fit OK?
Methinks if you increase the charge to 70 gr. that group might tighten up. 25 yards/meters really don't tell you much but it was a good outing to get acquainted with your new muzzle gun. :thumbsup:

 

[Alden]

Cool gun, car, day, and new beginning of the next phase of your adventure!

Oh, and get the FFg next time...

 

[Mad Mucus]

Yeah it was just a nice pleasing intro to the next phase of BP shooting for me.

The Rem #10 caps fit just like the Treso nipples on my ROAs..... seems the cones are the same size. :wink:

As to the fffg, have lots of it and worked fine for finishing rifle run in. When I get some more ffg, which I use for .45 Colt cartridge, the experimenting and adjustments will begin.

Retrieved the patches and after inspection they look good enough to wash'n'use again..... no cuts or burning.

Off now to setup for ingotting the old roofing lead I picked up a few weeks ago.

MM

 

[Mad Mucus]

BTW..... I did the "forgot to add powder" thing while chatting to an awed onlooker. He gave me a few shots of his Ped Sharps 45/70 to soften my disbelief, though he was only loading smokeless. After a shot of mine he is now pondering the BP thing.
Removed the nipple, filled with some powder, tap tap, a little more, replaced and capped. Aimed at a cow pad 10m away and smiled to see the ball bounce through the grass.
:hatsoff:

Will remember to mark range rod on next outing.

MM

 

[Kapow]

Nice start! I would be heading out tomorrow if the wind wasn't doing 40 kts! Maybe next week. How snug was the ball and patch combo as you pushed it down? Try increasing patch size or reducing lube until you get that snug feeling all the way down and swab with windex or alcohol swab between shots and your groups may get even smaller.

 

[dikman]

Another banana bender! Don't worry about the dryballing, you get used to it after a while :wink: . I went to the range last Wednesday and had it all to myself, so no distractions. I was going along nicely until I hammered the ball in, reached for the short starter, and then thought "hmm, did I put any powder in first?". I counted the empty phials and it didn't look promising, so I rammed the ball down, screwed the puller onto the range rod and yanked the ball. Yup, no powder .

So there you go, and I can't even blame anyone for distracting me!

 

[Ken Cormier]

I do not know of any shooter who has not dry balled a shot or two. Wait until you do it twice in a row. LOL

 

[bigted]

i cant figure for the life of me how ... to pull a bullet that has no powder under it. i seem to strip the lead on every ball i have tried this on. am i doing sumtin wrong? i always do the ... remove the nipple and install a few grains of powder at a time to remove my goof as the screw on the end of my ramrod never works out ... i have three different ones and they all suck rite back outta the pure lead balls.

 

[dikman]

Don't worry, Kenny, I've done just that!!

BigTed, I bought my puller from TOW (it's one with a collar on it to guide the screw) and I've used it 4 or 5 times and not had any problems with it.

 

[Alden]

Me too. Luckily, they've never actually been MY guns but me helping someone else. Only failed once to get the ball out one way or another without screwing into it and that was due to time...