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People underestimate the difficulty in shooting short rifles

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I went to the range with 48 rounds of Pritchett tube cartridges (my cheapo made in India box doesn't quite fit the 50) and had a blast , mostly making smoke and noise :)

My 100 yard silhouette target was covered in a scattered bunch of bullet holes and if I really did my part I could hit the 100 yard steel swinger. I fired 5 rounds off sandbags and put together a fist sized group.

I've been shooting rifles my whole life , I can take an "unmentionable " with iron sights and hit a clay at 300 yards , but these Musketoons are a special challenge.

I have 2 Parker-Hale Musketoons and they shoot very well with regular Minies but most of my shooting with them has been with these Pritchetts.

Maybe the twist rates or barrel length doesn't agree with them, but I did get a "group" off bags so I'll keep trying. I think the short barrel and coarse sights are a challenge.
 

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With a load of 45gr of 3Fg mine, made in 1972, shoots like a lawn sprinkler. Up that to 50gr and it makes a couple or so inch groups of five at 50m. As it's mainly used as a first-time percussion BP arm for club guests to try out something they've never shot before in their lives, that does for me.

I've never tried anything in it except the 535gr Lyman, thicker-based Minié - I don't know anybody who has a Pritchett mould, and I'd never get the use out of buying a new one for $150.
 
The Pritchetts are hard to make because they're compression swaged, I don't shoot very many also because the tubes are very hard to make also. The guy who makes them charges about $2 each but given the material and effort to make them that's about right. I think part of me also enjoys leaving a pile of paper tubes on the ground at the range to thoroughly confuse the tactical Bros.

I make 1863 pattern cartridges which are far cheaper and easier to make. Given that I'm not in combat the slightly slower loading isn't a big deal.
 

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Have a pedersoli and 2 ph musketoons. Regarding short barrels, don't know if this is comparing apples to oranges but my stock t/c new englander shoots good with unsized Lee improved minies. T/C has a 1/2" shorter sight radius and a 1/4 inch longer barrel, lighter trigger and modern adjustable sights. Only mod to the musketoons are a notched copper blade super glued to the back of the rear sight to help zero the sights. This doesn't bother me too much but what does is the heavy trigger pull; easy to pull off the target.
For now, the musketoons will be left un-modded as repro "battle rifles".

Pic is a target used to zero the new englander. First three went low left. Then adjusted for elevation. Then shot a bunch without wiping. Barrel is rusty/ pitted and doesn't shoot patched ball accurately. Shot at 50 yards.
 

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The trigger is also far from bad but far from match grade on my P-H Musketoons , but they weren't designed to be sandbag rested target rifles.

Also I think I need to play around with bullets and powder types.
 
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