juice jaws said:
Britsmoothy said:
All my smooth bores won't shoot unless a wad is betwixt powder and ball. I use grease and don't swab.
I have also never done any good if the barrel is pressing on the lock!
B.
Brit, do you also use a patch ball over the powder wad?
My .45 it makes no difference if I use a patch or not but then the balls I have are .440 and .445, the later being better.
Pretty much all my .58" bores I had and using a .562 needed a patch but again with a wad.
I find it depends not on tightness but a snug ball fit and the use of a wad.
My .63 however shoots a .600 well with a wad but then again it will also shoot a .562 with wad and three, yes three patches!
Just got to fool around.
I don't wish to sound like an expert as I am not and I shoot more shot than ball.
I do have opinions on the subject however.
Shooting a target will most often with a smoothbore look, when one is use to seeing targets shot at with a rifle often be disappointing!
Keeps things in perspective, a ball from a smooth bore is a short range hunting gun.
Another thing I found with large balls is they can suffer from their own mass, they can obturate too much in the barrel. Smaller ball don't seem to suffer as bad from this.
There are so many variables, especially internal things it can seem like a mine field.
Irrespective of ball size and patch combo without sufficient wadding some gas passing the ball will happen. No matter how tiny this amount may be it will be a random act every shot and just enough to open a group.
Depending on gun, any drum or nipple bolster pressing on a lock plate will upset things.
Double barrels often make a good combination gun, I mean just stick to the one favoured barrel for ball.
Also watch that a barrel is not bearing down on a mainspring, just touching something other than wood will upset things.
B.
