punched some paper with my 36. Got a few questions.

[twig]

I had a chance to set up a target and shoot some paper this afternoon.
I found that the barrel doesn't like 50 grain loads much. I suspect it is because the patches are burned that I was picking up off the ground. I then decreased the load and when I got down to 30 grains it started to shoot good. I just measured the 30grain shots and if i throw out the flyer I have a 2.5 inch three shot group. with the flyer i have a 4.5 inch group. The common theme I see is the gun likes a fairly clean barrel. I use a shot-1 moist patch- two dry patch routine. The patch material measures .015.
I was thinking of adding 50 grains of corn meal on top of the 50 grain load then patched round ball and see what that does...Any suggestions on this? I am using 000 buck shot. I did not weigh the balls I may try that next time I get a chance.
Any advice appreciated
Twig.

 

[jamesthomas]

What was the distance you were shooting? that's a good 50 yard target not so good for a 25 yard one. You might try a over powder wad before using the corn meal. I also like 5 shot groups instead of 3 shot ones.

 

[twig]

Oh yea I forgot the distance. I was shooting at 70 yards according to my range finder off of a couple chunks of fire wood on my bench.
I tried a patch over the powder and the gun didn't like that either.

 

[azmntman]

Very good group. I would also suggest using over powder wad vs cornmeal. Also suggest for paper to see what gun can do u get a box of balls and WEIGH them vs buck shot (but sounds like yers likes that fine?)

Get Dutchs system (I got mine and have yet to find the time to accurize my favorite but I can tell you its worth it). Sounds like you have a "shooter" and you should play hard and long and see what it really is capable of. Every once in awhile ya get a great deal and a gun that shoots alot better than most. Enjoy and keep us posted.

 

[jamesthomas]

That's a good group for 70 yards off a pile of firewood :thumbsup: .

 

[Thing]

That is a good group for sure. But 50 grains of powder is a lot for a 36 cal. I shoot 30/35 grains for all general shooting . Squirrels Racoon,possum , ground hogs. 50 yards it shoots 1 ragged hole. What length barrel on your rifle?
Mine is 42 inch. Poor Boy style. 1 in 48 twist in barrel . Try a different lube on your patch I do not get any burn through I use Mink oil lube from TOW. Had it up to 40 grains at one time. But 30/35 is more then enough for any thing you may use a 36 on.

 

[twig]

From the sound of the gun 50 is a hot load. It is a poor boy as well w a 42in barrel 1 in 48 twist A weight swamped from colerian. I gotta get some picts of it..It is my first rifle that i made so it is not perfect but it seems to shoot...I parted the hair on the belly of a wood chuck this evening after all the target shooting...he is lots smarter now :grin: I gotta file down the front site as it shoots a little low for my liking

 

[twig]

That is the next project with the gun after I get the trigger dialed in its too heavy for my liking. I have a box of real round balls for it. I may just pick 50 of the closesest weight buck shot and see what happends...I wanna save the good stuff for this fall when tree rat and turkey season comes in...The wood chucks are gonna hate that gun by the end of the summer..gotta get the dutch oven out :wink:

 

[twig]

I was pleasantly surprised at the results as well...Lots of hours with my varmint 22-250 helps when shooting off a good rest.

 

[Stringbean]

I am somewhat new to this but have done a lot of trial and error on my flinters with a round ball. I didn't see what you are using for patch lube. I have tried to clean between shots and have found that my groups got smaller when I didn't clean and used a thinner lube like moose milk on my patch. I have shot all afternoon this way with ease of loading because every time you ram a ball down the bore you are removing the fowling. Hope I helped.

 

[twig]

I made a mixture of bees wax and some of the wifes olive oil. it is a solid that is very similiar to bore butter but smells like honey.
Whats the recipe?I may give that a try.

 

[Stringbean]

Moose milk (recipe from old timer)
4 parts water soluble cutting oil (ballistol)
4 parts Lestoil
4 parts hydrogen peroxide
60 parts water

My recipe
4 parts water soluble cutting oil (or coolant oil)
4 parts pine-sol
4 parts murphy’s oil soap
60 parts windshield washer fluid

I cut out the peroxide for fear of oxidation in my barrel and use windshield washer fluid to keep it from freezing in cold weather. Mine is kind of a bluish color so I call it "smurf snot". There are all kinds of recipes on the internet but I think the main ingredient is the h20 soluble oil. I got mine from a local machine shop

 

[don hepler]

I like the Alliant Black MZ powder, in my 32 and 36 cal. rifles, due to no fouling. It must be compressed. At 25 yards my Douglas barrel 36, will eat a ragged hole. And that's with 25,35,45 grains. It pretty much likes everything. Maybe it's just the Douglas barrel, but I've never seen anything like it. The rifle is kind of ugly, but it shoots fantastic. I'm going to refinish it, and hopefully it will still shoot. I haven't tried longer distance. It is the best powder that I've found for a 32 or 36. They don't tolerate much fouling.

 

[BigBoreBLR]

000 buck might not be a consistent diameter. I could be wrong there.

How much force do you use to get the ball started.

Too little and the groups aren't consistent. Too much and you could deform the ball and have inconsistency too.

I shoot 40 grains out of a .45. That's a 128grains ball. Don't be afraid to try out loads between 20 and 30 grains. 45+ bores, most guys try 3 grain increments. Give 2 or 3 grain increments a try too.

I have my target loads zeroed at 50 yards. with the same sight alignment, my hunting loads zero at 75 yards.

With what you'd hunt or woodwalk target shoot with a 36, you need accuracy, not speed.

With modern rimfires, 75 is pushing the limit with field conditions and small game hunting. 50 is a more realistic limit.

 

[ZUG]

If this is a new barrel I would shoot at least 200 rounds through it before you settle on a load. You may also want to run some 4/0 steel wool through the bore first (10-20 strokes). My 2 cents worth :hmm: :v

 

[hanshi]

I'm with the others on discouraging meal over the powder; a wad, hornet nest or even toilet paper works great. I lube with Hoppes #9 Plus BP lube which cleans the bore with each shot. You might consider a thicker patch as a snug load cleans the bore when it's push down to the powder. I use a .350" home cast ball and a .024" patch lubed with Hoppes. I normally use some sort of op wad. The rifle with 20 grains of 3F is accurate to past 80 yards and 30 grains is just as accurate but with more power. I see no advantage going higher than around 30 to 35 grains of powder in any .36.

30 grains of 3F at 44 yards 3/4" 5 shots. The bottom 3 holes were sighters and the 3/4" group includes the flier at top.

 

[DanChamberlain]

For general all around shooting/squirrel hunting, my .36 loves 25 grains fffg. Super accurate and still way more than enough to kill a squirrel dead. The heads nearly disappear!

 

[twig]

I am just shy of 200. I think i am about 160 or 70 rounds.The barrel after it is cleaned looks like a mirror...It didn't before I started shooting it.The bore was fine when unfired but you could see some milling marks in it. Fouling is not bad compared to when I fired the first 50 shots out of it.
Thanks for all the advice guys...gonna be the end of the summer before I get all the options explored that yall have given me :hmm: