• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades
  • Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.

    We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.

    Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103

Shooting Undersized Round balls into paper targets.....?? Accuracy?

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
We ALREADY KNOW how it won't work so shoot the right size and be done with it! Sounds like a solution looking for a problem!!
I agree with the "its a solution looking for a problem" approach.
However, since most everyone shoots .490's using ( .015 - .018 patches ) from 50 calibers, that would make a very boring video.
It would be very tough to hold anyone's attention for 9-10 minutes shooting the correct round balls, especially at paper targets.
Thanks for watching.
 
Begin with a shooter who admittedly is not a good shot. Add a plastic tub as a rest. Add five shot groups, not statistically valid sample. Add varying patch thicknesses.. Add varying ball sizes. Shoot large groups at 35 yards. What have you got? No valid information. Entertaining? perhaps. Informative? I don't think so.

After thirty shots with a solid rest at 50 yards, with the same load/patch/lube, with .490 and .480 balls from a proven match rifle, I found the difference was about 25% group size enlargement with the smaller balls. At most woods walks, this should account for 100% hits. I shot a woods walk with the smaller balls to present easier loading over twelve shots and less wiping, and I got acceptable results. Not great, but acceptable.

ADK Bigfoot
 
I agree with the "its a solution looking for a problem" approach.
However, since most everyone shoots .490's using ( .015 - .018 patches ) from 50 calibers, that would make a very boring video.
It would be very tough to hold anyone's attention for 9-10 minutes shooting the correct round balls, especially at paper targets.
Thanks for watching.
I think some people miss the point of your videos, however most seem to "get it" and enjoy them as much as I do. There's always someone looking for the turd in the punch bowl. Keep 'em coming and God bless.
 
I once tried a .380 with a thicker wad in my .40 with a reduced charge, but accuracy suffered alot so I didn't do that anymore.
Ohio Rusty ><>
 
Mark,

Let me say first that I am a Black Powder Maniac Shooter fan. I wear a BPMS button on my hat and enjoy your videos because they’re fun and entertaining.

It is not my place to critique your work, but if I may, I’d like to offer a suggestion which would have helped this latest video. When I saw the shaky fold up table holding a plastic tote on edge and the end of your rifle rested on the plastic lid, I knew the results would be very poor.

I like the idea of showing how undersized balls perform, but I believe that using a good table and resting the gun in a proper manner would greatly improve the content.

Okay, enough of that. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to the next video!
 
I've told this story before but it fits the topic of this thread.
A couple years ago I went to the Arkansas State championship shoot at Berryville. I brought three rifles, all of which are .45s and normally use a .445" rb patched with ticking. When I got there I discovered I had forgotten to load my balls with the rest of my fixings. )-: So, I checked the vendors for some balls. All that was available was a box of Hornaday swaged .440" balls. Double unhappy at this point. But it was buy them or not shoot at all. Low and behold, my 11 lb. Half Breed target rifle (TC stock, Douglas barrel) won the 100 yard bench rest match with a score of 48 and the two 9s were from my hold, not a fault of the rifle. The three in the 10 ring were grouped at only about 1". All that proves is that when you get to the point you think you know a lot about this game a new gremlin, good or bad, will come along to prove ye don't know nuttin' yet. :doh:
 
Mark,

Let me say first that I am a Black Powder Maniac Shooter fan. I wear a BPMS button on my hat and enjoy your videos because they’re fun and entertaining.

It is not my place to critique your work, but if I may, I’d like to offer a suggestion which would have helped this latest video. When I saw the shaky fold up table holding a plastic tote on edge and the end of your rifle rested on the plastic lid, I knew the results would be very poor.

I like the idea of showing how undersized balls perform, but I believe that using a good table and resting the gun in a proper manner would greatly improve the content.

Okay, enough of that. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to the next video!
I realize the setup wasn't much, but, where I'm shooting doesn't offer a table setup. The zoo bottoms is a pretty desolate place & I can't drag a heavy picnic table or equivalent down there. The seasonal floods would carry it away.
In fact, the next time I try something like this...I'm going to drive a 2" X 4" in the ground about a foot and notch the end of that board to hold the barrel. That should steady it up a lot.

Thanks for watching..and wearing that button. Regardless of the outcome, I ABSOLUTELY love trying this wacky stuff on video for everyone's entertainment.
 
I realize the setup wasn't much, but, where I'm shooting doesn't offer a table setup. The zoo bottoms is a pretty desolate place & I can't drag a heavy picnic table or equivalent down there. The seasonal floods would carry it away.
In fact, the next time I try something like this...I'm going to drive a 2" X 4" in the ground about a foot and notch the end of that board to hold the barrel. That should steady it up a lot.

Thanks for watching..and wearing that button. Regardless of the outcome, I ABSOLUTELY love trying this wacky stuff on video for everyone's entertainment.

👍
 
I agree with the "its a solution looking for a problem" approach.
However, since most everyone shoots .490's using ( .015 - .018 patches ) from 50 calibers, that would make a very boring video.
It would be very tough to hold anyone's attention for 9-10 minutes shooting the correct round balls, especially at paper targets.
Thanks for watching.
Those of us that follow your videos understand what you’re doing and enjoy them.
The guys detracting from it clearly just read the thread title and make a comment without any context.
 
No marksmanship, very little respect to the weapon or its place in our history. I quit watching this stuff because it is sensational garbage. These are firearms and should be treated with respect and great care with ultimate safety in mind and not for seeking what whacky stunt that I can come up with next. It’s not a matter of if you screw up but when and then we all look like idiots. It is not entertainment. Don’t present it as such.
Don’t thank me for watching.
 
No marksmanship, very little respect to the weapon or its place in our history. I quit watching this stuff because it is sensational garbage. These are firearms and should be treated with respect and great care with ultimate safety in mind and not for seeking what whacky stunt that I can come up with next. It’s not a matter of if you screw up but when and then we all look like idiots. It is not entertainment. Don’t present it as such.
Don’t thank me for watching.
I don’t know what forums you’re used to but we don’t appreciate people being disrespectful to others like that here. If you don’t like it don’t watch it and keep your negative comments to yourself.
 
I don’t know what forums you’re used to but we don’t appreciate people being disrespectful to others like that here. If you don’t like it don’t watch it and keep your negative comments to yourself.
WOW.....I posted what I think is one of the ( safest ) shooting video ( shooting undersized balls SAFELY by myself at a paper NMLRA target 30 yards out with a 300' high hillside behind it ) in a while & get beat up for it. I try not to shoot paper targets because everyone else does that....and....frankly, I see it as boring.

With the ease of video editing as it is today...I could shoot those paper targets as many times as it would have taken for me to hit in the black on all 5 shots and only edited those video clips on the video. Who would watch that? I don't do that...what you see is what you get. I'm a confessed poor shooter with plenty of misses along with the occasional good shot is posted for all to see.

Geez...I even post a miranda safety warning ( ear & eye protection is strongly recommended ) on all shooting videos because of complaints 4 years ago.

Except for 2-3 recent videos ( using a home made gun I bought last August & only used it on some videos recently ) and 2 more coming soon shooting steel........ this channel has 200+ videos mainly focusing on factory traditional guns for a reason. Most of us start out with a factory gun, not those $1500---$2000+ dollar BP guns. I want the new shooter to see he can get into the hobby for a lot less than purchasing one of those high end guns. I have nothing against high end guns, I just realize most folks doesn't start to at the top and neither did I.

I figured even those that dislike the BPMS channel would agree this most recent shooting undersize ball video was performed safely and somewhat interesting to watch. Sadly, that's all part of putting one's self out there in the cyber world. Some viewers enjoy the videos, some will never like them regardless of what topics I post.

My bride and I planning on traveling to the N-SSA in Virginia in a few weeks, the Hawken Classic in Missouri, shooting a family fun video in Ohio, Friendship for both National Shoots, going to PA twice ( the Pioneer Flats Shootout in Pennsylvania and shooting with other friends near Gettysburg in July ) possibly to S. Carolina in the fall & back to Pigeon Forge Tennessee later this year to shoot with BP shooters and promote the hobby as much as I can. All of those locations mentioned will have some type of fun video posted about it after we get home. I'm even planning on doing another trekking video this summer and a 2 day 1780's Period correct canoe trip.

After all, this hobby needs all the promotion it can get and I plan on continuing to do my part.

In the next few weeks, I'm posting a contest to give away a really nice frontier style knife & a neat powder horn. I even ship the prizes to the winners for FREE. I just need to meet up with the fellar that makes these type knives over in Ohio & pick one up.

Also......

I'll be giving away a really nice Black Powder gun to a lucky subscriber just as soon as the channel hits 12,000 subscribers. Stay tuned....

God Bless...

Screen Shot 2023-05-03 at 10.54.59 PM.png
 
Last edited:
Deal with it. This guy is looking for YouTube hits. That’s about all.
Hey friend, maybe tone down the attitude a bit. Mark has a lot of very good instructional videos for beginners that help interest people in the hobby and get them started. Maybe I'm just a simple old boy, but I still believe if you don't have anything good to say then don't say anything at all. Good day and God bless.
 
WOW.....I posted what I think is one of the ( safest ) shooting video ( shooting undersized balls SAFELY by myself at a paper NMLRA target 30 yards out with a 300' high hillside behind it ) in a while & get beat up for it. I try not to shoot paper targets because everyone else does that....and....frankly, I see it as boring.

With the ease of video editing as it is today...I could shoot those paper targets as many times as it would have taken for me to hit in the black on all 5 shots and only edited those video clips on the video. Who would watch that? I don't do that...what you see is what you get. I'm a confessed poor shooter with plenty of misses along with the occasional good shot is posted for all to see.

Geez...I even post a miranda safety warning ( ear & eye protection is strongly recommended ) on all shooting videos because of complaints 4 years ago.

Except for 2-3 recent videos ( using a home made gun I bought last August & only used it on some videos recently ) and 2 more coming soon shooting steel........ this channel has 200+ videos mainly focusing on factory traditional guns for a reason. Most of us start out with a factory gun, not those $1500---$2000+ dollar BP guns. I want the new shooter to see he can get into the hobby for a lot less than purchasing one of those high end guns. I have nothing against high end guns, I just realize most folks doesn't start to at the top and neither did I.

I figured even those that dislike the BPMS channel would agree this most recent shooting undersize ball video was performed safely and somewhat interesting to watch. Sadly, that's all part of putting one's self out there in the cyber world. Some viewers enjoy the videos, some will never like them regardless of what topics I post.

My bride and I planning on traveling to the N-SSA in Virginia in a few weeks, the Hawken Classic in Missouri, shooting a family fun video in Ohio, Friendship for both National Shoots, going to PA twice ( the Pioneer Flats Shootout in Pennsylvania and shooting with other friends near Gettysburg in July ) possibly to S. Carolina in the fall & back to Pigeon Forge Tennessee later this year to shoot with BP shooters and promote the hobby as much as I can. All of those locations mentioned will have some type of fun video posted about it after we get home. I'm even planning on doing another trekking video this summer and a 2 day 1780's Period correct canoe trip.

After all, this hobby needs all the promotion it can get and I plan on continuing to do my part.

In the next few weeks, I'm posting a contest to give away a really nice frontier style knife & a neat powder horn. I even ship the prizes to the winners for FREE. I just need to meet up with the fellar that makes these type knives over in Ohio & pick one up.

Also......

I'll be giving away a really nice Black Powder gun to a lucky subscriber just as soon as the channel hits 12,000 subscribers. Stay tuned....

God Bless...

View attachment 219571
I think you meant to quote the other guy Mark, I was defending your videos.
 
Back
Top