What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

[Shiloh]

Spent some time in the yard trying different methods of loading the An IX for consistency. Also ordered another round ball mold from Ballmoulds.com. I'm going to try a patched round ball load in the 69 caliber guns.

When you get it figured out please post your results. I can hardly keep my shots on a piece of poster board at 15 steps.

 

[Matt85]

When you get it figured out please post your results. I can hardly keep my shots on a piece of poster board at 15 steps.

I consider all shots within a 12x18 target at 10 yards to be successful. For the most part I can maintain that with my 80gr cartridges (primed from the cartridge). I have been trying to figure out my wandering POI, it will put a couple near each other then shift and put a couple somewhere else, then shift again. I'm trying to see if I can figure out what causes the shifts and if they can be somewhat predicted.

 

[Shiloh]

I consider all shots within a 12x18 target at 10 yards to be successful. For the most part I can maintain that with my 80gr cartridges (primed from the cartridge). I have been trying to figure out my wandering POI, it will put a couple near each other then shift and put a couple somewhere else, then shift again. I'm trying to see if I can figure out what causes the shifts and if they can be somewhat predicted.

I can’t even get it that good. Plus mine hit extremely high. I can’t even see the barrel and it still hits high. I think I should take the barrel out of the stock snd see if something is under it.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

I consider all shots within a 12x18 target at 10 yards to be successful. For the most part I can maintain that with my 80gr cartridges (primed from the cartridge). I have been trying to figure out my wandering POI, it will put a couple near each other then shift and put a couple somewhere else, then shift again. I'm trying to see if I can figure out what causes the shifts and if they can be somewhat predicted.

Might be obvious, but check for loose screws and such. I had one of the underlug screws break off on my T/C Cherokee once. Suddenly the shots were nowhere near the target.

Shoot off of a bench rest and see if the problem continues. If it does not, then, unfortunately, the problem might be you. Get another shooter to try also and see if the problem is the same. If it is, then it is likely something about the gun.... cracks in the stock, loose/missing screws, sight moving in a dovetail, etc.

You always gotta hope that the problem is you. Flinching, bad sight picture, inconsistent loading techniques, etc. are all relatively easy to cure. Some obscure gun problem might have you pulling your beard out.

 

[64Springer]

Soldered the tenon on the Mini-Franken pistol barrel.

This one gets a dedicated .45 caliber barrel. 1:66 twist. 12.5 inches long.

The remains of a cut down Ardesa Kentuckyish barrel.

 

[aussie pete]

Took the YBG out today in the cold and damp with Pyrodex P. Troubles ensued. Finally switched to Old Eynsford 3f and obliterated my seemingly charmed target. You get to hear me utter a minor obscenity or two if you listen close.

Well. That narrative went longer than you expected! I loved the way you kept looking at the jug after the misfires; like it was going to run away on you ... Got him though. Persistence; and patience.

Are the full cream milk jugs more dangerous than the skim milk jugs? Thanks for the video, Mr Dale Allen Raby.

Pete

 

[TDM]

Are the full cream milk jugs more dangerous than the skim milk jugs?

Yes, and they charge when they're wounded.

 

[Matt85]

Might be obvious, but check for loose screws and such. I had one of the underlug screws break off on my T/C Cherokee once. Suddenly the shots were nowhere near the target.

Shoot off of a bench rest and see if the problem continues. If it does not, then, unfortunately, the problem might be you. Get another shooter to try also and see if the problem is the same. If it is, then it is likely something about the gun.... cracks in the stock, loose/missing screws, sight moving in a dovetail, etc.

You always gotta hope that the problem is you. Flinching, bad sight picture, inconsistent loading techniques, etc. are all relatively easy to cure. Some obscure gun problem might have you pulling your beard out.

Could easily be me. Not having a rear sight doesn't do you any favors and I might be using a different sight picture... but I'd like to think im doing "ok". I don't have a bench but I do have a tripod, will give it a try.

Another factor could easily be inconsistent paper cartridges (different paper/lube thicknesses). Now that I think about it, I should run some tests with just loose powder and ball. See if the gun shoots more consistently.

Thanks!
-Matt

 

[Matt85]

I can’t even get it that good. Plus mine hit extremely high. I can’t even see the barrel and it still hits high. I think I should take the barrel out of the stock snd see if something is under it.

Which gun do you have? I shoot my An IX with the front sight just barely visible, centered on the tang.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

Could easily be me. Not having a rear sight doesn't do you any favors and I might be using a different sight picture... but I'd like to think im doing "ok". I don't have a bench but I do have a tripod, will give it a try.

Another factor could easily be inconsistent paper cartridges (different paper/lube thicknesses). Now that I think about it, I should run some tests with just loose powder and ball. See if the gun shoots more consistently.

Thanks!
-Matt

It is probably stock weld. Your eye is the rear sight, so if you do not shoulder that gun exactly the same every time, you are altering your sights. I've seen people point-shoot revolvers with incredible accuracy, but it takes long hours of practice. Years ago when I was young and stupid, (now I am old and stupid) I shot a deer running broadside with a T/C Contender .44 10" with open sights at about 75 yards. Now, in that split second the animal appeared between two cuts of corn, I certainly had no time to actually aim, It was likely just the many many hours I had spent shooting that gun over the course of a few years.

 

[Matt85]

It is probably stock weld. Your eye is the rear sight, so if you do not shoulder that gun exactly the same every time, you are altering your sights. I've seen people point-shoot revolvers with incredible accuracy, but it takes long hours of practice. Years ago when I was young and stupid, (now I am old and stupid) I shot a deer running broadside with a T/C Contender .44 10" with open sights at about 75 yards. Now, in that split second the animal appeared between two cuts of corn, I certainly had no time to actually aim, It was likely just the many many hours I had spent shooting that gun over the course of a few years.

Not sure I wanna put my face near the stock, would certainly look funny though.

An IX (mine has a front sight):

 

[pacanis]

What is an An IX?

Never mind. Someone else must have asked, too.

 

[BackDraft]

Muzzle-loader.com MADE me buy a Traditions St. Louis Hawken - .50 Cal Percussion Kit (on sale). So now with two rifle kits and a pistol kit, I REALLY need to get my garage workshop organized for warm weather work!

 

[TDM]

What is an An IX?

Never mind. Someone else must have asked, too.

I was getting ready to ask the same question.

 

[Matt85]

What is an An IX?

Never mind. Someone else must have asked, too.

we posted at the same time, see the post above yours.

 

[oldwood]

Finished making a trigger plate, installed the single trigger twice , to get the creep minimized , and the trigger pull , crisp. Inlet the trigger plate, drilled through the barrel breach plug tang , into the trigger plate, and tapped the plate ,for the tang screw. Installed the tang screw. That's all the time for now.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

Not sure I wanna put my face near the stock, would certainly look funny though.

An IX (mine has a front sight):
View attachment 203830

Yup... getting a stock weld would definitely be an issue! Then it's a matter of practice. Guns like that were point shooters and you can get pretty good with one if you shoot it enough. One of the guns I am thinking about is a Queen Anne pistol, and as it would be more affordable than the other guns I am currently enamored of, it is the most likely gun I will purchase any time soon. It too is a point shooter.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

Well. That narrative went longer than you expected! I loved the way you kept looking at the jug after the misfires; like it was going to run away on you ... Got him though. Persistence; and patience.

Are the full cream milk jugs more dangerous than the skim milk jugs? Thanks for the video, Mr Dale Allen Raby.

Pete

Actually, that was a heavy cream carton. Very dangerous those! Two reasons I kept looking at the carton; the misfire could have become a hangfire without any warning so you keep the gun pointed down range for a while, and I was also looking to see if maybe I had nicked it and it was slowly bleeding to death.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Hand-sewed a new haversack. My old one literally came to shreds. Had to dirty this new one up a bit for my first Rev War reenactment (Guilford Court House) in about ten years!

 

[Matt85]

Yup... getting a stock weld would definitely be an issue! Then it's a matter of practice. Guns like that were point shooters and you can get pretty good with one if you shoot it enough. One of the guns I am thinking about is a Queen Anne pistol, and as it would be more affordable than the other guns I am currently enamored of, it is the most likely gun I will purchase any time soon. It too is a point shooter.

I owned a Pedersoli Queen Anne at one point, the muzzle flare made it extremely difficult to use. I was younger and less patient than I am now, so I sold it to @cynthialee. Hopefully she enjoyed it more than I did.