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Glad I can't reload fast!
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Greenhorn
posted
If I could reload faster I'd be broke. I just finished my Traditions Kentucky kit and was trying it out, just to see if it would go bang. It does go bang and will shoot 4" at 25 meters, offhand. I first tried .018" ticking and used a short starter and short strokes of the ramrod to force the ball down. .50 cal with .490" ball. When I tried .010 patches I could start it with my thumb and seat it with one long sweep of the ramrod, it went down that easy. Also, I went 25 shots without swabbing and no difference in accuracy. I might use this for hunting. After 60 shots I have not found a single patch, where do they go?


If it can't be fixed with at hammer, it must be an electrical problem.
 
Posts: 7 | Location: Mtn. View, AR | Registered: 30 June 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Hey there zardoz,

I see you've been around here for a little while, but welcome to the fire anyway.

What sort of powder charge are you using? Lots of opinions on that and of course you'll want to find what works best in your rifle, but I like 70 grains of 3f Goex in my fifties.

Spot
 
Posts: 849 | Location: NW Arkansas | Registered: 11 June 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
Picture of Hanshi
posted Hide Post
Zardoz, the patches should be some 15 yards, more or less, in front of your muzzle. If a wind was blowing they will have been carried a few feet in that direction. Check around some more; they're there.


*Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.*
 
Posts: 3560 | Location: Maine (by way of Georgia then Va.) | Registered: 26 January 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Greenhorn
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Hey Spot, I'm using 50g Goex, tried a few at 70 & 80 gr. to see if the recoil is much different. This Sunday I'll be shooting with the local muzzleloaders club and will try benchrest to check different loads.

Hanshi, I looked all over, not much wind anyway. The drought out here is so bad that half the leaves have fallen from the trees, it looks just like Autumn. The club range has trimmed grass so I might have better luck on Sunday.


If it can't be fixed with at hammer, it must be an electrical problem.
 
Posts: 7 | Location: Mtn. View, AR | Registered: 30 June 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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The subject of how much powder has been being hashed out for centuries. My opinion, (the correct one,) is that the best powder charge is the one that gives the best accuracy. That's half the fun of shooting a BP gun. My rifle a kit built TC Hawken converted from "Flinchlock" to "Concussion" does best with 60gr of Goex and a .490 RB wrapped in a .018" cotton ticking patch. I greae my patch material with lard, have done for years. I once used every new compound that came out,but finally realized lard works. I buy pillow ticking from a fabric store, tear it into 1 1/4" strips, then dip 'em in warm melted lard. Then I squeeze as much lard as I can out of the cloth followed by pressing it between a couple layers of newsprint. I store it in my shooting box in a zip-lock freezer bag. I know, it ain't period. Sue me. I load each round by pressing the ball flush to the muzzle over the end of the patch strip, then cutting off the strip with my patch or sheath knife, whichever. I shove the ball down in short jumps until it hits bottom then I bounce the rammer on it until it jumps. Then I cap and fire. All the paper, raw eggs and gongs I've hit never wrote any angry letters to the editor about my light charge, nor did either of the suicidal deer I shot. On the other hand the area I hunt is flat as a dance floor and thick as a hairbrush, a long shot being upwards of 30 feet. At that distance the RB has barely hitched up its britches and got to runnin'.

Three Hawks
 
Posts: 506 | Location: Puget Sound Area | Registered: 26 May 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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