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Muzzle-loading Woes at the Range
Frogdog
Member Posts: 2,868 ✭✭✭✭
Went to the range today with the ambition to sight-in the muzzle-loader, .270, and slugster all in 3 hours. As you can guess, my goal was pretty unrealistic. Actually never got past the muzzle-loader. It's a Traditions Hawken .50 cal. w/ 1:48" twist. I was using patched balls and 90 grains of pyrodex at 50 yards, and was scrubbing it out every 2-3 shots. Let me tell you, it was all over the target. Fought with it for a while and finally reduced to 85 grains Pyrodex and it settled down. Best I could get was a 2 3/4" group of four shots with 2 shots over-lapping. Group was about 2" high at 50 yards. So here's my questions for y'all: Are the results I acheived suffiecient for good deer hunting? Considering open sights, patched balls, 85 grains Pyrodex, and how I sighted it in what's the max range I should consider shooting at a deer? Thanks for the help.
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"Waiting tables is what you know, making cheese is what I know-lets stick with what we know!"
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of our country.
It was fouled after the first shot. It was even MORE fouled after the second shot. It was even MORE MORE fouled after the third. THEN you cleaned it? This wouldn't be much of an issue if you were shooting a modern rifle with modern smokeless powder. However, I always recommend swabbing between every single shot so that the barrel is exactly the same between subsequent shots. Have you played with different patched balls and different patches? It's almost like handloading. However, you aren't trying to squeeze 3/4 MOA down to 1/4 MOA. You are trying to change 12" into 2" at 100 yards.
Many would disagree with me but I had excellent results when I "seasoned" the barrel with Bore Butter. I would clean my muzzleloader THOROUGHLY after a shooting session. After it was COMPLETELY clean (spotless) I would take the lid off a shoe polish tin. I would put a hunk of Bore Butter in the lid and would melt it with a cigarette lighter under the lid. I would soak a couple cleaning patches in the molten bore butter and would run them down the barrel after I KNEW the bore was thorougly clean AND dry. I would ENSURE that it was dry by running patches soaked with denatured alcohol prior to this "seasoning" process. The alcohol evaporates almost instantly. After coating the bore with Bore Butter I would wait a day and then run a dry patch/jag back and forth in the barrel a couple of times to ensure that the Bore Butter spread out evenly. Then I'd let it sit in the gun cabinet until I fired it again. I think it made the seal between my projectile and my bore more consistent. I could be way off base by saying that but that's my theory. It also makes seating projectiles a bit more easy.
Some people will theorize that a wee bit of powder residue and/or moisture will get sealed against the surface of the bore by Bore Butter and a chemist from Knight actually warns against this practice. This chemist (some guy with the last name of "KNIGHT") cut barrels into cross-sections and "proved" his theory by showing that bores treated with Bore Butter in the process that I mentioned were more corroded/pitted etc.... Just make sure your bore is spotlessly clean and use denatured alcohol to make sure it is absolutely bone dry.
The trick is ensuring that ALL conditions (including cleanliness of the bore) are EXACTLY the same between each shot. You didn't do that. Plus, you didn't play around with different patched balls and you only made one adjustment to your powder charge.
I've thought of cutting it up and making a nice little .50 caliber cannon complete with little wheels to sit on my desk and fire off on the 4th of July with it.
Good luck.
On your mark-get set- go away!!
I'd criticize you but I used to misspell "criticism" all the time.
The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you.
Rita Mae Brown
On your mark-get set- go away!!
Are you sure it's you and not the rifle? I have two Thompson Hawken 50's. One will drive nails at 50 yards, and the other one is all over the place. Just a thought.
The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you.
Rita Mae Brown
Since you got the gun tuned in fairly well with 85 grains, it would make sense to drop down to 80, then 75, then 70 and see if accuracy improves. I wouldn't go below 70 grains.
As you stand now, you are ready to take a shot up to 80 yards or so.
Above and beyond the 14 one shot kills I made with the .50 round ball, which meant that every deer I shot at with it, I killed, I know a guy who has killed over 70 deer with the .45 patched round ball, including one shot of 120 yards. This guy had two handmade flintlocks, he was obviously a real good shot.
Whatever the .45 will do, the .50 will do better.
If your rifle has iron sights, paint the very top 1/16 inch of the front sight white. This will help a lot when deer hunting. It will give you contrast. On iron sights, you have a black rear sight, black front sight, and a dark brown deer which is often in the shadow. No contrast, sometimes you can't pick up the sights against the deer, whereas at the range, in good light, you could easily see the target. But the target isn't dark brown.
With this trick the front sight will be a little white ball. You settle that into the V and that white dot is where the bullet will hit. Helped me a lot.
" It Ain't Over till its Over"
A little fouling actually helps your accuracy and the repeatablity thereof.
I appreciate your help, but don't understand the above comment. Wouldn't that mean putting the gun away dirty and keeping it dirty throughout the season? I can't imagine that does good things for the bore.
To clarify things, I ain't looking to shoot the eye out of a sparrow at 1000 yds. I just want to kill some deer at an average distance for the gun I'm using.
Also, flinching is out of the question with muzzle loaders. I guess that is pretty obvious![:D] So lots of practice is certainly helpful. I'm thinking that my bore is seasoned just fine by the shooting I've done this past year. So this December it will be time to do the deed![:)]
If you have never been there before, let me suggest that you try going to the talk forums at www.Huntamerica.com
Look for the muzzleloading forums; there are 2 of them, traditional and in-line. Lots of real knowledgable and helpful people there with years and years of experience along with some folks who are actually "in the business".
I've been shooting and hunting with muzzleloaders since 1980, and I still go there with any questions that I have about front-stuffers.
I may be wrong but,I've always heard for patched round balls a one in 66" twist not a one in 48" is best for accuracy.[:)]
Could be. I don't know. But my barrel is clearly marked 1:48". In a previous topic on the subject of projectiles, the consensus seemed to be that 1:48" wouldn't shoot sabots well and round balls would be a better choice (and a LOT cheaper than some of the conicals).
The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you.
Rita Mae Brown