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What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

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Inlet and pinned trigger guard.
 

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Next, I trimmed and shaped the base plug (curly maple) and got my dark dye going to pop its grain and color the stopper. With how hot and dry it is, I may even get color on it today.
I did end up getting the base plug and stopper sanded back and my red applied...time to break out the oil again ;) Those two bits will look like my Colonial stock, but the black and white of the horn are the natural colors of the horn itself.

In keeping with the KISS principle that I anticipate would have been common out this way in the early 1800s, there won't be decorative carving or fancy spout rings on the horn. I am mulling over a very simple scrimshaw (name and "his horn") in the "inside" of the horn curve (what will be against the body...hidden in normal use, but a "hands off" / notice of possession if it were stashed out on a trail).

Once that's all done, I'll finish the whole horn with some wax and it'll be ready to go.
 
Didn't get my early start but it all worked out. Hit the range just before noon. I was the only one there and no other shooters came in while I was there. Got plenty of shooting done.

I took a CVA Kentucky 45 that I had built about a year ago. Only shot it once and I was very happy with the results. However, there was leakage around the drum so I replaced the drum. All well today. Also took the 50 cal CVA frontier that I built just recently for a granddaughter. This was the initial shooting.

The Kentucky shot good but I fought with my vision. Cataracts seem to have gotten worse. The whole sight picture and target are nearly impossible to put together. I just did the best I could. 440 balls and JoAnne #40 seem to be the best combo. 445 was too tight. I've done nothing with this bore or crown but it's smooth as can be as witnessed by the patches.

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Final group was four shots pretty tight and the first shot from a clean bore a bit high.

The Frontier was a little more difficult. My choice of sights was not good. Another wrestling match between the eyes and the sights. This one is way high and right. Needs a much higher front sight and some movement left at the rear and right on the front. I had to aim at the bottom of the bull on the lower left target in order to put three on the upper right target. The three shots were not a great group but at least got them on the paper. Joanne # 40 was too tight with the 495 balls but switching to some pillow ticking made a good fit.

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The frontier needs some crown work. Although the patches were good it has a slightly lopsided crown. I corrected it pretty well but still may be contributing to the high right POI. I recently acquired Ed Hambergs coning tool and I'm going try that next.

Patches

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Didn't get my early start but it all worked out. Hit the range just before noon. I was the only one there and no other shooters came in while I was there. Got plenty of shooting done.

I took a CVA Kentucky 45 that I had built about a year ago. Only shot it once and I was very happy with the results. However, there was leakage around the drum so I replaced the drum. All well today. Also took the 50 cal CVA frontier that I built just recently for a granddaughter. This was the initial shooting.

The Kentucky shot good but I fought with my vision. Cataracts seem to have gotten worse. The whole sight picture and target are nearly impossible to put together. I just did the best I could. 440 balls and JoAnne #40 seem to be the best combo. 445 was too tight. I've done nothing with this bore or crown but it's smooth as can be as witnessed by the patches.

View attachment 335907View attachment 335908

Final group was four shots pretty tight and the first shot from a clean bore a bit high.

The Frontier was a little more difficult. My choice of sights was not good. Another wrestling match between the eyes and the sights. This one is way high and right. Needs a much higher front sight and some movement left at the rear and right on the front. I had to aim at the bottom of the bull on the lower left target in order to put three on the upper right target. The three shots were not a great group but at least got them on the paper. Joanne # 40 was too tight with the 495 balls but switching to some pillow ticking made a good fit.

View attachment 335913View attachment 335914


The frontier needs some crown work. Although the patches were good it has a slightly lopsided crown. I corrected it pretty well but still may be contributing to the high right POI. I recently acquired Ed Hambergs coning tool and I'm going try that next.

Patches

View attachment 335918
Sounds like you had a good shoot @longcruise. I'm not sure if it will help, but anything is worth a try extending our shooting years. I use a diopter that I stick to my glasses when I use open sights, that's traditional iron sights mind, not a peep sight. I find the diopter makes my eyes young again! With the merit device on my glasses, I can easily distinguish the rear sight, the front sight and the target - Crikey, I can hear my basic training Senior NCO yelling, "Watch that front sight!"

The Merits are pretty hard to find these days, but the Eyepal does a good job. A couple of our lads at the range simply use a round black adhesive target patch on their glasses. They attach the black patch to their glasses after placing a small hole in the patch with a pin - simple yet effective measure.

I'm not too sure if the approach will overcome your cataract challenges, but worth a shot?

Cheers, Pete

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Bought an inexpensive 7/8” hole saw and ground/filed it down to make a .36 caliber patch cutter. Cut a strip of thick linen that compresses to .022, folded it several times and stapled it to a board just to try it out. Worked good, knocked out 100 patches in a minute or so. I’ll do a better job of folding and spacing next time.
 

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Almost finished with a larger shooting bag. this one is 61/2 x 8 inches with a 2' gusset, I put a divider in and sewed a smaller pocket with a flap on the inside divider. I thought putting a small flap on the pocket would keep me from jamming my fingers in it when reaching for something in the bottom of the bag. I still need a strap and maybe make a loop for my short starter. Getting better with my sewing but still a ways to go.
 

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