What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

I got the car loaded early with basics for the Elk River Long Rifle match this coming Saturday in Tullahoma, TN. Since the car is loaded, I expect to get rained out. The alternative match date is the 4th. Saturday of the month. I'll be taking two cap lock traditional rifles and one 45-90 Pedersoli Sharp's. This match is the first for me in months.

Made some jute tow for the Fowler feeding.

Tedious, but oh well, something to do other than the dishes, which are now done, too.

The Doc is out now.

Got the barrel browned to my liking now ....to get those chemicals to stop rusting ! Sometimes it can be a bear ... Baking soda for few hours now soak in oil ...gettin there .... Put the tapered ramrod in " the dip " to soak .... Gettin there ....

Rob M. said:

Got the barrel browned to my liking now ....to get those chemicals to stop rusting ! Sometimes it can be a bear ... Baking soda for few hours now soak in oil ...gettin there .... Put the tapered ramrod in " the dip " to soak .... Gettin there ....

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Do you make a paste with baking soda and water and then smear it on .

Made some bags for carryin bullets

Bought a Lyman GPR .50 caplock on GB. Can't wait to get it in hand. Giddyap!

Grenadier1758 said:

Zinc is less dense than lead. The newer WW are likely to be zinc. The same sized WW will be lighter.

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Seems to work alright, lead ones melt an run down, leave the non lead ones. Saves me a heap of time sorting them one at a time

RobertIN said:

Designed and 3D printed a screw on cap with a funnel for Scheutzen powder bottles. Dimensions are PERFECT and it fits tight so no worries about it unscrewing and spilling powder everywhere. Working on modeling a plug for it this evening. I may print a bunch and sell them in the classifieds if there is any demand for such a thing, they'd be cheap and lightweight to throw in a range box.


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I would be interested.

Thought I had missed yesterday’s “National Free Target Backing Day” here in the USA as I too busy to go out. Today I played a hunch and hit several rural locations in my county that were used as polling places and found a good supply of orphaned corrugated plastic political signs.

BackDraft said:

I would be interested.

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I'll get to work sorting out the plug and plug retention to it doesnt get lost then =] Thanks for the feedback.

WALT53 said:

Do you make a paste with baking soda and water and then smear it on .

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I did the paste method a few times but have just put it on dry last few times ... Who knows ...I havent seen any difference yet ....

Got out a couple kiblers and a Blevins out to sight in for opening ML this Saturday here in Tennessee.

Psycho Mike said:

Nice John,

Some time ago when I had my very blonde Lyman Plains (this style Hawken vs. the Great Plains), I had a peep and globe setup on it. Probably (okay...definitely) not period correct, but it was the terror of the prairie dogs out at the farm. To them, it must have seemed like the front-stuffer version of Matt Quigley had come to town (not that I was that great of a shot, but if I could see fuzz in the globe, that set trigger was gonna hurl a round ball their way )

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This rifle does have screw holes in the stock where a vernier sight of some type had been removed.

Last Wednesday the 6th I was shooting my 50cal and watching the fog coming form the west . It slowly(hardly a breeze) overtook me and could no longer see the 50yard target. Thought that was kinda neat. Yesterday I was shooting my other 50cal. It was after 4pm there was no wind(very odd for this time of year) after I would shoot the smoke just stayed there in front of the barrel. Then very slowly move to the east and across the garden later on ,after I would shoot the smoke stayed in front of me then moved to the west across the field. Several times I laid the gun down and started to walk to the target and would walk through the smoke. I can't imagine what a Civil war battle ground would have been like with thousands of Blackpowder guns going
Off.

PathfinderNC said:

Finished making a Powder Horn, which I am pleased with

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Dang….. that is gorgeous!

Spent some time on the range with the English Fowler today.
Beautiful day here to burn some black.

Before,,,

After,,,

Shot Kibler Colonial .58 cal smoothbore at 50 yd range. Purpose was to play around with loading from paper cartridges assembled with and without bare and paper-patched balls and different wadding configurations. As always, a range trip invites some learning. No different today, but today's real and unexpected learning was unrelated to my cartridges. Upon my first shot I had one heck of a hellacious hang fire. Completely atypical and unexpected for a Kibler lock. Thinking at once something was wrong and that I had experienced a misfire, I was on the verge of dropping the gun from my shoulder when it discharged. There must have been at least a couple seconds between pan ignition and main charge ignition. Then .... I remembered .... I had forgotten to swab the bore with a dry patch before loading that first shot. So did that promptly, and second shot, and all subsequent shots, ignited virtually instantaneously, as befits a more typical Kibler lock time. Lesson learned: always swab the bore first with a dry patch. Why? Because after cleaning I like to coat the bore with a very light coat of gun oil for indefinite storage, and then I store the gun in the gun closet stacked butt down. It was this omission to which I attributed my hang fire.

https://cdn2.imagearchive.com/muzzleloadingforum/data/attach/325/325964-PXL-20240607-224928024.jpg

Bought my dream gun today. Thanks @BoomStick

Daryl Crawford said:

https://cdn2.imagearchive.com/muzzleloadingforum/data/attach/325/325964-PXL-20240607-224928024.jpg

Bought my dream gun today. Thanks @BoomStick

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Congrats Daryl! That's a beauty.