What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

The Damned Yankee · Nov 11, 2024

Omahkapi'si · Nov 11, 2024

Slightly used lead for sale. 1 owner. Low mileage.

Moleman · Nov 11, 2024

Finished up the horn I started yesterday. Just gotta make a strap now.

IronHand · Nov 11, 2024

aussie pete said:
What load and projectile did you settle on, @IronHand?

Cheers, Pete

70gr Swiss 2f, 570 ball and a 15 thou TC lubed patch. Minute of Bambi when I do my part.

Ironhand

Omahkapi'si · Nov 11, 2024

What a difference a day makes...

23F & caplock yesterday, and 60F with flintlock today

ArmorerRoy · Nov 11, 2024

Playing with the pistols today.

Kansas Jake · Nov 11, 2024

Worked on cleaning up a front sight to put on a 1861 Springfield reproduction.

Stykbow · Nov 11, 2024

Omahkapi'si said:
Slightly used lead for sale. 1 owner. Low mileage.
View attachment 361390

You got an accident report on those? They appear to have been in a head on collision.

Omahkapi'si · Nov 11, 2024

Stykbow said:
You got an accident report on those? They appear to have been in a head on collision.

Apparently lead is no match for steel....

aussie pete · Nov 11, 2024

IronHand said:
70gr Swiss 2f, 570 ball and a 15 thou TC lubed patch. Minute of Bambi when I do my part.

Ironhand

Thanks for replying, @IronHand. You have piqued my interest in tackling game with roundball from the Parker Hale - I have an 1853 and 1858; slightly longer barrels than your musketoon, and different twist rates too. I have shot the .570 and .568 roundballs at paper targets with good accuracy, but didn't consider applying them to game - watch this space ...

Here's a lad I got using a minie (I did post this fellow a few months back).

Cheers, Pete

WALT53 · Nov 11, 2024

aussie pete said:
Thanks for replying, @IronHand. You have piqued my interest in tackling game with roundball from the Parker Hale - I have an 1853 and 1858; slightly longer barrels than your musketoon, and different twist rates too. I have shot the .570 and .568 roundballs at paper targets with good accuracy, but didn't consider applying them to game - watch this space ...

Here's a lad I got using a minie (I did post this fellow a few months back).

Cheers, Pete

View attachment 361452

Man other than things that want to bite you or eat you you aussies got er made for stuff to hunt .

IronHand · Nov 11, 2024

aussie pete said:
Thanks for replying, @IronHand. You have piqued my interest in tackling game with roundball from the Parker Hale - I have an 1853 and 1858; slightly longer barrels than your musketoon, and different twist rates too. I have shot the .570 and .568 roundballs at paper targets with good accuracy, but didn't consider applying them to game - watch this space ...

Here's a lad I got using a minie (I did post this fellow a few months back).

Cheers, Pete

View attachment 361452

The truth is that I tried Minies, Lee Real conicals and ball loads. The round ball gave the best groups.
I have had great results on deer with the 50 cal round ball so I have no concerns with the 58.
Next summer I will do more testing with conicals, I would like to try them on game. I'll post results if I get one.

Ironhand

oldwood · Nov 12, 2024

My Navajo neighbor replaced a set of wood belt knife handle slabs with hard birdseye maple ones. He wasn't sure how to stain and finish fancy maple , so this is what we did. Wood surface was beautifully polished w/0000 steel wool. Fiebings black alcohol base stain applied next , thinned to 50 % volumn w/90% rubbing alcohol. Gently dried the stain w/ hair drier , ( industrial heat gun) , warm to the touch , due to the handles and pins installed with epoxie. Too much heat would melt the epoxie. Next we polished the black dyed maple w/ 0000 steel wool. We had previously mixed some red and yellow alcohol stains together and tried the resulting shade on polished scrap maple. This color was applied over the black stained handles , heated gently warm to the touch , , and polished again w/ 0000 steel wool. Next , my Navajo brother dipped the stained handles in Watco Danish oil wood finish , waited a couple mins. 'til the handles were sticky , and wiped the sticky off. Every day for 5 days , another coat of "wipe on , wipe off " coat of wood finish will be applied and allowed to dry. If wear and tear things the finish over time , more can be applied over the first coats of wood oil. Gun stocks may be finished this same way. The black dye colores the maple wood figure , and the mixed alcohol dye gives the final color. Used this stain method on m/l guns since 1972.........oldwoodchas

brushyspoons · Nov 12, 2024

I got the start of a rear spring hacked out of some 1/8" 1075, I'm planning on using a lead bath to temper it. I've got a 10 lb melting pot, but it dawned on me I should probably cast some balls for this rifle if I'm going to go through the trouble of melting enough lead to submerge the rear and front springs. I got a .311 mold ordered last night, while that's on its way I'll get this rear spring near finished and get to working on the front spring.

I'm starting to draw layout plans for this rifle, I should at least be at the point where I'm getting ready to inlet the barrel by the end of the week.

Gordoncourtney · Nov 12, 2024

brushyspoons said:
Worked on some set triggers today. Next up is the springs.

I wish there was more on set triggers

Gordoncourtney · Nov 12, 2024

aussie pete said:
Thanks for replying, @IronHand. You have piqued my interest in tackling game with roundball from the Parker Hale - I have an 1853 and 1858; slightly longer barrels than your musketoon, and different twist rates too. I have shot the .570 and .568 roundballs at paper targets with good accuracy, but didn't consider applying them to game - watch this space ...

Here's a lad I got using a minie (I did post this fellow a few months back).

Cheers, Pete

View attachment 361452

I love WA but no hogs like that, I hear of goats and wild dogs, but never seen any from Bumbry to Exmouth , last time we never went further north as we smashed the car up on its way to mt Augusta . I was disappointed in the gun shop too . All .222 and unmentionable guns WA is a bit like the uk very anti guns. As I said before Jondulup north of perth is the big gun range , I can do that in the uk , I have always been a shotgun hunter in UK, forget about bullets here in most cases . More disappointing as I took my compound bow to France ? It’s over run with hogs, but in over 5,000 miles not seen one, mabe next trip

Love from this green and pleasant land , sunny today

My latest

Terrier · Nov 12, 2024

oldwoodchas. said:
My Navajo neighbor replaced a set of wood belt knife handle slabs with hard birdseye maple ones. He wasn't sure how to stain and finish fancy maple , so this is what we did. Wood surface was beautifully polished w/0000 steel wool. Fiebings black alcohol base stain applied next , thinned to 50 % volumn w/90% rubbing alcohol. Gently dried the stain w/ hair drier , ( industrial heat gun) , warm to the touch , due to the handles and pins installed with epoxie. Too much heat would melt the epoxie. Next we polished the black dyed maple w/ 0000 steel wool. We had previously mixed some red and yellow alcohol stains together and tried the resulting shade on polished scrap maple. This color was applied over the black stained handles , heated gently warm to the touch , , and polished again w/ 0000 steel wool. Next , my Navajo brother dipped the stained handles in Watco Danish oil wood finish , waited a couple mins. 'til the handles were sticky , and wiped the sticky off. Every day for 5 days , another coat of "wipe on , wipe off " coat of wood finish will be applied and allowed to dry. If wear and tear things the finish over time , more can be applied over the first coats of wood oil. Gun stocks may be finished this same way. The black dye colores the maple wood figure , and the mixed alcohol dye gives the final color. Used this stain method on m/l guns since 1972.........oldwoodchas

Pictures would be very helpful.

Freedom · Nov 12, 2024

oldschoolhunter55 said:
Hope i dont get hammered for asking because i honestly dont know.I know that it has to be pure lead to make the balls. But how can you tell difference between the two?

Zinc will ruin your alloy. Bullets can just crumble or break as they cool.
Zinc's will often have a distinct shape, and coating...."Zn" is stamped on a lot of them. Locate a weight marked Zn and notice its shape and color, throw out any weight that looks the same.

The flat strips with the sticker on the back are close to pure lead (Pb). I separate them to keep my soft alloy from my WW alloy.

Keep your smelting temperature low, like NO more than 650* this will allow you to skim the zinc with the clips and trash. Lead will melt before the zinc(780*meting point)

Lots of iron weights too, (marked "Fe") so don't rev-up the heat trying to melt them or you'll melt your zinc.
Hope that this helps...

Gordoncourtney · Nov 12, 2024

I mentioned a Feldstutzer previously , you guys will say what is that Well around 1848 the Swiss wanted a new military rifle and by 1851 it was in production , there’s a couple of clips on utube. Mine is 12.4mm bore and was private purchase, so had some extras. Like two notches on the tumbler. Better sights etc. the pig sticker bayonet was more for hunting rather than combat so I gather . The lock is a “ hump back” design typically German. The bullets were long and several changes in design and of course set triggers . A very fine hunting and sniping rifle Do look on utube with our Hungarian friend .

It’s a damp cold day nr London. The squirrels from the woods now coming to the bird feeder , Pcp hunting fun Ha ha

Omahkapi'si · Nov 12, 2024

Went through the Live Photo and found this from yesterday. Good shot of the flash!

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