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  1. Herb

    How far can a ball travel?

    From the book "A Treatise on the Rifle, Musket, Pistol, and Fowling piece: embracing Projectiles and sharp-shooting:" by N. Bosworth, 1846: 'It has been ascertained, that a musket-ball of one ounce (437 grains, .685 inch in diameter, about 14 1/2 gauge, HGT), possessing a velocity of sixteen...
  2. Herb

    3f in .58

    Here are some good comments on Goex 3F in .58 caliber rifles. 11/17/09, Utah Trophy Bull Elk with a Bill Large .58 Hawken. http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showpost.php?post/783698/
  3. Herb

    long range shooting with patched round ball

    There was considerable discussion of long range shooting in this forum back in November, 2008. I shot my .54 Hawken at 200 yards and show velocities and targets in this post: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showpost.php?post/640226/
  4. Herb

    .50 cal. & White Tail deer

    See http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showpost.php?post/857645/
  5. Herb

    Maple seeds

    I once built a .40 fullstock caplock rifle for a cabinet maker, he wanted it made from Chinese elm. The wood does have some interesting figure. He told me the Chinese eat the elm seeds. They are so small that I don't know how they get enough to make a meal.
  6. Herb

    18th-century accuracy?

    Spence 10, they weren't shooting at a nose, they were shooting at the center of a "board of a foot square" (and with chalk drew the shape of a moderate nose in the center and nailed it up to a tree at 150 yards). A foot square target nailed to a tree is easily seen and aimed for at 150 yards...
  7. Herb

    Olde Eynsford in my .54 Bridger Hawken

    Yes, from rest, my bench rest. The barrel is a Green River Rifle Works barrel I got from a GRRW former gunsmith. He started to build a rifle with it, gave up. I had to move the underlugs and the rear sight to match the Jim Bridger rifle I copied.
  8. Herb

    Olde Eynsford in my .54 Bridger Hawken

    I have posted about Olde Eynsford testing done with several rifles, and it is here for anyone wanting to look it up. Here is one example The full story is here: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showpost.php?post/1340675/
  9. Herb

    Renovating a Lost & Found Hawken

    See the Shooting Accessories forum, "Powder Tests in a .58 Leman flint elk rifle" by Herb. This is where I had a pitted bore.54 barrel rebored by Bobby Hoyt to .58 caliber. He did fine work. Cost $115 plus shipping. Save yourself a lot of agony- have him rebore it...
  10. Herb

    Powder granulation and short barrels?

    The answer is no, depending on what powders you use. If only Goex 3F and 2F, the 3f should give more velocity, regardless of barrel length. For part of a comparison in a 24" .58 Leman flintlock I built, see "Shooting Accessories" board, my post of 2/06/18, "Powder Tests in a .58 Leman flint...
  11. Herb

    Seeking recommendations fo a good .50 Hawken kit.

    54Ball, you got that exactly right, about how hard a good Hawken is to build. I've been whittling on my 25th or maybe 30th hand made Hawken this winter, some of which were from Track's parts sets or Stith's and some from a blank and the nearest correct parts. I am appalled at how hard this one...
  12. Herb

    Powder tests in a .58 Leman flint elk rifle

    The easiest way is to tap the filled measure to settle the powder, then top it off. But that adds up to more than 100 grains, not important for anything except a direct comparison. The Goex 2F burns slower than the BMZ, so amount is not critical.
  13. Herb

    Powder tests in a .58 Leman flint elk rifle

    I got the fantods (Jack O'Connor) from too many hours of building a close copy of the Kit Carson Hawken. It was 50 degrees here and no snow, so I figured I should try out my .58 Leman, recently rebored by Bobby Hoyt from a .54 GRRW barrel that went through a fire and was rebuilt by me. I made...
  14. Herb

    Locust ramrod?

    Equisetum, or horsetail or scouring rush was supposed to have been used for scouring pans and dishes. I can tell you that a three-wire fence will keep it out of pastures. Meaning that it was abundant in fenced road right of ways (not grazed) but the cattle ate it out of the pastures in North...
  15. Herb

    Do You See Anything Suspicious About This Rifle?

    It doesn't take long to do, but Doc White said it wasn't important to his customers and he didn't add enough to his price to pay for his time. I probably did this in an hour- well, maybe two. All the Hawken muzzles in Jim Gordon's book show uncrowned muzzle bores. Of 40 shown, I think 16 show...
  16. Herb

    Do You See Anything Suspicious About This Rifle?

    Bear 2049th, I can't image the bore having seven changes. When the Green River Rifle Works had Jim Bridger's Hawken in their shop about 1975, the gunsmiths pulled the breech plug. Carl Walker told me that a groove cutter had ridden up on a land from the breech for about half the barrel length...
  17. Herb

    Breach plug thread size

    You did not say 15/16 barrel size, but the Green Mtn web site does say 5/8 x 18. The more common 1" .54 barrel has a 3/4 x 16 thread.
  18. Herb

    Breach plug thread size

    Should be 3/4 x 16.
  19. Herb

    Do You See Anything Suspicious About This Rifle?

    Here is Track of the Wolf's Bridger buttplate, #BP-Hawk-JB-I, compared to a life-sized photo of the Kit Carson buttplate. I think this TOW buttplate originated about 1979 or 1980. Also note the trigger guard loop at right angles to the toeline. There were numerous Hawken buttplates, but none...
  20. Herb

    Swamped barrel views.

    You can see a photo of a swamped barrel in my story "A Utah Pronghorn Hunt" in the Hunting Journal. The 32" Rice Jaeger barrel is 1.125" at breech and .970 at muzzle, but only .815 in the swamped waist. So if a swamped barrel is smaller than your stock barrel inlet, you would have a gap along...
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