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  1. Herb

    Brass tacks and other bling

    Notchy Bob, Jim Beckwourth did own this rifle, and his signature is engraved on the bottom of the barrel. Jeff Hengesbaugh owns this rifle, as the article you referenced shows. I handled, measured and photographed it in December and am tasked with making a bench copy of it. We are still...
  2. Herb

    Has anyone used 1F in a rifle ?

    I called Craig Kirkland, owner of Bear River Powder, and asked him about Olde Eynsford 1F. He said it was developed at the request of .50 caliber black powder cartridge shooters at the Quigley Match in Montana. They wanted a slower burning powder than Olde Eynsford 1 1/2F, which they like a...
  3. Herb

    1/48 twist & round ball?

    Flashpoint, I did not get my bull elk that trip. My daughter Linda was with me, not hunting. We were easing through the Jack-pines following an elk trail when I saw one about 60 feet away, the body but not the head. Could have been a spike bull. Before I could shift to see the head (I needed...
  4. Herb

    1F

    I just talked with Crag Kirkland, owner of Bear River Powder, a master Goex distributor. He said the Quigley Match shooters used Olde Eynsford 1 1/2F in their .50 (?) caliber black powder cartridge guns, but wanted a slower powder. Hence Olde Eynsford 1F was produced. He said it appears to...
  5. Herb

    1/48 twist & round ball?

    LME, the thing about building copies of rifles as they look today, such as the Bridger Hawken, is that any handling marks add to the look. They are good. I took the first copy to the Fort Bridger Rendezvous and carried it around. Nobody paid any attention to it. I got a buffalo burger and...
  6. Herb

    1/48 twist & round ball?

    Oops- don't know how I got two pictures of the last one and can't delete the second one.. If the moderator can delete the extra one, please do.
  7. Herb

    1/48 twist & round ball?

    LME, thanks. That picture was taken before I had finished the stock. Here is what it looks like now, the second one down. I have hunted deer and elk with it and shot it a couple thousand times. The top is a closer copy of the Bridger Hawken , with the 48-inch twist, unfortunately, the only...
  8. Herb

    1/48 twist & round ball?

    LME, my charges all were MEASURED, using a measure I made to hold exactly 100 grains of OE 1 1/2F by weight with no tapping or settling. I make such measures for each powder, grade and weight. Why do I do this? The photo below shows some powders I use and measures I cut for them. The powders...
  9. Herb

    1/48 twist & round ball?

    Yes, I used 120 grains, thrown from a measure that I calibrated to hold 120 grains BY WEIGHT of OE 1 1/2F. I did it specifically to test the twist. I fired four groups of 20 shots of even much heavier loads in this rifle with equally good results, but I will not post those pictures nor loads...
  10. Herb

    1/48 twist & round ball?

    Both targets are labeled 50 yards, shot from bench.
  11. Herb

    1/48 twist & round ball?

    MtnMan, I did not specify depth of groove when I ordered that barrel, although one can. It is what they cut standard for roundball. I think it is .010 to .012 deep. I relieved the muzzle lands down to the grooves for about 3/8 inch, then filed the grooves back in, like the Bridger and Kit...
  12. Herb

    1/48 twist & round ball?

    Hesp, I have built over 150 muzzleloaders from .36 to .58 caliber, with twists from 1 in 48 to 1 in 84, IIRC, and tested them all from the bench with a wide range of loads. I can tell no difference in accuracy that I could attribute to the rate of twist. Here is my second copy of Jim Bridger's...
  13. Herb

    Olde Eynsford Black Powder

    Guess you didn't read my post above.
  14. Herb

    Olde Eynsford Black Powder

    Olde Eynsford is a wonderful powder. I have used at least 15 pounds of it in 15 or 20 rifles, ,45. .50, .54 and .58 caliber, shooting over a chronograph and at targets. Here are few comparisons: Here is a test of OE 1 1/2F and OE 2F in a .54 Bridger Hawken I built. 100 yards from...
  15. Herb

    Anyone use 1.5F in their bigger bore flintlock rifles?

    Olde Eynsford 1 1/2 F is my favorite powder. In my 32" .54 Bridger Hawken copy, 13 shots of 100 grains by weight averaged 1817 fps with 44 fps spread. 100 grains of Swiss 1 1/2F BY WEIGHT averaged 1724 fps with 120 fps spread. If you shoot more than 100 grains of Swiss 1 1/2F, it leaves a...
  16. Herb

    Anyone use 1.5F in their bigger bore flintlock rifles?

    Is this Swiss 1 1/2F or Olde Eynsford 1 1/2F?
  17. Herb

    Leather for Over Powder/Over Shot Cards

    I use leather over powder wads in large bore rifles, .50, 54 and .58. I cut them with round punches from thin leather which I think is the top split from leather discarded from a saddle shop. Thin gloves work, too. Maybe 3/4 inch for a .54, so that the leather cups as I start it into the bore...
  18. Herb

    Questions about original Hawken Halfstocks

    Art- the photo of the J&S Hawken cheek piece is one I took at Helena on 9/9/2013. Phil Meek's info is accurate. I personally measured the Bridger Hawken at Helena and have the measurements taken at the GRRW in 1975 when they had the rifle for about three years. I handled it in 1978, though I...
  19. Herb

    Green River Rifle Works Hawken

  20. Herb

    What did you do today

    I haven't been able to play at the old folks' homes since last March. So I am buillding back my fingertip callouses.
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