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  1. Philip A.

    Minié/conical/Maxi in a .62: 1:48" or 1:66"?

    Thanks! Being a couple of worlds away from any source of supply, I have to make decisions that are not reversible... Main menu will be round balls, hunting loads. But it must take a heavier/longer bullet once in a while, and be accurate with it. If all it takes to get decent results with ball...
  2. Philip A.

    Minié/conical/Maxi in a .62: 1:48" or 1:66"?

    Would a bullet (Minié, Maxi-like) be stabilized in a .62 with a standard 1:66 rifling twist at hunting velocities, or would you need a 1:48 twist? Which brings to the corollary question: with proper ball/bore/patch, can you get good results in a 1:48 twist barrel with PRB at heavy/fast loads?
  3. Philip A.

    Are big bore short barrels more efficient than smaller bore short barrels?

    Thanks, that's a good link! As for energy... In my 20s I used to spend lots of time perusing ballistic tables and energy figures, wishing for more whizz-bang than my whizz-bang of the day. Then I went to live in Africa, and proceeded to shoot stuff. Well... I found out that energy sells guns...
  4. Philip A.

    Are big bore short barrels more efficient than smaller bore short barrels?

    Yes, heavier balls need more powder to get the same acceleration... But the question is, given a barrel of same (short) length, since the volume of the barrel is larger, will a bigger bore burn all the powder, vs a smaller bore with same charge spitting unburnt powder out?
  5. Philip A.

    Are big bore short barrels more efficient than smaller bore short barrels?

    I see that higher loads for many bore sizes tend to be in the 90 to 120gr of powder, i.e. similar charges for vastly dissimilar bore capacity. Does this mean that you'd get a better burn in a, say 28" barrel in .62 than in a 28" .50? In other words, do larger bores allow you to build shorter...
  6. Philip A.

    Smooth bore recoil?

    There is additional energy imparted to a bullet in a rifled barrel: you accelerate a spinning mass, about half an ounce, from zero to 45-50,000 rpm (in a 1:66 barrel), in a few milliseconds... I've not yet had enough coffee to do the maths, but that must kick too. Yes, the rifle resists the...
  7. Philip A.

    Recoil calculators and black powder, adjustments?

    The recoil calculators available online are designed for centerfire ammunition. Is there a "conversion factor" for black powder charges? The variation in recoil according to charge weight is significant... Not sure how they calculate that one, but powder weight has much more impact on the...
  8. Philip A.

    500 Yards, Stock 1:48 Twist TC Renegade .50 Cal

    The wager was $200, which translate in $7,500 today... That would keep you focused 😁
  9. Philip A.

    Wooden ramrods, why no whittling?

    Thinking of it... I've seen that some old rifles have ebony ramrods. But ebony is anything but straight, and almost impossible to split without breaking it. In addition, it's extremely difficult (if at all possible) to see the grain... How does this work?
  10. Philip A.

    Maintaining stock with carving ?

    The best wax to use as finishing coat on an oil finish is carnauba wax. Much harder than other waxes, especially beeswax, and remains stable in hot temperatures: its melting point is around 80C/180F, much higher than any temperature you want to handle bare-handed... No oozing whatsoever. It...
  11. Philip A.

    Wooden ramrods, why no whittling?

    Deerstalkert, good idea...! I'll check and let you know
  12. Philip A.

    Wooden ramrods, why no whittling?

    The "split vs turned-from-lumber", I know... I've seen what happens when there is grain runout in the wrist of a stock, and you shoot big stuff 😋 My point was that a suitable hardwood sapling would have even better mechanical properties than a split. Finer and tighter concentric fibers...
  13. Philip A.

    Hard cast, wide flat nose bullets?

    Patching on a hard cast has been tried with poor results, so unless there is a new miracle drug... (I'll check for that, leadhoarder, thanks for the pointer). But casting the bullet with a hard core and a soft outer layer is possible, someone must have done that over the last century or so...
  14. Philip A.

    Wooden ramrods, why no whittling?

    We have very straight saplings, that need minimal or no straightening on fire, don't have knots, and keep their shape once dried. Thinking of it, I'll check if hippo hide is any good for the purpose... I have made caning sticks (kiboko/sjambok) with it in the past, never tried something as thin...
  15. Philip A.

    Wooden ramrods, why no whittling?

    Thanks! I had searched for the wrong keywords, and limited it to titles... Got the thread you mention and a few more. Yes, as you say, concentric growth rings of wood fibers should be stronger than split/shaved wood. Also, if that happened, a rod fracture wouldn't be spear-like since there is...
  16. Philip A.

    Wooden ramrods, why no whittling?

    Is there a technical reason why wooden ramrods are shaved from split timber, and not whittled from thin sticks, other than the fact that there might not be any suitable species of tree for that in North America? Around here there are a couple of trees that are used for fighting sticks, herdsmen...
  17. Philip A.

    Light hunting rifle, straight stock?

    I like these lines... Elegant and sober. What's the buttplate?
  18. Philip A.

    Light hunting rifle, straight stock?

    I have a pretty good idea of what stock dimensions work for me, I can stick with the general outline of my best rifle. Proper stock design and balance really tame the recoil on that one, I have a colleague whose rifle has exactly the same ballistics as mine and weighs 2 1/2 lbs more, but with...
  19. Philip A.

    Light hunting rifle, straight stock?

    6 1/2 pounds at 31"? Now we're talking........ What barrel is that one? Yep, English style it will be!
  20. Philip A.

    Light hunting rifle, straight stock?

    Sdilts, that's the idea, yes...! Form first cursory searches, the German Jaegers are a bit too... Teutonic. All the grace of a PzKpfw Tiger I 😁
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