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  1. jbwilliams3

    Holding it together at 50 yards

    As Rich mentioned, his comment is assuming you have consistency in hold and sight picture. In my experience, smoothbores are forgiving with load variation. A huge factor is sight picture and hold. I’ve had two smoothbores with no rear sight or even sight groove and with consistent hold, they...
  2. jbwilliams3

    Sources for small pan brush knot

    Also, a linen rag makes a far better pan cleaner than a bristle brush. I would use a whisk if I had a British military impression, but for practical purposes they are useless in my opinion. A brass brush would be effective, no doubt.
  3. jbwilliams3

    I don't like to use a ball starter.

    If you look at the muzzles of old rifles (flintlock era) you will notice two things – the lack of the modern radius crowns everyone puts on their guns today and a subtle relieving of the rifling which basically increases the diameter of the lands at the crown making starting a ball possible. It...
  4. jbwilliams3

    Loading Rod Consistency Enhancement

    Interesting and great workmanship. I do echo Carbon 6’s sentiments, though. I know there are plenty of folks on here though that wish to push centuries-old technology beyond it’s original precision, I just like things simple. If I can hit a pie plate off hand 5/5 from 50 yards while loading from...
  5. jbwilliams3

    Question about my new fowler..

    Or try it with no patch at all. That seems controversial in some circles, but it’s what our ancestors did (probably the vast majority of the time) and I shoot better with an over powder wad and a wad over the ball anyways. Many seem to shoot well with a patched round ball in a smoothbore...
  6. jbwilliams3

    Original 18th century Virginia Rifle

    Here's the rifle I mentioned above... At least you can see the trigger guard, but darned if the rest of the pictures of that gun weren't deleted, so you can't see the entry pipe swell. It definitely has it though...
  7. jbwilliams3

    Original 18th century Virginia Rifle

    Wow, thanks for posting, Gus! If only it could tell us for certain its origins. Would be cool if we had a rifle with known provenance to the Tidewater or Piedmont. If it IS an actual colonial-made rifle, I could see the quality along with the wedges and trigger guard as being from an English...
  8. jbwilliams3

    New Fowling Piece by Roy Stroh

    Yes, Roy built the .54 caliber rifle in my avatar. This fowling piece has been a real blast experimenting with and running around the woods. So light and balanced!
  9. jbwilliams3

    Shipping rifles

    I have shipped a wood box at least three times and received several wood boxes from USPS. I never had an issue. On one occasion the guy saw the box and told me it was going to be too expensive for me and not worth it, but I asked him to weigh and measure anyway please and he was surprised at the...
  10. jbwilliams3

    Cleaning Rod/Range Rod

    I have a brass rod I bought years ago from October Country. I seldom use it, but it’s very good quality with a wooden handle on one end. I use a bore protector with it. Like Stumpkiller, I usually use a long hickory rod for cleaning. The tapered wood rods in my guns are used in the field and...
  11. jbwilliams3

    Shipping rifles

    I've both made boxes out of cardboard and also out of wood. Probably the most secure box I made I used one of those old foam mattress pads as padding and built a simple box out of pine 1x4s and ply wood. The only reason I did that was because I had the stuff on hand and had run out of enough...
  12. jbwilliams3

    Old time jags, worms, etc

    Lots of craftsman out there make traditional iron worms/pullers, etc. Larry Callahan is one of the few whom you can buy from easily right off his website. He makes the best bag moulds out there too, by the way. The balls that come from those moulds are as precise as they can be, whilst the mould...
  13. jbwilliams3

    Perhaps an odd cleaning question.

    That’s what I do as well and don’t have any problem with any of those items. Some suggest hot (or even boiling) water but when I did that I would consistently get flash rust. I don’t doubt that works for some. It may have to do with relative humidity or maybe the hardness of the water – I have...
  14. jbwilliams3

    10ga roundball

    I can’t answer for him, but I can say that many (including myself) find smoothbores shoot just as well with bare ball. “Chewed” ball is another option. Additionally, some folks eschew the patched round ball in smoothbores because there isn’t really evidence to it being done in the period when...
  15. jbwilliams3

    Tow worm

    They work like a Chinese finger trap, so they don't come off easily. It's certainly possible though. I had one for an old trade gun and used it from time to time. I never really used it hard but just to swab the bore every once in a while. For regular threaded worms, just ensure you have enough...
  16. jbwilliams3

    My First Smoothbore

    Adam, Enjoy the book and also take with a grain of salt every recommendation you receive. The advice you heed will depend on what you’re looking to accomplish. Some don’t care what the gun looks like – they just like the old technology and approximating the experience of our ancestors. Others...
  17. jbwilliams3

    Barn Sale Find

    Google it and you'll see plenty of pictures.
  18. jbwilliams3

    Barn Sale Find

    So glad that antique collector was worth his weight in salt and honest to boot! I'd have probably had a heart attack if I saw that gun for sale in a barn...
  19. jbwilliams3

    Barn Sale Find

    Gene, look at pictures of that gun elsewhere and you'll see a tastefully decorated rifle. The architecture does much of the talking, but it is definitely carved in a manner consistent with every other early American rifle we currently know about and more than many. You don't see a lot of inlays...
  20. jbwilliams3

    Trade, Barn, FDC, or Fowler

    All good advice above. The Pedersoli will be a good gun, but for that price or maybe just a little more you could probably find a simple fowling piece that more closely resembles a historic gun, especially if you look around for used. I sold my Type G trade gun for around $1K earlier this year...
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