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  1. Canute Rex

    Pyrites Problems

    Cutfinger, the wheel on my Bolek-made lock has radial ridges (in the direction of travel) but only a few very shallow cross grooves. It's really the springs that do the job. If you have a lot of deep cross grooves you are going to eat through the soft pyrites quickly. Most of the Chinese...
  2. Canute Rex

    Pyrites Problems

    I use a 4" angle grinder with a thin diamond blade in it. I cut a hole in the bottom of a cardboard box to fit over my vise as a pyrite catcher. I put the pyrite gently in a vise and cut off ~3/16" to 1/4" slices.
  3. Canute Rex

    Pyrites Problems

    This is the kind of pyrite that I use. https://www.ebay.com/itm/402315661836 https://www.ebay.com/itm/401745705774 https://www.ebay.com/itm/261496179607 Search for "cubic iron pyrite China" on eBay and you'll find loads of this stuff. It's the rough, non-glossy cubes with striations on all...
  4. Canute Rex

    Backyard ranges

    If you want to recover your lead, there's nothing better than a big plywood box of rubber playground mulch. It's just shredded tires, sometimes dyed a color. You can get it by the bag from garden stores and Home Despot. I have a box backstop with a hinged lid. The rubber mulch will stop a 54...
  5. Canute Rex

    Pyrites Problems

    Listen to Brian A. He knows whereof he speaks. I have an Italian carbine that Brian made around a Bolek wheellock. The wheel has half a dozen *extremely shallow* notches in it, but is mostly just grooved concentrically. I also can get 20-25 shots from a cut piece of pyrite. The main things I...
  6. Canute Rex

    Full regalia on this purchase…

    Congratulations! Is there any info about where it was made? Do you have a bigger photo?
  7. Canute Rex

    Shooting a Wheel Lock Pistol

    The Loyalist wheellocks should be considered assembled kits. It's random chance what you get in terms of lock function. A friend of mine bought one of their locks and built a rifle around it. A gunsmith friend had to partially rebuild and tune the lock to make it spark reliably. The geometry of...
  8. Canute Rex

    GOEX PLANT

    Remember that we are all still out here burning powder. Where there is demand there will be supply. It will undoubtedly be supplied at a greater price. The days of below $20 a pound are gone. Other manufacturers will ramp up production. Someone might buy the Goex plant and raise the price to...
  9. Canute Rex

    Miroku Tanegashima sights

    I have a modern repro Japanese matchlock, made by Miroku. The sights are mystifying. The rear sight is a tall rectangular block with a tiny groove and a large hole drilled directly down into the top. The front sight is also a tall rectangular block, but with a larger groove. Also a tiny...
  10. Canute Rex

    Why on some days to I shoot two close groups while aiming at the same point??

    He says it isn't 3 of one and *then* 3 of another, but randomly alternating. Aside from the cheek weld and sight picture advice, I'd say try to wiggle your sights. If one is loose in its dovetail it could knock back and forth randomly. My first rule of troubleshooting is to pick the thing that...
  11. Canute Rex

    Are there any good books that focus on matchlock firearms?

    German target shooters held on to the matchlock into the early 18th century. A friend of mine made a copy of such a rifle and it is a performer. The instant lock time is a huge advantage. I have cut cards edge-on with my smoothbore. Back to the book subject. I have a reprint of "The Renaissance...
  12. Canute Rex

    Are there any good books that focus on matchlock firearms?

    Oh, I know about snapping matchlocks. It's just that 99% of what's out there is either tiller or trigger non-snapping locks. Brian Anderson has made some nice cheek stock snapping matchlock rifles. I had the pleasure of shooting one and it was a tack driver. A rarity among reproductions, though.
  13. Canute Rex

    Are there any good books that focus on matchlock firearms?

    Making good match is the tricky part. Look on this site for that. I and others have posted directions about that. A matchlock shoots like a flintlock *except* your hold needs to be backwards. With a flintlock you need "follow through"; the ability to stay motionless for half a second after you...
  14. Canute Rex

    In need of some Smoothbore hunting tips (.75cal Brown Bess Musket)

    A couple of pieces of advice on Brown Bess and ball: As others have said, you have to experiment with patch, ball, and powder charge to see what your barrel likes. Grip the wrist of the stock tightly. The trigger pull is hard and there is a tendency for the musket to "fall off the trigger" and...
  15. Canute Rex

    Any U.S. matchlock competitions?

    I shoot my matchlock in the primitive biathlons in Vermont/NH. Also at informal local woods walks and target shoots. No dice on any formal competitions. Not permitted at NMLRA shoots.
  16. Canute Rex

    WANTED .520” RB mold (Lyman or RCBS)

    A note on the Lee five cavity .520 mold: You should do a test molding session, segregating the cast balls from each cavity. Then weigh them. There can be significant variation in the weights of the cast balls. You may get a mold with consistent weights; you may not. You may get a mold where all...
  17. Canute Rex

    Buying a completed Wheellock lock? or a complete firearm?

    You can buy a wheellock lock from Loyalist Arms in Canada. A friend of mine did. (You can also buy an entire pistol) BIG CAVEAT: You will be buying 80% of a lock. That is, the parts will all be there, but it will not work reliably without some extensive tuning and rework. Leave it as-is and it...
  18. Canute Rex

    Bullet molds

    I have used Lee and Lyman and the old Dixie style with no sprue cutter. People say Lee has no sprue, but really it has a slight "negative sprue," that is, a flat spot where the cutter did its work. Still an irregularity that has to be aligned while loading. I bought a six cavity .520 Lee mold...
  19. Canute Rex

    Modern vs. Period Black Powder

    The device was called an "eprouvette" Do a search for "eprouvette powder tester" and you'll get dozens of photos of little pistol handled thingees with serrated wheels on top. Apparently some armories had a mortar at a fixed angle on a fixed base. They would load a weighed charge and a weighed...
  20. Canute Rex

    Why This Wood and Not That on 18th Century Rifles

    A friend of mine stocked a rifle with a piece of apple wood he had kept for years. It made a beautiful stock, but he said he had to sharpen his chisels about once a minute. He inquired with a professional barrel inletter about getting that done but when the man heard "apple" he said no. Apple is...
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