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I doubt that anyone makes 11ga shotcups, steel or lead. Things depend in part on your specific bore diameter. On the BPI site, there are a variety of 10ga steel wads, and the 10ga wads for which I found the diameters listed ranged from .758-.765". These were probably for the gas seals, while...

It seems to be an individual thing, but I've never had a problem with pointy-topped flints - just set them in the leather, clamp them in, and shoot. If eh lock does better bevel-down, the point should make almost no difference. For what it's worth, before the French blade-based flint-making...

Rawhide, I've been using bismuth shot for waterfowl, but I've been interested in steel shot in muzzleloaders for a long time, so I've read everything I could find from others shooting it and have done some experimenting of my own. I've come to the conclusion that my 16ga double is rather...

See if you can find a "compounding pharmacy" where they make up custom combinations. The ones here tend to cater to veterinarians and/or oriental and other "alternative" medical traditions in addition to conventional western medicine. It's a niche that a few of the smaller/older pharmacies...

What granulation of Pyrodex? If it is P, you'll likely use about the same volume of 3Fg, but naturally, you will have to play around a bit to see if the accuracy load is different. If you have been shooting RS, then I'd recommend starting around 55-60gr and working up 'til you find your...

I'd suggest starting starting somewhere around 55 or 60gr of Fffg and working up 'til you find your accuracy load. When I got started in the early '70s, the common wisdom was to increase the charge by up to 1/3 when going from 3F to 2F to get the same velocity (equivalent to decreasing the...

For casting yourself, Rotometals offers Lead Free Bullet Casting Alloy (93%-Bismuth, 7%-tin) at $19.99 per 1lb ingot. Bird shot is normally made with 3% tin, although some individuals making their own use a 5% alloy, and larger balls, especially for rifles apparently need higher alloying for...

Glazing is a thin shell of saltpeter produced by the final drying/tumbling. Graphiting is a separate issue. Powder can be glazed, graphited, both, or neither. IIRC, Swiss is supposed to be glazed but not graphited. Regards, Joel Oops - I see this point has already been raised.

You can do it with bismuth/tin alloy but not with Ecotungsten/NiceShot. That is a suspension of tungsten powder in tin matrix, with a tin coating on the pellets, and separates if you melt it. The inventor said on his blog that he was considering making round balls, but I haven't heard anything...

Precision Reloading carries both bismuth and Nice Shot. Regards, Joel

Live with them - 2-petal shot protector from heavy paper (drywall spark tape is perfect) or light card stock. Regards, Joel

Oh, yes! It is and forever will be my favouritest toy. And my eternal gratitude to your uncle the Judge for facilitating things. I thought about taking the flinter out when we went rabbiting today, but it was cold enough that I wimped and took my "modern" Baikal Illustrious Defender of...

Dunno about pounds from Troyes, but as I recall, the common French livre was something like 489 grams*, contrasting with the avoirdupois pond of 454 grams. This is why there can be confusion in anglophone discussions of French firearms. For example, a French musket of nominally 16ga (16/livre)...

I've never found a need to put a prop behind a flint to seat it out further. I use leather to hold the flints and just set the flint where I want it to be and clamp it down. As long as I snugged it in well, it stays put. For those that use props, what do you do as the flint wears/is...

One thing I`d like to bring up is that most of the methods discussed or shown so far have the pressure or blow applied from the bevel side of the flints, taking the flakes off the flat side. I use a variety of techniques to touch up a flint, but if circumstances permit, I strongly prefer to...

When swabbing the bore, do you go all the way to the bottom or do you stop just short of the breech plug? Have you tried swabbing the bore but not the breech between shots? I have NEVER swabbed or brushed chambered breeches (no-one makes an actual Nock patent breech) when shooting and I have...

One can often find clothing patterns that have not been cut out in thrift stores for cheap. Even the cut-out ones will make a LOT of patches. Regards, Joel

One of my buddies has had good results with #4 shot in either bismuth or Nice Shot for Lesser Canadas, Snows, and the larger ducks. His 12ga double is choked (IIRC) IC & Mod, and the load is 1.1/4oz of shot over 3dr (equal volume) of Goex 2Fg, but I cannot recall what wads he used over powder...

For some of us, it is a convenient way to get lube in to keep fouling soft without swabbing. Regards, Joel

I've seen another reason to NOT try recovering the lead from batteries raised on various forums by folks who work in the industry. The calcium that is nowadays in the alloying of the plates can react with another of the alloying metals (antimony? arsenic?) when melted in the wrong environment...