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The gun world is very interesting. I enjoy traveling around and listening to the living history people and writing the NRA tech people. There is a lot to be learned about guns. I have used the NRA for several years to answer questions from my students.

A few months ago I made several posts about the balls per pound bore measurement method. I wanted to take this step farther by asking how this ball is made. I told the NRA that I was interested in a time period of 18th and 19th century. The person would be a back woods gunsmith with little to NO...

I thought I would show a test using a Cable's 54 caliber Hawken caplock rifle. Each powder increment had a standard deviation of 10 ft/sec or less. In this test, I had one powder increment at 7 ft/sec. This rifle had a maximum charge of 100 grV. 60 grV - 55.5 grW - 1224 ft/sec 70 grV - 65.1 grW...

If you have noticed, I mentioned about the low standard deviation of 10 ft/sec for my powder charge increments. I worked on a loading procedure to get this for my increments. I did not want any overlapping standard deviation. Even thou one average velocity may be higher than the other, if you...

I think very gun has its own personality. I use a chronograph for that reason. I take the manufacture's maximum charge and reduce it by 40 percent. Then increase the powder increment by ten percent to maximum charge. I never exceed the manufacture's maximum charge. I weight out five powder...

I am 77 yrs old. The body parts does NOT move like they use to is the problem. At my range, I shoot a little bit and talk a lot with the members. It is good to spend the day at the range and get out of the house.

You are right. There is a point where the gain slows, go flat, or slightly goes down. That is what is interesting about testing. You can change calibers or barrel lengths and the results will be different. That is what makes a day at the range interesting. Good shooting

I have heard the last INCH of a barrel determines the accuracy. The highly accurate rifles such as target, sniping, varmint, and long range rifles, the origin of rifling and crown of the barrel must NOT be damaged in any way for good accuracy. The crown savers and bore guides must be used when...

I have found black powder is best used in longer barrel guns. The other powders will give different results. For me I just enjoy shooting and testing loads. I am too old to hunt anymore and enjoy the private range. Good luck to everybody.

When I do a velocity test, I try to have the standard deviation less than 10 ft/sec for ten shots. I reduce the maximum charge by 40 percent and then increased in ten percent increments. I have built this procedure over a period of years. I feel very confident in the results.

I have used a chronograph along with weighed powder charges and careful loading procedure to determine the best velocity. Most of the time the velocity will build up to a point and powder charges after that flatten out and sometimes go down slightly. This is called the laws of diminishing...

I have found a lot of interesting things about black powder and the guns. I am retired and have the time to do research and testing. I have even went to the historic sites for information. The NPS has living history people who really get into these subjects and tries to duplication the methods...

I just received an answer from the Lyman people about muzzle loading arms dimensions. They said there is NOT a web site even close to the SAAMI or CIP web sites. I know these sites had problems with the manufactures in the US and then in Europe agreeing on dimensions and limits. On top of that...

I got some time so I looked up the 7.62X54R. The 7.62 mm = 0.300 inches for the bore and the 7.92 mm = 0.312 inches for the groove. This information comes from the Commission Internationale Permanente (CIP) site. Go to Table of Dimensions of Cartridges and Chambers (TDCC). The dimensions are in...

To answer your question 7.62 mm equals 0.300 inches. To say any more I need your caliber. A lot of military people say 7.62 they really mean 7.62 NATO. But there are a lot of 7.62 calibers. The 7.62 NATO should have a 0.300 bore and a 0.308 groove. This is a military caliber and you will find...

I agree with making the chambers the same. Back in the day when revolvers were king in target shooting, the shooter would measure the chambers. The shooter would try to find a chamber close to the diameter of the groove of the barrel. The shooter would mark this chamber for SLOW fire only. The...

I have a copy of Lyman's Black Powder Handbook & Loading Manual on page 145 there are dimensions for revolvers. The 44 caliber shows chamber diameter of 0.448", bore diameter of 0.440", and groove diameter of 0.448" for a 8" barrel and 0.465" for a 9" barrel. I wrote Lyman about another caliber...

Lots of change in the world. When I work at Boeing, they said the only thing constant is change. I always tried to keep an open mind and be willing to accept change especially from the younger people. I tried NOT to use the words "I know because I am older and know more".

Confusing but interesting!

I do not know. If you do not have micrometers, take the cylinder to a machinist for measurement. One thing I have noticed is the chambers can be egged shaped (not round). Maybe you have noticed flash over between chambers in a revolver. This flash over can happen with an out of round chamber of...