.36 cal questions

[Flapjack]

Hey guys..

About a year ago I posted a question about my .36..I have tried all suggestions and am back to square 1...

About 3 years ago, I purchased a Blue Ridge .36 from cabelas. For the life of me, I cannot get this thing to group worth a darn (best is 3" @ 25 from a solid rest). I hear all the sucess stories with smallbores and know this cannot be the norm. I own 5 other ballshooters (not smallbores though) and shoot them all very well. I have used pretty much all combinations of components...010, .015, and .017 patches..Speer and Hornady .350 balls, 000 Buckshot..BB, crisco, moose milk, spit for lubes...goex 3f and Pyrodex P..swabbing between shots, and not..and 10-40 grains of powder...you get the idea..Crown looks good, etc.

Someone mentioned the Pedersoli catalog reccommended a .345 Ball and .007 patch. Other than ordering a custom mold, is there any source out there for .345 balls?

thanks fellas..Please help before I wrap this thing around a tree...

 

[Rebel]

I assume, since you said you used Pyrodex in it, that it is a caplock. Have you tried changing the nipple? Also might try a different brand of caps. I have had them in both .45 and .50 cal, and they were very accurate.

 

[jim gray]

What about wonder-wads and/or conicals?

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

I own 5 other ballshooters (not smallbores though) and shoot them all very well. I have used pretty much all combinations of components...010, .015, and .017 patches..Speer and Hornady .350 balls, 000 Buckshot..BB, crisco, moose milk, spit for lubes...goex 3f and Pyrodex P..swabbing between shots, and not..and 10-40 grains of powder...you get the idea..Crown looks good, etc.

Someone mentioned the Pedersoli catalog reccommended a .345 Ball and .007 patch. Other than ordering a custom mold, is there any source out there for .345 balls?

thanks fellas..Please help before I wrap this thing around a tree...

Don't destroy it... yet! There are certain steps you can take.

Surely in all those ball and patch combinations that you have tried, that at least a few of them would show some promise.

Did you have any difficulty at all with loading on ANY of those different combinations?... or did they all "feel" about the same when starting/ramming them in the barrel?

If Pedersoli is recommending a smaller ball and a thinner patch, there must be something going on that is out of the ordinary. That would mean that the gun is more like a .35 caliber instead of a .36, in which case you would definitely noticed some loading problems with the thicker patching and larger diameter ball.

It is possible that you just happened to get a "lemon". Even Pedersoli can make an occasional "bad gun". Most likely a problem with inconsisentcy in the barrel, would be my guess. I suppose you could rebarrel with a GM (or your whatever your preference), and start the load testing again.

BUT, I really don't think you should have to spend more money on a gun that might just be a "factory defect".

Have you contacted the dealer (Cabelas) that you bought it from? How about Pedersoli? I would think that they would want to make things right for you--even if it means replacing the barrel or the entire gun.

If you are just plain sick & tired of it--I'll see if I can get a friend of mine who's looking for a .36cal rifle to buy it from you. Send me a PM if you want to go that route.

But I really think you ought to at get Pedersoli involved more... ask them about that .345diam ball and thin patching.

But first, you should try the .345 ball and .007 patching out though, just to satisfy their (Pedersoli's) recommendations. (just in case it "would" work).

You can get those .345 diameter balls from Track of the Wolk (and probably from some other places too)

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/tableList.aspx?catID=2&subID=25&styleID=58

Hope things work out for you, but if they don't send me a PM (while I'll talk to my buddy about it and see if he'd want it).

Good Luck! and always shoot safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[montanadan]

Flapjack-I just looked up your rifle on the up-dated Pedersoli web-site,they are recommending .354 round ball.A good friend of mine has the same rifle,.354 rb,30grns of 3f Swiss,.010 patch it is a tack driver.Unfortunately the books packed with the rifles are sometimes are very old,and do not contain the up dated material.It took his rifle about 150 balls to settle in,now it just shoots.I like his 36 so much,I am considering ordering on from Cabella's.I hope this has helped ...Respectfully Montanadan

 

I had a GM .40cal IBS barrel that shot good for about 1 year then it started blowing patches. I lapped the bore and fixed the patch problem but had 0 accuracy. A friend of mine slugged the barrel and we were able to see what the real problem was. Evidently the rifling cutter had slipped during the rifling process and several lands were missshapen.This was not visible when looking at the bore or with a bore light. Its a wonder that it shot as good as it did for awile.

 

As the other fella's have said, something isn't right. 36's are usually tack drivers and not that difficult to make shoot.

Vic

 

[navaho]

I just recently purchased one and have been really examing the rifle. After looking at it real close I have decided to return it. I haven't shot it but for the money I don't think it is the quality I expect. I don't really care for the sights on it and the fit and finish just isn't that good. Further, it looks like when they assembled it they burred up some of the screws. Not what I would expect from a quality rifle. I guess I will continue to look for a 36. Does anyone know of anyone that provides a 36 barrel for a T/C Hawkin. I have a 32 and it shoots great, the barrel is green mountain, but I haven't seen any 36's.