all my guns can out shoot me...price of gettin old lol
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62 cal ball groups
- Thread starter Intosomthin
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No offense to my elder brothers here that can light a candle at 150.... theres a few left...
hanshi
Cannon
I can strike a match at 150 yards; done it quite a few times. But walking that far just to strike a match wears me out. 
Don’t know about others, but I know if I miss it’s always some other fault, bad sights, wind, phase of the moon, angles with weak bladders.... but never my fault...
You fergot the grease... lol
You fergot the grease... lol
my 62 jaeger built by Stephen Zihn dose ok,,,,,,,,,,,,
That's a beautiful gun you got there!
I tried the .58 cal roundballs and .018" ticking as Duelist1954 demonstrated on his civilian smoothbore loads video, but every time I would find the patch smoldering and burnt to a crisp on the ground. Accuracy was just kinda meh. I found what shoots best in my NWTG is 70 grains of 3F, a .600 roundball seated directly on top of the powder and a wad on top just to hold the ball in place. Seems like the less manure I try to put down the barrel, the better my gun shoots.
Actually, what I like most about the smoothbore is the fact that I can blame almost 100% of my poor shots on my own error....poor loading technique, poor aiming, poor stance, etc...
With the rifle, I was always pissing around with the sights because I wasn't sure if it was just me, not shooting right, or if the sights were off. With no rear sights to worry about, I can say it is all me to blame. No more guessing about whether the gun is doing the job or not.
With the rifle, I was always pissing around with the sights because I wasn't sure if it was just me, not shooting right, or if the sights were off. With no rear sights to worry about, I can say it is all me to blame. No more guessing about whether the gun is doing the job or not.
My smoothbore likes .620 bare ball over 80gr FFFg Goex, fiber wad and two card wads over ball. One big hole at 25- yards and opens to around 5-inches at 50-yards. This gun doesn't like patches at all. The groups become completely inconsistent.
I tried those cut paper wads the other day....3/4" folded cut brown paper same as Duelist1954 demonstrates. OMG what a nightmare to try to load with.
Duelist1954 cuts his wads too small, and he has the same problem with them. An original source from 1767 recommends a piece of paper 1" x 2" which makes a 1" square when folded in half, and that's for a 20-gauge. I use them made that way a lot for my 20-gauges, and they are no more trouble to load than punched wads.
Spence
Thanks Spence! I'll have to give it another shot with the larger size squares.
I’ve shot plenty of three and four inch groups with my twenty eight bore. Yesterday I had it out and tried a wad under the PRB. Got three inch group with six shots at fifty yards.
Then did just PRB got six inch groups that day.
Then tried just Wadded, got five inch.
Why? It’s not typical for the gun. Smoothies will play with you as much as you play with them.
Even my worst shot would have made meat yesterday, some days every thing falls in place some days not.
Then did just PRB got six inch groups that day.
Then tried just Wadded, got five inch.
Why? It’s not typical for the gun. Smoothies will play with you as much as you play with them.
Even my worst shot would have made meat yesterday, some days every thing falls in place some days not.
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Perfect.
If I can a paper plate at whatever distance, thats a lung... but not happy if i cant hit an apple...just me... dead is dead... just prefer center of dead as opposed to edge of dead lol
satwel
40 Cal.
I had exactly the same experience. I shot flintlock rifles for years before acquiring my first smoothbore. I assumed smoothbores would need tight fitting ball and patch combos just like my rifles. After disappointing groups, I started to experiment with thinner patches and slightly smaller balls, .590 vs .600. To my surprise, groups tightened up considerably with ball and patch combinations I could start easily with just thumb pressure. Go figure.
Once you settle on ‘the load’ ... bend the barrel. Simple to do, have done 3 of mine and 2 for friends.
Well I got in some of my best shooting to date today. At 40 yards I was getting an 8" group with 5 shots. I know this isn't spectacular or anything, but with just a bare .600 ball sitting directly on top of 80 grains of FFF powder and just a piece of cut blanket to hold things in place, I was pleasantly suprised. This is with very minimal overall practice using my gun in the first place. Before whenever I used wadding between powder and ball I couldn't get anywhere near a consistent group. Patched roundballs the same thing....my gun doesn't like them. I think the whole theory of a bare ball centered on a cushion of hot gases has some merit to it.
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My smoothbore is a track of the wolf english fowler. 62 caliber, I use a .600 rb with a pillow ticking patch over 75 grains of 3f. For lube I started using the beeswax olive oil combo. I used to use ballistol and water. My gun loves this combo. At fifty yards it will hold under four inches as long as the loose nut behind the buttplate does his part.
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