Although it may sound like bragging, I suspect that some of you think ole Zonie is 98% BS and can't shoot.
I took the .45 cal. Bedford Flintlock to the range today (along with a Pedersoli Tryon and a horn full of Swiss 3F powder.
I know many of you can do better, but here's a 5 shot group fired off the bench at 25 yards (using arm support only).
Who says a gun can't be fancy and still shoot well?
So, you see, Ole Zonie is still 98% BS, but occasionally can shoot.
Oh, the other holes? Those are from a Moron who was on the next bench, firing his 7.??mm almost a machinegun as fast has his finger could pull the trigger. The only good thing I can say about that type is they run out of ammunation fast and then leave. The little bitty holes are from rocks his wild shots kicked up.
A guy next to me had a brass framed .44 1851ish looking Colt replica, and I watched him try to fire 3 shots. Nothing happened.
I asked him if he forgot the powder and he said, "No, I poured in 30 grains but it was too much and I couldn't ram the ball in. I dumped out a lot of powder and then loaded the balls but it won't fire."
I asked to see the gun, and removed the barrel. Stuck inside the bore were 3 balls with their wonder wads. After knocking them out, I suggested that he should be dam glad it didn't fire on the second or third shot.
After removing the nipples and knocking out the three balls he didn't shoot, I noted he didn't have over 2 or 3 grains of powder in any of the chambers. :shocking:
Another guy had used the "more is better" approach to putting oil into his barrel to prevent rust. He also did not fire a couple of caps to clear out the nipple and connecting channel to the bore before loading his gun.
Results? Nothing! Just a popped cap. Actually 3 popped caps. He was about to put the gun back in his car so he could unload it at home.
I removed the nipple and poured in a little Swiss, reinstalled the nipple and told him to shoot it.
He did, and it did. One very happy camper.
If you know someone who is thinking of getting into muzzleloading, by all means, tell them about this web site.
I think if they had gone here and read some of the advice, they would have been a lot happier.
I took the .45 cal. Bedford Flintlock to the range today (along with a Pedersoli Tryon and a horn full of Swiss 3F powder.
I know many of you can do better, but here's a 5 shot group fired off the bench at 25 yards (using arm support only).
Who says a gun can't be fancy and still shoot well?
So, you see, Ole Zonie is still 98% BS, but occasionally can shoot.
Oh, the other holes? Those are from a Moron who was on the next bench, firing his 7.??mm almost a machinegun as fast has his finger could pull the trigger. The only good thing I can say about that type is they run out of ammunation fast and then leave. The little bitty holes are from rocks his wild shots kicked up.A guy next to me had a brass framed .44 1851ish looking Colt replica, and I watched him try to fire 3 shots. Nothing happened.
I asked him if he forgot the powder and he said, "No, I poured in 30 grains but it was too much and I couldn't ram the ball in. I dumped out a lot of powder and then loaded the balls but it won't fire."
I asked to see the gun, and removed the barrel. Stuck inside the bore were 3 balls with their wonder wads. After knocking them out, I suggested that he should be dam glad it didn't fire on the second or third shot.
After removing the nipples and knocking out the three balls he didn't shoot, I noted he didn't have over 2 or 3 grains of powder in any of the chambers. :shocking:
Another guy had used the "more is better" approach to putting oil into his barrel to prevent rust. He also did not fire a couple of caps to clear out the nipple and connecting channel to the bore before loading his gun.
Results? Nothing! Just a popped cap. Actually 3 popped caps. He was about to put the gun back in his car so he could unload it at home.
I removed the nipple and poured in a little Swiss, reinstalled the nipple and told him to shoot it.
He did, and it did. One very happy camper.
If you know someone who is thinking of getting into muzzleloading, by all means, tell them about this web site.
I think if they had gone here and read some of the advice, they would have been a lot happier.
