Accuracy problems with a Pedersoli Kentucky Pistol in .54.

[mark_fare]

Well I went to the range and tried out the Pedersoli with new .535 balls and the .010 patches with Wonderlube. After playing around with powder charges, the gun seemed to settle in on 40 grns. of 3F. What do you think?

I'm happy with it now!

 

[jdixon]

I guess those shallow grooves wanted the thin patch and the larger ball - that is a nice group! Two questions - Did you use the felt wads? Second, if you recovered any spent patches what kind of shape were they in?

 

[mark_fare]

Here is a picture of some of the spent patches. There were no holes or tears in them that I could see.

And yes, I tried the felt wads. Couldn't get a group smaller than 6" with them. Also, I had Wonderlube 1000 build up on my touchhole from using them.

 

[jdixon]

Looks like you found your load! Best option as well, the wads are just an extra step, something else to carry and add cost to each shot.

You get the chance to run that pistol through a chronograph sometime, report back what kind of performance you are getting.

 

[mark_fare]

A couple more things. This was five shots in a row. No swabbing in between shots. Started with a clean bore. I wish I had access to a chronograph. Not only would I like to know the FPS of the load, but also the standard deviation of velocity.

Thanks so much for your suggestions and help.

 

[renovato]

I'm glad to see that you got it sorted out. Working up the most accurate load is part of the fun, especially when you find that magical combination.

 

[jdixon]

No swabbing! What powder ya' using?

 

[mark_fare]

Goex 3F. The patches are saturated with Wonderlube 1000.