Another first-timer's first time ;)

[liam_g]

Well, I saw PostDriver's "first-timer" post, and decided to add mine also. There's some interesting similarities! We're both left-handed, although I got a Lyman Deerstalker in .54 instead of the Cabela's Hawken that he got. Well, here goes ...

I received my rifle a week and a few days ago, and meant to shoot last weekend. But I got tied up and couldn't get to the range, although it nearly killed me to have to wait. Went today though, and had a great time, and a great learning experience. I'm glad that I'll be able to get another 8 or so visits to the range before elk season!

I got there, and the 50 yard range, where I figured I would start, was closed. The 100 yard range was completely full, which left the 25 and the 200 yard ranges. I set up on the 25 yard range, which was nearly empty. That made me feel better, because I am absolutely new to this. I shot a friend's muzzleloader back when I was a kid, but that's about it.

I aimed at a leaf and snapped a cap to make sure things were clear (they were), then charged and loaded. I was using Pyrodex RS, because the Sportsman's Warehouse where I shop doesn't sell any 'real' powder. I'd like to experiment with some Goex FFg and maybe FFFg. I started with a light load of 50 grains, under a .530 ball and .15 Ox Yoke lubed patch. It was pretty hard to start, and pretty hard to load. I was wondering how I would know if the charge was seated. It turns out that I didn't know, and didn't seat the ball well. No ignition on the first try, so I sat there for a couple of minutes to make sure it wasn't a hangfire, then tried another cap. Boom! Smoke this time, and a nice big .54 hole appeared in the target, about 6 or 7 inches high and just to the right of my aim point. Cool! This isn't so hard, right?

So, then I said, well I should clean the bore. Sprayed a bunch of TC solvent on a patch and ran it up and down the bore a few times, then promptly forgot to swab the bore dry. Charged and loaded again, and that's when the fun stopped for a while. Those of you who know what you're doing have no doubt guessed that I had a gooey mess of wet powder now, that wasn't going to ignite anytime in the next month. I also had forgotten to get a ball puller. I asked the range officer if anyone else on the range was shooting black powder, and although noone else was, there was a guy named Frank who has a lot of bp experience. He tried to help, unscrewing the nipple and trickling a little powder in the breech, but no luck.

So, off I went to Sportsman's Warehouse, and bought a ball puller. When I got back to the range, Frank showed me how to use it, warning me that it can be tricky. It came out fine, and then I got the bore clean and dry, after a ton of patches. What a mess! Frank gave me some tips, and I spent the rest of the day (about an hour left by that time) happily shooting, swabbing with a spit patch and a dry patch between shots. He also showed me how you can tell that the ball is seated well by when the ramrod bounces when you lightly drop it on the ball. Thank you Frank!!!

I did the rest of my shooting with a charge of 60 grains, still using the .530 ball and .15 lubed patch. Things started to click pretty well, I thought, considering I haven't fired a rifle much in the last 15 years until I got my Ruger #1 recently, and now this BP rifle. I didn't get around to trying heavier loads, or the 4 or 5 different conicals that I plan to try ... today I just wanted to learn, get a better handle on the basics, make my first round of stupid mistakes, and have some fun.

Here's a picture of my last 8 shots. There's a 5 shot group, 7/8" center-to-center. At that point, the RO announced 5 minutes til the range closed, so I fired three more shots as fast as I could without using the speedloaders (which I have, and plan to start practicing with next week). Those three shots are spread out a little lower and to the left of the 5 shot group. All shots were fired with a forend rest from the bench at 25 yards. My aim point was the center bull about 6 inches below the group. I never changed the sights ... will do some adjustment next time, when I shoot on the 50 and 100 yard ranges.

So, I'm on my way! This was the most fun I've had in ages, even with the very frustrating beginning of the day. I learned a ton, shot some decent groups for my first time out (imho), got some tips from an experienced guy, and just can't wait to get back out there. Next time I'm going to work with heavier loads, see if any of the conicals I have will shoot nearly as well as the balls, try the speedloaders, and work both bench and "hunting positions" at the 50 yard range.

I'm HOOKED!!!!!



Liam

 

[mashaffer]

He also showed me how you can tell that the ball is seated well by when the ramrod bounces when you lightly drop it on the ball. Thank you Frank!!!

This is interesting. How does the ramrod act when the ball is not fully seated?

mike

 

[renovato]

Way to go, Liam! Sounds like a fun outing. We all make mistakes and it's better to make them early on so you can learn from them early in your shooting. That's some nice grouping too! Let us know how you do at 50 and 100 when you get the chance. I'd say that with 8 more visits left, the Elk better be careful!

 

[marwat06]

So, then I said, well I should clean the bore. Sprayed a bunch of TC solvent on a patch and ran it up and down the bore a few times, then promptly forgot to swab the bore dry. Charged and loaded again, and that's when the fun stopped for a while.

Boy oh Boy! I did the same thing my first time at the range. Lucky for me (I had help also) it only took 2 times off removing the nipple and putting power in the channel to set my wet charge off. You make mistakes, learn, and have fun.

 

[bioprof]

Have you tried not swabbing between shots? Unless it is getting really hard to push the patched ball down the barrel or if accuracy is suffering, I wouldn't bother.

I've shot up to 20 shots without swabbing using Goex and bore butter as a lube on the patches. The bore butter seems to push the fouling out with each shot. Makes for a lot less work. Your results may vary, of course.

 

[renovato]

I rarely bother either unless it's getting hard to load, or my groups are getting loose and I'm looking to blame the fouling instead of my shooting. I think swabbing helps accuracy more by giving us a chance to focus on the next shot moreso than anything else.

 

[shmrck1]

Plink,
I'm with you and the 'professor' on
swabbing between shots. I do it when it is a
problem loading. I can see where a compitition
shooter would do it just to try and keep each
shot the same. I'm a long way from being that
good of a shooter.
snake-eyes :hatsoff:

 

[liam_g]

This is interesting. How does the ramrod act when the ball is not fully seated?

Hi, Mike,

If the ball isn't fully seated and you drop the ramrod on it, the ramrod just stops. It's seating the ball a little bit each time, and once the ball is seated, the ramrod will bounce when you drop it. Or at least, that's how it was working for me after Frank showed me that trick.

Regards,
Liam

 

[Dadof8]

Liam,

I'm catching up on posts and just saw this.

This almost mirrors my first BP experience at the range last year. I had just gotten a .32 cal and took it out with my two boys. I ended up loading a ball without powder. I spent a couple hours driving around the county to various sporting goods stores looking for a ball puller for a .32 cal. There were none. I was able to buy a nipple wrench to fit the .32 cal.

I went back to the range, removed the nipple, dribbled in some powder, and shoot the ball.

Even with all of this, it was still one of my best days at the range. I went back a few weeks later with my new GPR in .54 cal and didn't have these types of problems.

Keep at it.

Dadof8