Below is my 70 yard target from bench using regular iron sights. (Ordered my Lyman 57 SML today) I use 90 grains of Goex 2f with my home made .530 diameter round ball. I use regular pillow ticking but to get the sizing out, I put it in the wash at least 3-4 times. It should mike out at around .022 thick. Thinner than that doesn't work for me. I use moose milk made from 20% Ballistol, water and a dash of liquid dish soap. For hunting, I switch to the T/C bore butter on the patch. Because of the weight difference, I couldn't use the same sights for my slug. (T/C's hunting bullet) When I did shoot them, I had similar results. Check your patches for cutting from sharp threads. It will stop after so many shots. It should never burn through the patch, if it does, its not wet enough. If you can, get a metal range rod with a bore protector. It makes loading easier and more consistent. Consistent compression on the powder does help with accuracy. You might see people bouncing their wooden rods on the ball/powder charge. I believe that it does help make the load consistent. If you do go with flint. Put the priming charge next to the vent hole when shooting. It has been proven to be faster. Also use a feather or some device to keep the vent hole clean of powder when loading. A flint is as fast as a cap if everything works right. Some use lead to hold the flint instead of leather as they say it gives better spark. I prefer the german cut flints and the english flints. Well, you will get advice from others and their ideas are just as good as mine. Mine work for me. Some of the others might work better for you. That is the great part of this forum. More than one way to skin a cat, and they are all listed here.
View attachment 51753
