Extremely frustrated

[jimdvan]

Using my new loading method I took this 6 point buck on my property last Saturday morning using my .50 Lyman GPR. .495" ball and 70 grains of Goex 2f. 56.5 yard shot. He moved just as the gun went off and the ball took out his spine right above the lungs.

 

[NorthFork]

The weird thing is that earlier today I was shooting a 1917 Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55 at 100 yards, benched, open sights and put 4 rounds into 1 1/2". My open sight shooting with the GPR at 50 yards was about 3 1/2".

With all due respect, yes seriously, with all due respect......


what do you expect???? Traditional muzzleloaders are NOT cartridge rifles! 3.5" CTC 3 or 5 shots at 50 yards is OK.

 

[jimdvan]

I am quite aware of that. I'm also quite aware that my particular rifle is capable of 3 rounds into 1" - 1.5" at 50 yards ctc. Therefore 3.5" was not acceptable to me.

 

[S.Kenton]

Using my new loading method I took this 6 point buck on my property last Saturday morning using my .50 Lyman GPR. .495" ball and 70 grains of Goex 2f. 56.5 yard shot. He moved just as the gun went off and the ball took out his spine right above the lungs.

Glad you got that all sorted out! Nothing more frustrating than a rifle that won’t shoot.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

The weird thing is that earlier today I was shooting a 1917 Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55 at 100 yards, benched, open sights and put 4 rounds into 1 1/2". My open sight shooting with the GPR at 50 yards was about 3 1/2".

Mauser iron sights are a marvel of machining excellence for their day.

 

[jimdvan]

If only my eyes could see them these days.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

If only my eyes could see them these days.

Try a peep sight.

 

[jimdvan]

I put a scope on it and that is great. Its on a mount that replaces the rear sight so there's no permanent alteration to the gun.

If I was really going to be a big-time Swede shooter I'd buy one that already has a peep sight mounted on the rear of the receiver.

 

[LANEY REECE]

GLAD all things worked out for you Bud. Good eating there.

 

[Siringo]

When I shoot off the bench I hold onto the forearm. Why? Because that’s what you do when hunting. If you don’t any micro movement of the barrel sends the shot someplace else. Remember these barrels (especially a long rifle) are twice as long as a modern barrel. The instant the hammer or cock falls the gun moves while the ball is still in the barrel. The dwell time of the ball in the barrel of a muzzleloader can we easily twice as long as a modem gun. Without hanging onto the forearm, any twisting or butt movement sends the shot someplace else.

I have two Kiblers with the swamped barrels. I also have a 40 caliber with a straight octagon. The swamped barrels on any gun will be more fussy than a straight barrel due to barrel vibrations/whip. On a swamped barrel the placement of the barrel on the bags can have a huge effect on where the shot goes. Another reason why to hang onto the forearm. My straight barrels are not so fussy and much more forgiving.

Goex and Schutzen and not interchangeable. Meaning an accurate charge of 50 grains of Goex does not mean 50 grains of Schutzen will shoot the same. Both are dirty and swabbing between shots helps accuracy a lot . I switched to Old Enysford or Swiss long ago.

 

[KDJ B10]

What's also strange is I can shoot my .40 flintlock with open sights at the same distance as the GPR and put 3 rounds into one hole.

I think the GPR is posessed.

Does the GPR still have the wide front blade sight from the factory? Might try going to a narrower silver front sight. I noticed I shoot my GPR better after replacing the rear for a fixed sight and the front with a narrower blade.

 

[Ed Pilkington]

Hi J. I missed the size ball and if sprued or smooth? Who made the balls, etc. My Kibler SMR .40 is dead on with Hornaday 395 balls surrounded by Ox-Yoke prelubed and precut patches firmly seated on 40 grains of 3f Schuetzen primed by 4F Goex in the pan. IT ALSO SHOOTS GREAT WITH HORNETS NEST OVER POWDER.

 

[flashpoint]

I feel really bad for you. Hope you find out what's doin' it. Ya know, sometimes, late at night when I am pretty much sound asleep, I hear some barely audible rustling coming from the back room where I hang my guns and gear. Then I noticed my wife was not next to me in bed. Believing she couldn't sleep, I figured she was probably in the kitchen finishing off the last of that half-filled jug of Elderberry wine from last night. Later she crept back into bed and started to saw wood real quick with kind of a smirky smile on her lips along with a few dribbles of Elderberry glistening on the tip end of the snaggle-tooth that protruded from the corner of her mouth. Still trying to see in dim light, I tried to wipe her tooth a bit with the corner of our linen cover-up that measures 0.18 thick exactly. Hmmm. I thought to myself, she didn't look too bad in the dark. She didn't always look that way until she ran her face into the tractor seat while chasein' after me when I was goin' down the road to sight in my guns the other day. Anyways, I got to wonderin' what was all that rustling noise I heard in the back room cause we ain't got no gerbil anymore since the cat ate it last Tuesday. So I pulls the light cord and everything looked pretty fine exceptin'... I noticed the stopper was hangin' off my powder horn with a few grains trailin' on the floor. What the #%!%*&@??? I thought? I couldn't imagine I would forget such an important thing. Anyway, I plugged the horn up while trying to flick-off the 2,3,and 4X grains powder that was stuck to the bottom of my foot that somehow got mixed together on the floor. Lordy, Lordy, how could such a thing happen? Anyways, there must be some kind of sneakin' skank-ugly critter that got into the house that gettin' into my stuff and all. Boys, you got to lock up your guns and gear 'cause you never know what could get into them and accidently mix up your powders and patches and such. Now that's a frightful thought. In fact, now that I'm thinkin' about it, I have a mind to set one of those trail cameras in the back room. Who knows what kind of varmint I might catch?

 

[BS]

Same quality patch material? Higher quality linen may have a higher thread count!
Balistol has changer formulas over the years!
Is your lead of the same hardness?

 

[oldwood]

.50 cal. 1 turn in 60" twist , .490 ball , compression micrometer measured patch at .012 , lube w/whatever , Package will say .015. 80 gr. FFFg black powder. If that wont shoot , you might need a mirror. LOL Take a friend w/you , let him try off the bench , w/your gun.

 

[BS]

Have we discussed "Flinching" yet?

 

[Steve Wagner]

Jim-just a few of comments. You have gotten some great advice here and I think the patch thickness issue is always worth playing with. But something I have never seen discussed here is that, in barrel making, all the tooling-drills, reamers, cutters, buttons etc- have specs. Maximum size at 1st use, to minimum spec=worn out and start new. So it depends on at what point in the life of the tooling each individual barrel comes off of the line. Nothing bad or inferior about this at all as long as things are within the allowable spec. This is probably why there is so much disagreement about what thickness of patch to use in a specific make of rifle, twist and caliber. Everybody's "same" rifle is a bit different. Same make of rifle, slightly different bore which can make a huge difference in your rifle. This pertains to charges and types of powder as well. So as some sages have noted, every rifle is a law unto itself and you have to figure them out. As mentioned, seasons, temp, humidity etc. can really mess w a load you thought was ideal so you have to go through the pain of seasonal double checks. Keep in mind as you consider these tolerances, that if the variances in ball sizes and patch thicknesses were allowed for bullets in your 6.5x55 Swede you would probably blow it up. Lots of wiggle room that has to be played with in ML. You seem to have gotten things sorted out to the good, so way to hang in there. If you weren't having trouble w 2 rifles, bc of your general knowledge and note keeping, I would have guessed broken or loose sight. 2nd guess would have been the 'flinch factor'. Don't ever get it. Be a sissy and pad up for any loads that cause pain bc once it arrives it is a b___h to get rid of. It is a reflex that no amount of macho can cure quickly. In all my shooting days it has been the 'tough' guys that get it the worst. They fill the pawn shops and consignment racks w big magnums at the end of every hunting season. SW

 

[SOLANCO]

The weird thing is that earlier today I was shooting a 1917 Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55 at 100 yards, benched, open sights and put 4 rounds into 1 1/2". My open sight shooting with the GPR at 50 yards was about 3 1/2".

LOVE the Swede.