First BP at 59!

[newkid60]

I just got my first Bp.
It is a Davide Pedersoli from Italy.
Actually I bought it at Cabelas.
They call it a Blue ridge, Perdersoli calls it a Frontier model .267.

With a 39 inch barrel and 1-48 twist it is LONG!
I didn't get many instructions either from Cabelas or Pedersoli.
Ineed HELP! with these questions.

Does Prodex p come in 25 grain pellets?
Would Gotex 3F be better to use?
What about this so called Clean powder?
Should I use No. 11 caps and what kind-Remington?
And finally what about the best and easy way to clean?
I got a starter kit with a nipple wrench and pick but know nothing on how to use Them.

Please help one and all!

Thanks

"oleman 59"

 

[Rat]

I have a Brown Bess from Pedersoli and it's a very good gun.

I personally would use real black powder. The ignition temp of black is lower than the "fake" powders, and all things being equal that can mean greater relibility, or 100% reliability, period. If you can find Swiss black powder, it is almost as clean burning as the substitutes, but ignites just like real BP, because....it is!

Pellets are for Bat Guns, or modern rifles that load from the muzzle and you probably would not get good results from them. Again just use real BP, Goex is good powder.

What size caps to use depends on what size nipple you have, which is most likely a #11. All my percussion rifles use musket caps, being rifled muskets, (!!!) so I'll leave the cap discussion for more knowledgeable others. I prefer RWS caps on my revolvers...your results may vary!! I did have a #11 cap on one of my muskets for a while, and it didn't really seem to matter what kind of cap I used.

:results:

Here is how I get 100% reliability from my cap-guns. I don't clean them with water, but everyone else here does, so you will just have to make that decision according to what makes the most sense to you. My personal, gut-instinct, unfounded unscientific belief is that some rusting of the barrel will occur between the rubber-ducky wash and getting oil on the bore, and that some amount of water will seep into the breechplug threads, and either eventually rot the theads, or seep back out and contaminate the main charge...making people think that the main charge has somehow abosorbed moisture from the air... NO OFFENSE anyone, just my personal crazy thoughts!

:youcrazy:

Before I load a rifle for hunting, I run dry patches down the barrel and into the breech, and try to get/dry every spec of oil out. I remove the nipple, make sure it is dry, poke the pick through it, and a pipe-cleaner into the larger nipple-part. I get into the flash channel with either pipe cleaners, or a tiny screw driver covered with a patch. Make sure everything is dry dry dry and no longer oily.

:nono:

I DO NOT snap a cap before loading for a hunt, although everyone else will tell you to do so. Again, you decide, or at least experiment. I personally believe, and could be wrong, that the fouling and crud from the cap will cause more miss-fires than any remaining film or trace of oil will, if you have done a good job hand-drying the nipple, flash channel and breech. In fact I don't think a trace of oil will effect ignition, as long as it does not migrate up and into the cap...which a trace amount will not do.

At the shooting range, go ahead and snap a cap and skip the hand-drying process.

Again I have a Pedersoli, (but it's a flinter) and am 100% satisfied with it. Again-again, I think you will get better results with real black powder. At least learn/start with it, get 100% reliability, and THEN you can experiment with the BP substitutes. But don't start out with them, as then if you do get miss-fires, you won't be sure if it's the powder, or your cleaning and loading techniques. In other words take that variable out of the equasion right off the bat.

Good luck and have fun. What caliber is this smoke-belcher?

Rat

 

first let me say welcome to BP and our forum , you will love it both .
I would also say start saving your money now becouse shortly you will find another rifle , then another and another , its an sickness :shocking::cry:


well i wouldnt use pellets in there, something about using them just dosnt seem right even if you could

3F would be best i think depending on the load , hold on a bit and i am sure some one will post a link for you that will give you a loading book in PDF

IC no diffrence in the clean powder and Pyrodex ,,, i like the smoke and i dont find cleaning to be un enjoyable in itself

#11 caps should be the correct ones, as to the brand thats kinda up to you . I have found that many times the Remington
do not fraw moister as bad as the CCI however i have found the CCI many times have fewer duds ??? so

the nipple wrench removes the nipple ,, be carfule puting it back in and make sure you have it strait or you will cross thread it " cross threading the nipple can be easy to do "

the pick is for cleaning out the nipple if younotice that its plugged and the gun will not fire . you will see on the top of the nipple where the cap sets ,,,.

you should also have a cleaning jag this screws on the end of your ramrod so you can run cleaning patches with a salution down the barrel.

that a quick over view ,,, stay toned there ill we folk adding here shortly to that info that type and spell much better then I.

 

[newkid60]

The cal. is 32 and it's already on the wall as we speak!
Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and just stair at it and wonder why I waited so long to buy it.

oleman59

 

[Rebel]

Ok, being as how it is a caplock and a .32 cal. i am going to say to use Pyrodex P in it. I have had very good luck using it in smaller calibers, actually up to .54 cal in caplock. It doesn't foul the barrel like real bp, which can be a problem with the small .32 cal. bore. Try 25-35 grs of it, a .310 rd ball, and Wal-Mart blue striped pillow ticking lubed with anything from Crisco to one of the lubes concocted by the members here. I always used CCI # 11 caps. It should shoot low at first, this is normal as the factory leaves the front sight high so you can file it down after you get a load developed. Don't start filing on it until after you have fired about 100 rds through it and have found the patch, ball, powder, lube combo that gives you the best accuracy. Then file it just a little at a time until you get it to hit point of aim at the distance you intend to do most of your shooting. I ordered a solid brass ramrod from RMC Sports to use with mine, since the factory ramrod wasn't all that great. You don't have to worry about breaking the brass one, and it can be used for cleaning afterwards too. You should also get a taperd muzzle protector. It can be brass or nylon. It slips over the ramrod and goes into the end of the muzzle to protect it from the rod while cleaning. Before shooting i use a patch with rubbing alcohol to remove any oil from the barrel, then fire a cap to remove any remaining alcohol from the nipple area. Hope this helps. Have fun and enjoy. BP guns are a real Blast. ::

 

[newkid60]

Thanks Rebel,it seems like you know a lot about it.
My .32 comes with what look like Horns for a back sight, any suggestions on how to use them?

oleman59

 

[Rebel]

Well, some people like the buckhorh rear sighs, but i never did care for them. I filed mine down until it was flat on top. For me at least, i could get a better sight picture that way. Others will have good luck with them the way they are.

 

[Zonie]

Thanks Rebel,it seems like you know a lot about it.
My .32 comes with what look like Horns for a back sight, any suggestions on how to use them?

oleman59

Forgive me if you already know the answer I'm about to give, but down between the "horns" you should see a level area with a small notch in the middle of it.
That is the actual sight you align the front sight with. The horns I believe were originally designed as a reference for long range shooting.
With your .32, you don't need them. If you like them (some people do) then be happy. If you want to do as Rebel suggested and file them off, you can do that too.

 

[Rat]

I dig the "horns", but some find them distracting, or don't like them because the cover up some of the game you are shooting[url] at...again[/url] which can be distracting to some.

I really like them on my smooth-bore, because when shooting shot loads at moving small game I don't have to precisely align the sights, just frame the game in the horns, and get my front sight somewhere in there. For Turk I will precisely line up the sights...but all that is a whole other story.

Well young man, if the Rebel is getting good results in a .32 with Pyrodex P, then that's good advice. I was speaking in more general terms, and I'm not experienced with the small bores. My long guns are .58", .62", and .75"!!!

.32"........SWEEEET! Someday I'm gonna have a .38".

Rat

 

[pepperbelly]

I don't feel so bad now for waiting until I was 46 to get my first muzzleloader.
Hope we both have fun.
Jim

 

[musketman]

First BP at 59!

Better late than never...

I once had a .32 caliber and I loved it, they are fun to shoot and easy on the wallet...

I used GOEX FFFg in mine with great results...

I used CCI #11 caps, but any standard #11 cap will work, some are hotter than others...

I got a starter kit with a nipple wrench and pick but know nothing on how to use Them.

The nipple wrench is just that, a wrench to remove the nipple from the breach plug, the wrench fits down on top of the nipple and then you remove it like any standard bolt...
(if you can use a lug wrench for a car tire, then you know how to use the nipple wrench, same principle applies)

The pick is used to clean the nipple while it is in or out of the rifle, sometimes bits of percussion caps will get stuck down inside the tune of the nipple, use the pick to remove the blocking particle so you have a clear path for the percussion cap's flame to reach the powder...

 

[ryoung14]

I'll second what the Rebel says, Oleman. Pyrodex P does the job in my 32 cal System 1 inline and I couldn't ask anything more from it. I try to duplicate .22 rimfire ballistics at squirrel hunting ranges (25 yd.) and have settled on 10 to 15 gr. loads behind an Ox-Yoke prelubed .010 patch and Hornady .310 roundball. With this load fouling is just not an issue. I can shoot all afternoon at the range without swabbing. Loading is so easy that I use a 5/16" wooden dowel from the HW store as a range rod. Most of the time the patches look almost good enough to be re-used.

Accuracy is up to .22 rimfire standards. With 700 loads per pound of powder, you won't find a cheaper BP practice load. It'll kill Mr. Squirrel as dead as any .22 with minimum meat damage.

After starting with Rebel's loads, you might want to work DOWN a few grains at a time and see how it performs. Sam Fadala's "Black Powder Loading Manual" recommends 10gr. FFFG loads for .32 and gives muzzle velocities for a 41" barrel that duplicate the .22rf.

The .32 with 10gr. load and PRB is so reliably accurate for me that it's my favorite BP shooter. All the fun with no frustration. :imo:
Bob (BTW I'm 59 too. 401k kicks in next month... :