First Smoothbore

[Kentuckywindage]

What the heck is it? Its a .54cal, Made in Belgium, 51" long barrel,Two piece lock, Rear part of the lock also has what looks to be either an eagle or hawk.
I got it yesterday evening and took the lock down, cleaned it, got the frizzen sparking and today i went and cleaned the bore and loaded it up with 50 grains fffg. Excellent shooting rifle!

Any clue to what it is?

 

[fluggies4]

Looks like the one discussed in this thread.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/216244/post/514710/#514710

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Yep thanks for the link, its the same gun. We did a trade.
I got the rifle working again and cleaned up.

Any clue what kind of load it maxes out at? I would think 70 grains FFg goex would be ok, dont you?

Hope to shoot some Shot out of it for Spring turkey but do not know if i will have the rifle ready by then.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Just be careful. Quality control wasn't a concern with these guns and if the barrel fails it is your body that suffers. And these things have been known to fail.

 

[tg]

"Excellent shooting rifle!"

What might be the twist rate in that rifle?

 

[Kentuckywindage]

:haha: no twist. I fired 5 shots total until i ran out of .54 balls. After figuring out how to aim with the bead sight, the next 3 shots hit very close to what i was aiming at. I'd hate to go hunting with it due to the barrel length, but i sure am considering it. It will have to group well out to at least 50 yards.

 

[rabjr]

no twist

Then it ain't a rifle! :haha:

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Oh hah ha, real funny. If its long and shoots, i always call'em a rifle. :blah:

 

[rabjr]

:haha:

 

[hawk]

KW
you may be suprised at how well that long barrel handles in the turkey,deer woods I know I was.

 

[Golfswithwolves]

I find that gun in my 1976 Lyman Muzzleloading manual. The picture in the catalog section looks the same. It is listed as the "Long Tom Flintlock Musket" from an outfit called Century Arms. Few details other than that one said .56 cal. and sold for about 95 bucks. I hope this helps.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Don't worry about that long barrel. I have a fowler coming soon that I ordered with a 48" barrel, and I intend to use it in fairly thick wooded areas. The myth of the long barrel being a problem in thick cover is just that: a myth. If you are moving fast enough to catch the barrel on branches and such you are moving too fast. Most likely you wouldn't be hunting in really thick stuff anyway.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

true, Mostly Aspen groves.

I'll have to measure the bore and make sure it is a .54cal

I used a .530 roundball with a .015 patch and it seemed loose. Ive never had a smoothbore so i wasnt sure if that was just its nature.

 

[Many Klatch]

A roundball in a smoothbore should be tight enough that it won't fall down the barrel with a patch, but loose enough that you can use your fingers to short start it. You should be able to send the ball home with a single firm push with the ramrod. The idea is that you don't want the ball rattling in the barrel when you shoot, that affects the accuracy, but you do want it tight enough that the patching acts as a gas check.

Many Klatch

 

[paulvallandigham]

You will get more consistence velocities, and therefore have a better chance at having better accuracy with a RB in a smoothbore if you use an OP Wad( hard cardboard- see Track of the Wolf, or Walter's Fiber Wads) to seal the powder gases. That allows your patch to simple grab the ball, and help center it in the barrel, rather than also try to seal gases. On large bore guns, using pure lead balls, the ball will upset enough when the gun fires to push the patch hard against the wall of the bore, helping it seal gases behind it. In the small bores, like your gun, the expansion does occur, but seems less successful in acting as a gas seal. If you want to lube the bore, use a wool soft wad with lube in it between the OP WAD and your PRB. Or, you can run a lubed cleaning patch down the barrel after seating the ball. That protects the bore from rusting during a hunt, while adding grease to the patch as the ball and patch are exiting the barrel. Both techniques will soften powder residue that follows behind the PRB and wads.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Thanks for all the helpful info guys. The ball rams home smoothly, even after 5 shots it went down nice. I'll order some of those OP cards sometime and give those a try.

What load do you think would work good for turkey out to maybe 25-30 yards?

 

[Rebel]

Can you legally use a .28 ga for turkey in Col.? We have to use at least a .20 ga here.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Read Bob Spenser's website, Black Powder Notebook, for information about loads. There is his article , and a second article by V.M. Starr on his index to articles. Both give good information to use in beginning to work up a load.
http://members.aye.net/~bspen/index.html

At 25 yards, you can probably use #6 shot, but if you want to shoot out to 30 yards or a bit further, I would advise using #5 shot. The larger pellets carry more energy to the target as the range gets longer. Buy a Lyman Shotshell Reloading manual and check the tables there on MV. and down range velocities. The tables also list pellet energy at the muzzle, 20, 40,& 60 yards, flight time, and drop of shot over that yardage( trajectory). The material is written for modern cartridges using smokeless powder, but the ballistics information is good whether you use smokeless or black powder. The OP WADS you want to buy are 1/8( .125")" thick. The OS cards are only about .010" thick, if that. The OS cards are made out of the same cardboard that Shirtbacks come from, those slick, thin, cardboards that are used to form a new shirt when you buy it in a store.

 

[Parzifal]

Well Ill be damned you got the old horse firing!!

Shure cleaned up good!

AWESOME!

Rob

 

[jerem0621]

Congrats man I'm tickled to death that you got the old gal working well. I looks really good after your clean up.

Jerem0621