Help for a rookie flintlocker

[oxfordpa]

Hello everyone.
Just got my first flintlock 50 cal Pedersoli Hawken Hunter and am trying to research amap. Been to the range twice now and am having the hardest time getting the bullet down the barrel. It’s a 1/24 twist rate barrel and muzzle-loader.com tech recommended hornady Great Plains 385g (which I could not even get started) then I got the power belt lead 348g and barely got that down. Was able to shoot two of those, but only after wet/dry patching the barrel til clean. Shooting 70g 2f

I’ve had in lines for years and love the process, but I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong or if there’s a chance my barrel is more narrow than it’s supposed to be.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Thank you from 5C PA

Mike

 

[tdoyka]

i have a CVA Hawken left handed FL and while i can do 2 shots with a ,010" patch with a round ball, i have to clean the barrel when i do the next shot. when i shoot a .005" patch with a RB, it will shoot 12 times. it could go further than 12 shots, but 12 is all i did. i can't get down a .015" patch with the RB.

i have used Lyman and TC FLs with .015" all the way up to .030" patch with a RB. i did maxi balls, but i never could get a group that i was proud of. i never did sabots with a flintlock.

i would say your barrel is tight, mine is too.

 

[atvguns]

Hello everyone.
Just got my first flintlock 50 cal Pedersoli Hawken Hunter and am trying to research amap. Been to the range twice now and am having the hardest time getting the bullet down the barrel. It’s a 1/24 twist rate barrel and muzzle-loader.com tech recommended hornady Great Plains 385g (which I could not even get started) then I got the power belt lead 348g and barely got that down. Was able to shoot two of those, but only after wet/dry patching the barrel til clean. Shooting 70g 2f

I’ve had in lines for years and love the process, but I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong or if there’s a chance my barrel is more narrow than it’s supposed to be.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Thank you from 5C PA

Mike

Are you using a ball starter ? Is the barrel smooth does it grab patches when you are cleaning it?

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

I have one of those and like yours the bore is tight. Not measured it but the only thing I can reliably load in it is a LEE REAL where only the top band engages the rifling when loading and they still take a good pop to get started.
Just a word of note. The forum police will get ya for mentioning any modern stuff, even projectiles.

 

[morehops52]

With that fast twist rate you definitely want to shoot bullets not balls. You might do a search on how to slug your barrel to get the correct diameter. If you want to discuss bullets with plastic thingys you'll need to go to the Modern forum.

 

[snakebit]

May try lapping your bore with Scotch bright pads. I believe the brown ones? Don't quote me on that though. You'll need an undersized jag.

 

[olskool]

to start with I would lose the power belts and whatever they are. get you some .490 round balls and some .15 thousand patches. mix up some lube consisting of approximately 60% water and 40% dawn dish soap. soak the patches dripping wet and load. with that lube you will never ever have to "swab" between shoots. I would also use a range rod. and use a short starter, those simple things will make life so much better,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

1: what is the exact bore diameter?

and 2: what is the groove depth?

IMO, the 2 most important specs to note when selecting the type and diameter of projectile.

 

[Grenadier1758]

As @Dusty_Traveler, implies, there's no benefit to asking what bullet or patch and ball combination unless you know the land to land diameter and the groove diameter. Until you know those dimensions, any other suggestion is speculation. A digital Vernier caliper for $20 t0 $30 is money well spent and can answer some questions far faster and more accurately than any response on the Forum.

 

[BoomStick]

I tried the great plains in my TC guns and they were very difficult to load. I suspect your Pedersoli (like my TCs) has shallow grooves, something like a 0.50 across the lands with 0.005 groove depth with overall being 0.51 -so the great plains at 0.512 has to be hammered down. I don't own any in-lines, but I recall they're generally 0.502 across the lands, powerbelts and such fit more easilly and they're not as large as the hornady's.

You probably need to use a conical in that shorter barrel with faster twist. I had better success loading TC maxi-hunters. Still some effort to get started, but once into the rifling they went down ok. TC must have made millions of boxes, as I still see them for sale in many gun shops/sporting goods stores.
You could also check out no excuses bullets, they're all 0.503 in 50 cal and there's more options on weight: https://www.muzzleloading-bullets.com/