Load workup

[elbeefalo]

So I recently finished up my new "drop in" barrel for my CVA "Hawken". Got the tenon dovetail sized and everything blue and now I'm working it in with the roughed in sights.

Started trying loads for deer season coming up. here are some of my targets. Most of my patching has been the same pillow ticking sheet. All shots at 50 yards from a bench. And yes, I already have Schoultz's packet.

85 grains with Bore Butter and muzzle cut patch. Not working, obviously.

Changed to the precut .15 ticking prelubed with melted Bore Butter. Yuck. (Ignore my wife's .22s)

Changed to Hoppe's 9 Plus and 75 grains cut at the muzzle. Much better. Not lubing the patches consistently, I guess. 4 shots.

Same load but changed my lubing method a little. Happy with it except for the flyer. 6 shots.


Save me pulling my shots on the last string, I'm getting closer. I do have a question about my patches though. Some of them were showing a tiny bit of burn through. Should I even be concerned about a little burn on the patches if it grouping in? Would it be lowering velocities enough for me to be concerned with it dropping a buck inside 100 yards?

 

[necchi]

These are normal,
Mild burning on the dark side;

 

[nchawkeye]

It's not grouping yet, so you should be concerned about patches burning through...

What powder are you using??? Real black or Pyrodex??

Also, lubes can make a huge difference, have you tried SnoSeal or Moose Snot???

Finally...cut a piece of 12-14 inches long and start a ball and push it 3-4 inches down the barrel, now use the excess ticking to pull the ball out...Do you have cuts in the ticking??? If so, polish the crown or look for burrs on the rifling...

 

[galamb]

New barrel might do a number on the patches for first hundred or so shots - a sharp edge here or there on the rifling can almost be expected, particularly with square rifling.

When sighting a new barrel, working up "the load" I don't mess with the sights much.

Yes, get the left to right centered up, and I do experiment with patch/ball combo's, but I rarely even consider piddling with the elevation until I have 100-150 shots through the bore. Most barrels have "settled down" by then.

If I couldn't get a consistent 2" group at 50 yards before the intended Bambi season, I would hang up the rifle until next year...

 

[elbeefalo]

FFg Goex.

I'm trying to get things a little bit closer together before I start changing lubes too much.


And thinking about it a tiny, It does look like it would be the rifling cutting the patches rather than burn through.

 

[necchi]

If you got Dutch's papers, then you know those lubes are too slick.

 

[azmntman]

Grouping as well as the .22....keep at it! :thumbsup:

 

[ohio ramrod]

An over powder wad should help with any patch burning. :idunno: A few hundred stokes or so with some toothpaste on a brush should clean up any sharp edges on the lands. Save the lapping compounds for salvaging rough barrels. Toothpaste for new barrels. :idunno:

 

[nchawkeye]

Changing lubes is part of working up a group....

 

[jamesthomas]

I would stay with the lube but go up to a .018 patch if you can. :2

 

[TFoley]

An over powder wad should help with any patch burning. :idunno: A few hundred stokes or so with some toothpaste on a brush should clean up any sharp edges on the lands. Save the lapping compounds for salvaging rough barrels. Toothpaste for new barrels. :idunno:

I've used 'Mothers' a couple of times with equally good results.

Once on a so-called 'shot-out' Remington Model 1858 revolver. I have to admit that I used a very slow-speed on a drill, though, and renewed the 'pad' every couple of minutes.

The second time was on a Snider that had a few rough spots that turned out to be quite a lot more and took me three evenings of work to make it 90% presentable. It seems to have worked though, and the bore came up looking beautiful, apart from a couple of patches near the muzzle where some ignorant klutz seemed to have tried to load it like a muzzle-loader and damaged it beyond redemption.

tac

 

[longcruise]

Who is the maker on the barrel you made the drop in out of?

 

[newtewsmoke]

...you didn't say how thick your muzzle cut patches were.
...as mentioned, might try a .018 patch.

 

[cynthialee]

My theory is that you are not getting a consistent hold.
How were these targets shot? Off hand, braced, on a plank, on bags or in a sled?

A tighter patch is probably in order as already mentioned. Ditch the bore butter as a patch lube and save it for a revolver. There are a number of better lube alternatives you can go with. And I see you mentioned you have Dutch's papers so you already have a good recipe for a lube.
I do use the prelubed patches myself allot but a tight patch with a better patch lube than the BB tightens up the groups.

 

[elbeefalo]

It's a Spanish CVA barrel.

The ticking is .016 after I washed it and the wife ran it through the drier. I could go back to to Michael's with the mic.

 

[longcruise]

Was it pillow ticking or some other sort of canvas or duck?

 

[Ron_T.]

I have two older .50 caliber cap-lock CVA Hawken rifles... one for target shooting (28 inch barrel, 7½ lbs.) and the other for deer hunting (24 inch barrel, 6½ lbs.).

Both rifles shoot over-lapping 3-shot bullet holes, off the bench-rest, using 47 grains of either Swiss or Goex FFFg at 25 yards if I do my job.

In addition to that powder load, I use a .490 inch Hornady swagged lead rifle ball with a .016 inch lubed (bee's wax & Crisco Oil) cotton denim patch cut at the muzzle with a thin vegetable-fiber card (aka "wad") and a #11 CCI percussion cap.

The vegetable-fiber card definitely improved accuracy once I began using it.

You might give this load a "try"... it's a good 'en. :v


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.