Mayday-Mayday.I'm In Trouble

[Wehrmacht]

Please tell me what you do!
Tri-focals and now upcoming catarac surgery is making me more dependent on my smoothbores,but I'm a rifleman and not a smoothie shooter :cursing:.

I'm shooting a 16ga cyl bore Getz barrel trying to load round balls.My mould is a .6508cal from Rapine.Called them,told what I was doing,and this is the mould they sent.(Like Rapine...have 5 others,all round ball rifle moulds). This ball is so tight that it is difficult-very difficult- to load even with a .011 patch lubed with 25%beeswax/75%bear oil. I don't know since I have no experience,but it seems to me that the best accuracy,speed in loading,etc would be with a ball easily pushed down with a lubed .020-.022 patch. Do I need a smaller mould? Give me your opinions,please!

 

[RJR]

Don't know about the mould, but from talking with some of the guys in my club that have had catarac surgery, you will be back shooting thise rifles soon. Couple of the guys said they've never been so accurate, sights clear as a bell.

Rick

 

[LRB]

Mike your bore, then call Getz, tell them what you have, and get their recommendation. Then hold off buying a mold until you get more input from others on this board. You might get a direct answer from Don Getz on the long rifles board.

 

[gerryherd]

I agree with DeadDawg that cataract surgery is apt to help. As to glasses, options may be a progressive lens to eliminate the trifocal lines and whereby you might render sharp sights or target by adjusting the tilt of your head to look through the appropriate portion of the lens, or a special pair of shooting glasses tailored to put the front sight in focus, or one of the Merit discs, or a pair of clip on corrective lenses just for shooting. If you want to keep shooting rifles, have a good heart-to-hearth with your opthamologist to acquaint him with physical parameters of shooting open iron sights, and see what he can come up with. There's nothing says you have to shoot with the same eyeglasses you wear for everyday use. Good luck.

 

[Mike Brooks]

The guys I build 16's for are shooting a .648 ball.

 

[Leonredbeard]

der forster,
I have friends who have stopped wearing glasses at all after catarac surgery. After a few years they had to have mild prescriptions. I hope it works out that way for you. :grin:
YAHWEH bless.
volatpluvia

 

[ffffg]

i use a .645 ball mould from dixie for my 16 gauge getz that is about .665.. .. it fits fine with .015 and .017 patches . getz recomends .648 balls .. im suspecting the rapine is over size or you shouldnt be haveing that much trouble.. or your casting with too hard lead.. order some .648 balls and 16 guage fiber wads from track of the wolf and try them, and see if its you, the balls you are casting, under sized bore or what.. you can slug the bore, and measure the balls your shooting and .020 should be about right with fiberwad under ball.. if lead is hot it will make the mould hot then balls will be bigger, and probably a smoother surface with pure lead.. ive had trouble casting balls with cold mould but you could try some to see if they load easier. slow down, dont panic, have fun, it will all work itself out, and it will just take some time figgureing it all out.. its like driveing a stick shift the first time,, it seems like hell, but in a month youl be driving all over town.. if your having trouble reloading in cold weather with hard fouling, that is a different story.. dave.

 

[musketman]

Another option is to loose the patch and go with wads...

Powder Charge
1 Over-Powder Card
1/2 Inch Fiber Wad (lubed)
.650 Round Ball
Over-Shot Card

-or-

Powder Charge
2 Over-Powder Cards
.650 Round Ball (pre-dipped in wax)
Over-Shot Card

 

[pharmvet]

Der forster, I have been wanting to purchase a Rapine mold for .650 caliber. If you would be interested in selling yours please let me know. thanks

 

[pharmvet]

Der forster, not sure where my brain was when I posted, I need .595 for my 20 ga. sorry

 

[bpollock_sr]

I shoot a 16ga built by N. Star West. The mold that they sent with the gun was .650,and they recomended using a .005 patch. This combination works very well in my gun.I have also use a bare ball with an over powder wad and an over shot card on top. my most accurate load to date is 100 grns 2f ,over powder wad, 650 ball with a greased .005 patch cut at the muzzle, then an overshot card.

 

[hawk]

Flnt4evr
What material do you use for your patches?

 

[bpollock_sr]

I buy the bulk patching material made by Ox Yoke from track of the[url] wolf.In[/url] my catalog it lists at $4.95 per package .

 

[Wehrmacht]

Thanks to all who responded!

I'll take my micrometer in hand and go to JoAnn's tomorrow,and will also play around with an over shot card.

And thanks for the encouraging words about my catarac problem,too. Way back when I was a young sailor-back in the 50's-I had 20/10 vision and could probably have made the Navy's Rifle Team had I applied myself,but I didn't :cursing:.I'm sure the operation will put me back in the chunkgun circut! Getting old sure isn't for sissies :haha:.

 

[squirejohn]

der Forster
If it's not too late you may want to check out[url] www.crystalens.com[/url] before you schedule eye surgery. This procedure is more advanced than the standard cataract operation

 

[walruskid1]

Getting old sure isn't for sissies .

if we knew we were going to live this long, we would have taken better care of ourselves. :rotf:

 

[Stumpkiller]

The guys I build 16's for are shooting a .648 ball.

That's what I used in my 16 bore Bess.

You might check out making paper cartridges.

 

[Wehrmacht]

squirejohn,

You are due a standing ovation for posting this :bow: :bow:.

After pulling up the website and reading about this breakthrough,I called my friend who puts glassess on me to see what he thought about the proceedure.What he said totally blew my mind!

According to him the proceedure was developed in Europe and is very new here in the States.He encourages me to go with it at all costs! He thinks I'll be totally glassess free and will regain the keen eyesight that I had as a young man!!

He did say that the only candidates acceptable for the proceedure are people with new cataracts and otherwise in perfect health.THAT'S ME :thumbsup:. He said that between Medicare and my retired military coverage,TriCare For Life,the total tab should be picked up!!!

Thank You for posting this information :applause:

 

[squirejohn]

I was going to send you a PM but didn't see how to do it with the new Forum format.

I had the "Crystalens" implant a couple of years ago and my advise is that there are several important questions you should ask your surgeon prior to the lens implant.

If you wish you may contact me at [email protected] Your eyes are just too important not to be aware of several important potential drawbacks to this procedure

 

[Wehrmacht]

Thank you,squirejohn!

I have emailed you.