Valley Forge
36 Cal.
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2011
- Messages
- 50
- Reaction score
- 0
Success !!! Success !!! Success !!!
9 out of ten shots fired on their first try. The 8th shot of the 10 did not fire on it's first try but fired on the second try after re-priming the pan and tilting a little powder into the touch hole outer cone.
OK, I got a little time away from work this afternoon and I went to the local real hardware store and got a nut to match the threads on the touch hole liner, and I got a #50 drill bit and a 5/64 drill bit. A friend of mine took over and clamped the touch hole liner in a vise after inserting the liner into the nut. Then, he drilled the liner with the #50 drill bit. We decided to go ahead and drill the RMC liner since we were going to have limited range time before it got dark and I don't know if I'll get time tomorrow after work to do any more with this. We put the RMC liner, drilled with a #50 bit, back into the barrel and off to the range I went. I have a little push-button tip pan primer that supposedly dumps about 3 grains per push. I cleaned, loaded with 55 grains of 2Fg and PRB, and then primed with 3 pushes of the pan primer (about 9 grains of 4Fg). I slightly tilted the primed rifle so that the touch hole dipped and some prime powder entered the area around the outer cone of the liner. Rifle fired successfully for the first 7 shots, then I had one mis-fire, then the next shots all fired. After the 10th shot, I gave up and went home because my feet were freezing and my fingers were starting to go numb in the mild temps (upper 30's) but gusting winds. I did clean between shots, but I picked the touch hole before and again after cleaning the barrel, but not after loading the main charge. I used a barely damp patch, slowly lowered into the bore, and held at the breach face for a count to five, then brought out of the rifle, followed by 2 dry patches. I had thick dark green smudge on my patches, mostly after the slightly damp one, but to a lesser extent on the dry patches as well. I did not try alcohol for dampening the cleaning patch.
Overall, I am excited that the rifle fires on nearly every shot. Had it not done so, I'd drill the liner out to 5/64. I suspect that the wider touch hole liner and my generous pan priming is just compensating for something I am doing wrong with the process of cleaning between shots. I don't know what it is. Maybe I am not cleaning enough and should run 2 or 3 barely damp patches and then keep going with the dry ones until they come back out totally clean ??? I know some will say the problem is cleaning too much. I'll leave the clean vs. don't clean debate to others.
I do think that somehow I am leaving that barrel a bit too wet, and the breach channel is probably getting too much gunk inbetween shots. Anyway, the wider touch hole does seem to compensate and accuracy and range are apparently not lost.
9 out of ten shots fired on their first try. The 8th shot of the 10 did not fire on it's first try but fired on the second try after re-priming the pan and tilting a little powder into the touch hole outer cone.
OK, I got a little time away from work this afternoon and I went to the local real hardware store and got a nut to match the threads on the touch hole liner, and I got a #50 drill bit and a 5/64 drill bit. A friend of mine took over and clamped the touch hole liner in a vise after inserting the liner into the nut. Then, he drilled the liner with the #50 drill bit. We decided to go ahead and drill the RMC liner since we were going to have limited range time before it got dark and I don't know if I'll get time tomorrow after work to do any more with this. We put the RMC liner, drilled with a #50 bit, back into the barrel and off to the range I went. I have a little push-button tip pan primer that supposedly dumps about 3 grains per push. I cleaned, loaded with 55 grains of 2Fg and PRB, and then primed with 3 pushes of the pan primer (about 9 grains of 4Fg). I slightly tilted the primed rifle so that the touch hole dipped and some prime powder entered the area around the outer cone of the liner. Rifle fired successfully for the first 7 shots, then I had one mis-fire, then the next shots all fired. After the 10th shot, I gave up and went home because my feet were freezing and my fingers were starting to go numb in the mild temps (upper 30's) but gusting winds. I did clean between shots, but I picked the touch hole before and again after cleaning the barrel, but not after loading the main charge. I used a barely damp patch, slowly lowered into the bore, and held at the breach face for a count to five, then brought out of the rifle, followed by 2 dry patches. I had thick dark green smudge on my patches, mostly after the slightly damp one, but to a lesser extent on the dry patches as well. I did not try alcohol for dampening the cleaning patch.
Overall, I am excited that the rifle fires on nearly every shot. Had it not done so, I'd drill the liner out to 5/64. I suspect that the wider touch hole liner and my generous pan priming is just compensating for something I am doing wrong with the process of cleaning between shots. I don't know what it is. Maybe I am not cleaning enough and should run 2 or 3 barely damp patches and then keep going with the dry ones until they come back out totally clean ??? I know some will say the problem is cleaning too much. I'll leave the clean vs. don't clean debate to others.
I do think that somehow I am leaving that barrel a bit too wet, and the breach channel is probably getting too much gunk inbetween shots. Anyway, the wider touch hole does seem to compensate and accuracy and range are apparently not lost.
Once you get to know the rifle and it is preforming the way you expect. You can start doing all the things you think or others think will make it “better”. :wink:
