Mortimer purchased; Piggybank deceased...

[Blivetmaker]

I went an' dunnit. Plunked down the change and brought home
a new Pedersoli Mortimer flinter cal.54 . I owe a debt of gratitude to the folks here who repeatedly cautioned against the purchase of Pedesoli "sight unseen". After seeing three no-goes due to bad fitting, bent!!! furniture,
and just plain don't-give-a-shinola workmanship. I almost gave up.
Number four in my case was a charm. Got it at Frankonia Jagdt in Darmstadt. List price was Euro 925,- Paid 828,-.
Barrel is smooth and even inside with the vent centered and
up near the top of the pan. Trigger is crisp but a tad heavy compared to the set-triggers on my other target guns.
The lock surprised me the first time I drew the cock back.
The other examples had a grainy coarse feel to them. Mine
is smooth as glass. A fresh Fuller flint sends sparks to the floor. Fit and finish are good but I could kick the guy at Pedersoli for giving the Mortimer stocks a lack finish instead of oil. The wood isn't anyone's idea of fancy but of good quality. Barrel fitting is tight and the overall
feel of the piece is absolutely solid. Forend balance is exactly where the checkering is placed.
So how's it shoot? Well I'm thinking of just hanging it
on the wall and sort of just admir... Yeah right!
I took it out to the range yesterday at 50m. I used 60gr.
WasagPP(FFG)BP, a dry overpowder felt wad 15mm/3mm a well lubed ,31/,32mm patch ad a .535RB. Nice tight fit and consistant all the way down; no loose spots in the barrel.
Primed up with 3/4 pan FFFFG Swiss, vent exposed.
Not a lot of time yesterday so I only got a 10 shot group
downrange. Max spread was 14,5cm offhand. Impact was at seven o'clock centered in the 3 ring. Some sight frinkeling is on the to-do list. Ignition was as close to instantaneous as I've ever experienced. I have a toothbrush to clean flint and pan between shots and I pick the vent before reloading. No misfires. Ignition remained consistently good for the 10 shots I fired. Humidity was about 70% and it was a hot 32

 

[rayb]

"Frankonia Jagdt in Darmstadt"

that was great place to visit in the late 1970's

hope it still is. Used to go there and the Rod & Gun club in Darmstadt also. Lots of good fun. Used to shoot at a military range NE of Darmstadt on weekends also. Don't remembe the name right now. Have to go look in the old map collection & see if it's on something.

enjoy your new friend

before anybody else comments on the "hot 32", that probably not Farenheit degrees this time of year.

rayb

 

[Blivetmaker]

I've seen signs for the U.S. Rifle range. Is it a formal gun club or only for military personnel on duty? I belong to PSG Darmstadt, a german club which has 100m ranges. Military clubs generally have longer ranges than civilian ones.

 

[rayb]

When i was there (1978-1981) it was used for military training weekdays, and was available on weekends for private use, i think through the Rod & Gun club system. No idea what the status is now or who controls it. I think it had 100, 200 & 300 yard firing points, but it has been a long time and memory may be faulty.

Also used to shoot pistols at a civilian range NE of Frankfurt. The gentlemen there were just that, gentlemen. They made me feel welcome and put up with my strange american GI ways. Good people, and all were far better shooters than i.

rayb

 

[oldarmy]

my family and I lived there from 70 to 72. I loved the place and spend many a day at the rod and gun club. My dad was a big hunter and wanted to hunt in germany.
it was a little too pricy even back then.
i am glad you still have the rights to shoot B/P. Is is hard to be a gun owner in Germany now?
My son is stationed in the south and he tells me it's almost imposemble for him to shot a POFA. privatly owned firearm
black or centerfire

 

[Blivetmaker]

Gun ownership in general and BP in particular are stingently
controlled here. There is no personal right to keep and bear arms under german law but the law recognizes circumstances where permits can be issued.
As a sport shooter you can apply for one of two types of weapon permit. The "yellow card" is issued to an applicant with one year or more active membership in an accredited
gun club. The directing board of the clup issues a letter of recommendation. The applicant undergoes a thorough background check and if OK may purchase .22 target rifles,
single shot or welded repeating rifles provided the weapons
meet the standards of organized sport.
The "green card" is harder to get and is necessary if you want to shoot repeaters or automatic pistols. Each weapon is registered and applied for individually and the number of green weapons allowed is tightly controlled. Not many gun collectors here.
Muzzle loaders aren't controlled except for an 18+ buyer restriction.
Black powder is considered an explosive. The permit to use,
store, transport, and handle is similar to the weapon ownership cards but the applicant must take an accredited
course of not less than 8 hours to acquire safety skills.
Any bad behavior, drunkenness, tax evasion, results in
the shooter being classified unreliable and all permits are repealed.
If you want to shoot here, it's very do-able. Getting permission requires patience.

Back on topic!!!!
I'm going out to the range with Mort this afternoon
Wish me luck.

 

[Bob J]

I'm going out to the range with Mort this afternoon
Wish me luck.

Good luck with the Mortimer :thumbsup: and be sure to update us with a range report :front:

 

[Blivetmaker]

It was a hot day at the range this afternoon. Fired ten shots with 60gr., five with 65, and another five with 70.
The heavier charges made less elevation difference than I expected but recoil, while not uncomfortable, increased. My group sizes were smaller than the first time out (getting used to the trigger I guess) and have moved closer to center-target. I drifted the rear sight but
it needs a few more "love-taps" to get center. The front blade will need filing to raise elevation but until I've settled on a stable load it'd be best not to get hasty with that.
I'll be glad when I've finally used up this Wasag powder.
German law limits you to max. 2 pounds of powder and I've still got a pound of this stuff left. High humidity + Wasag + Flinter = pudding. :boohoo:
The 100m range is closed for the next couple of weeks for
general maintenance so it'll be a while to see how that goes.
I clean the barrel separately from the stock in a bucket of very hot water with dish soap, using a cleaning jag to pump water up and down. The barrel ends up hot and the water
soon comes out clear. I immediately start swabbing with dry patches to get the bore dried as quickly as possible but the patches have red/brown rust stains on them.
Is this normal? If not any tips how to prevent it? My t/c renegade doesn't stain the patches to this extent.
When dried I swab with oil and the patches soon come out relatively clean.
Any advice out there?

 

[Bob J]

Sounds like you're doing it right, taking your time and gradually adjusting the sights as it settles in. Be sure to get the bore completely dry (might use blow dryer or isopropyl alcohol) before oiling. And its a good idea to re-swab an oiled patch down the bore in a few days to check for "after-rust".

 

[The Baron]

I just did a short road trip for business and had time to look at a Pedersoli Mortimer .54 flintlock at a gunshop on the way. That is a very nice looking weapon. Congratulations on a nice purchase. :thumbsup:

 

[oldarmy]

Thanks for the info.
Thank Goodness for our the 2nd admendment.
I made up a batch of moosesnot and after cleaning with hot soapy water.
I put some of that on the bore. The barrel is still hot and it coats very well.

 

[ffffg]

to stop rust on patch after hot water cleaning, use cold water.. it works just as good, and youl not rust the bore.. you should be cleaning the bore at the range in that humidity.. use cold soapy watter and clean gun right after you stop shooting, then dry and oil .. then dry patch and oil when you get home. i run a lightly oiled patch again the next morning before work.. when you get a good shooter you have to take care of it.. one forgetfull, evening and good by good groups.. for first shot hunting accuracy dry bore before the hunt with patch,,, grease bore not heaveily with lube your going to hunt with,, then dry with one patch. . try it may or may not work for you.. balistol also works wonders .. 1/6 water for cleaning and then oil bore with 100 percent balistol.. works beautiful and great for non corrosive cleanup at the range.. balistol is water soluble oil (i belive) and when the balistol is in water in suffiecent quantity it wont rust metal.. .. dave..

 

[Blivetmaker]

Thanks for the tips. I have vacation at the moment (Germany allows for 6 weeks paid vacation for most people) and went out to the range yesterday. A five shot group offhand will now fit nicely on a cigarette pack at 50m, although I had two really ugly flinched-flyers. Fuller flint needed a change-out after nearly 50 shots total. Gotta see if I can't
re-edge it or knapp it down for use in a pistol.

Before I left the range I gave the bore a good wet wipe, dry wipe, blast with WD-40 combo. I hot water cleaned immediately after arriving home and dried the bore until the patch felt like it was getting stuck. I sprayed WD-40 down and worked about 4 patches through to get the last traces of gray staining out and then used a gun-oil patch to finish. Almost no brown except for the first dry patch.

Next time I'll try ballistol in the water. People swear by the stuff over here but I've read that it can fade case-hardening so havent used it until now. Is this a myth? Since
I'm only using it for the barrel it shouldn't make any difference.

By the by: Flintlocks (actually, muzzleloaders of any sort) are not permitted for hunting here under any circumstances. According to German regs non-modern weapons aren't humane.

 

[Gary]

I'm joining you in the broke club. I just sent away for a used GPR from a feller in Jaw-ja. I'll probably mount the brass scope that has been sitting in my closet for a few years on it. Also bought a patch-box at the Oregon Gun Makers' Fair that I'll install on it. Instant Sybil-Wa-oh light sharpshooter rifle.

Enjoy your gun. Make the most of it. :hatsoff: