I acquired this pistol about 2 weeks ago from TOW. It is a .60 smoothbore marked M.A. Taylor, Sheffield on the top of the barrel. This is my first muzzle loading handgun and my first smoothbore.
I had a Lee .60 ball mold so I cast a bunch in anticipation, but they were too big. I bought a bag of .595 balls to see how they would fit and they are just right with a .010 patch. It was finally nice enough and I had some time to get to the range the other day. I loaded it up with 50 grains of Goex 2F. I had no idea what to expect. A smoothbore with no rear sight was just totally new to me. I wanted to try it out at 20 feet or so, but some recent rains followed by freezing temps had frozen the target stand to the ground at 50 feet. So I put up a 8" Shoot N C and gave it a whirl. I fired a couple of shots just to get the feel then swabbed out the bore and shot the 5 shot group below. I don't know if this is good or not, but I think with a little work it can get a lot better. Man, what a hoot!!
I had a Lee .60 ball mold so I cast a bunch in anticipation, but they were too big. I bought a bag of .595 balls to see how they would fit and they are just right with a .010 patch. It was finally nice enough and I had some time to get to the range the other day. I loaded it up with 50 grains of Goex 2F. I had no idea what to expect. A smoothbore with no rear sight was just totally new to me. I wanted to try it out at 20 feet or so, but some recent rains followed by freezing temps had frozen the target stand to the ground at 50 feet. So I put up a 8" Shoot N C and gave it a whirl. I fired a couple of shots just to get the feel then swabbed out the bore and shot the 5 shot group below. I don't know if this is good or not, but I think with a little work it can get a lot better. Man, what a hoot!!