My rifled muskets.

[Austrian]

Here are my rifled muskets, a Chiappa .58 Enfield and a rifled .69 1842 Springfield. (Shoots 720 grain miniès) :grin:

A .695 next to a .308 168 BTHP.

 

[Cowboy]

Those are some nice looking muzzleloaders! They look very clean and well taken care of. They sure can produce a pretty big wallop! Respectfully, cowboys1062 :thumbsup:

 

[tenngun]

Fine guns :thumbsup: when I read about that 720 Minnie I was put in mind of the story by pat mc manis of shooting a borrowed .45-70, shooting it off each shoulder so it wouldn't hurt to much, and soon finding he could clap his shoulders behind his back. When he returned the gun to its owner the owner offered to show pat how he could clap his shoulders behind his back

 

[Austrian]

Thank you!

I can totally relate to that shooter, shot from the bench the 720 grain miniè powered by 70 grains of 3FG beats target and shoulder alike.

Fortunately I'm a powerlifter, the extra mass on my shoulders does a great job to absorb some of the recoil. Catching a 285lbs barbell after a standing shoulder press kicks even more. :grin:

I can wholeheartedly recommend weight lifting to combat recoil fatigue. :wink:

 

[tenngun]

I ll bet :hatsoff:

 

[BillinOregon]

Your rifled 42 is a beast indeed. It would be a great choice for hunting moose here in North America.

 

[steve free]

Very nice!

 

[Austrian]

Your rifled 42 is a beast indeed. It would be a great choice for hunting moose here in North America.

Thanks! The only problem with this gun is it eats front barrel band springs for breakfast, I've had to replace the front barrel band spring three times already and the gun is now sitting in my closet with another broken band spring.

I think the recoil is so hard the springs break.

 

[tenngun]

Was not the size of the gun and the bone shaking the reason it was decreased to .58? Hunting? It would be a bull dropper, four times a min. on line umph. I recall a 19 th century elephant hunter who said his four gage gave him a race to see who got up first after the first shot, him or the elephant, I spect a soldier on line would feel the same.

 

[Austrian]

Thats what I heard too, also the weight and size of the ammunition was a problem too, you simply could carry more .58 than .69 bullets.

However, with the service load (720 grain miniè with 68 grains of swiss 3FG) I can do 50 shots from the bench with no problem, and shooting it standing is no problem whatsoever.
The recoil feels similar to that of a 12 gauge slug shot from a light single shot shotgun.

You just have to make sure the straight metal butt plate never touches your collar bone. Once I shot this beast from prone and made the mistake of leaving some space between the stock and my shoulder. I shot it and it slammed onto my collar bone - I thought it broke and nearly dropped the gun on the floor. The bruise was the size of a palm. :redface: :shocked2:

 

[FiremanBrad]

I love a good 3 Bander!!!