Here's a couple tricks. When shooting a m/l rifle , rest the barrel on a solid gun rest device between end r/r pipe and the lower entry pipe. Hold the forearm with the right hand as if shooting offhand. Hold the gun firmly against your shoulder , and don't crain your neck forward to see the sights , military style. That prevents having the front comb of the stock from injuring your cheek.. You can painlessly shoot most m/l rifles accurately , from a bench rest , and off hand. One of my favorite calibers has been , the .62 cal..I have had a custom built .62 jager , and a custom .62 cal 38" longrifle. Both had excellent Colerain rifled barrels. The muzzles on both rifles were coned by me , and made dull and polished with fine emory cloth. I think I used commercial patches that were labled on the package .015 ". This is a misnomer , as when using a mic that pinches the cloth tightly , as does the tops if the rifling , the patch material actually measures .012 ". The round lead ball was .610 , and patches were greased with any grease lube. Apply the grease , and lay the patch on a hard surface , and remove most of the grease with a finger. Load for Jager was 85 gr. real FFg black powder the load for the long rifle was 90 gr. FFg black powder. I killed a number of deer with the Jager , and many more with the long rifle , than the jager. I also found , the longer distance between the front and rear sight allowed me to take longer shots at deer than with the short Jager rifle. The 90Gr. FFg load has significant recoil , and the longer38 " oct. 1 in. barrel adds more weight to the overall which helps manage the recoil. The accuracy of the long rifle was good enough for taking 125 yd. shots from a rest position. Loved that rifle , but too much recoil , and bad eyesight caused them to be sold, Hope this helpsyou to make the rifle shoot. Crown the barrel first , .62 cals need a short starter to load them , even with the correct lube , patch , and ball size.
