need help with accuracy

[BrownBear]

the powder of choice right now is 2f, I will have to try that triangle trick seems it might help some.
the sights on the rifle are peep sights and they do help in looking at the front sight allot.
been using them since the get go.

sorry Paul I do not follow football or sports that much. my interest lies in the mountains.

I don't know how old you are douglas, but I'd almost bet you're over 50, or at least need to see the eye doc. I say that cuzz I'm there. I have several guns that shoot with all shots touching or nearly so at 50 from the bench, but my groups open way up at 100. Younger friends can shoot really small groups with my rifles at 100, but I simply can't see fine enough to do it any more. And I've tried all sorts of target/sight/eyeglass combos.

 

[redwing]

You may want to make sure there is no lead build up after burning all those patches. Go down to "Sports" and get some lead remover.
And why worry about the snow line at 8,000' you are almost 4,000' below the snow line.

 

[douglas duncan]

Im 52 yrs, I already wear bifocals been doing so for about 5 years now. this peep sight helps out a lot on targets so far. we will have see how it is out hunting normally I just use open sights with my other muzzle loader.
I went and had lasik done and it does help with the open sights bifocals can be a pain in the arise.

but I have to have scopes for all my other rifles no problem with 1" groups with them.
maybe I should just go out to 75 yards and see how that goes, really do not want to beat a dead horse anymore than what it is.

 

[douglas duncan]

not to worried about the snow, pounding rain and hail makes a day out of shooting real nice. kinda hard to keep the powder dry.

I'm sure you getting some of this weather also.

 

[redwing]

Yes, I am at 7,000' snow and rain all day lots of wind and cold. Its going to be down to 28 tonight.
I did not go over to the Ft. Bridger Shoot. That shoot had to be a mess.

I would scrub that bore real good. Try some J-B on a tight patch. I have 4 .54 Cal. rifles they all do better with the .530 ball. I use the Teflon patch
made by Texas Patches, good for hunting and targets.
Good luck. :thumbsup:

 

[douglas duncan]

here is an update of my shooting, I finally got it to group out to 100 yards so I am happy with the results of this. I had to move up to 90 grains of powder, and put an ox yoke wonder wad under the patch.
the first pic I was aiming just under the the target (6 o-clock hold) the group was hitting just to the left so I moved the sights over some on the next round.

this one shows sight adjustment but not a very good group, I also put the bead of the front covering the target seeing how it hits at POI.

this third one the group is acceptable shot 6 six times because of the one flyer had to get five in the black.

I would like to say thanks to you all for the help you offered before.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I think the gun is shooting just fine. And the load may be okay. Now that you know where to aim, try changing that powder charge around a bit. Covering the bull with a BEAD front sight is not the most accurate way to shoot a bead front sight, but if it works for you, use it.

I am not a fan of beads on front sights for anything larger than a .22, because beyond 50 yards, the bead covers up too much of everything. I would recommend you consider using a straight blade or " post " front sight, if you are going to do much shooting at 100 yds. :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

Who says roundballs and open sights can't shoot straight?
I've seen a lot of folks with high power optics and modern rifles that don't get groups that good.
:hatsoff:

PS: IMO, there is no finer feeling than to be next to a shooter of modern weapons at a range and shoot a group like that with a open sighted muzzleloader.

They can't believe their own eyes. :rotf:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Jim: Where did I say that Round balls and iron sights won't shoot????? :shocked2: I must have missed something. :rotf:

I think RBs shoot just fine, with Iron sights, or scopes. I don't like Bead front sights on rifles because the bead covers up too much of the target to do my best shooting, unless I use a 6 o'clock hold and focus not on the bead, but in the very top of the bead.

My Marlin 1895 came with an 8 minute of angle bead- fine for 50 yard shooting, but horrible for 100 yd shooting. After struggling with it, I filed the bead down to half its size. It works for me, now, but I still prefer my post sight( blade) on my .50 cal. MLer. :thumbsup:

You are absolutely right about what makes a trip to the range especially fun. I love to sit down next to some guy with an expensive bolt action magnum, or one of the black guns, with the 30 rd magazines, and just shoot my targets. Sooner or later, they get around to peaking at my target, and comparing it to their own. It totally unnerves them to see someone shooting a flintlock with Black Powder, and shooting better groups than they do. :blah:

Only about 1 in 20 will have the courage to come over and ask me about my gun, and less than 1 in five of those will accept my offer to let them shoot it. I always smile and say hello to the guys, no matter what they are shooting. It always surprises me when they leave in a huff! ( " Don't go away mad; just go away!")