New Rifle

[Michael76]

Hello All ,
I have a new rifle coming from TVM , and I am told that The barrel is Colerain, and the twist on their 54 caliber is 1-56, and the flint size is 3/4. The lock is a Right Hand Large Siler Flintlock.

Can anyone tell me if this is a good barrel both pluses and minuses , and can you recommend a PRB or Minnie that would (might) shoot "best".

Thank you very much
SWG

 

[BrownBear]

Pure SWAG on my part, cuzz each rifle is different. I'm betting it will be marginal with Minies, but dandy with PRBs. Only way to be sure which is to shoot it with different combos. Based on my other 54's I'd start with .530's and .018 patches. I'd try both 2f and 3f, expecting best accuracy to appear somewhere between 70 and 100 grains, leaning toward the 80-90 grain range. That PRB combo with 90 grains of one powder or the other is pretty much my standard in half a dozen or so 54's of various makes and configurations, but I tested loads in each of them before settling on that.

Heck, all that shooting and testing with a new gun is great fun. Do it, and enjoy it!

 

[hanshi]

The barrel should be excellent and you'll want to shoot prb exclusively. What style is it, Penn, Appalachian, Va, etc? Pics are required (man law). Is the barrel swamped, straight; not that it's especially important? You will like it....guaranteed.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I don't know what length your barrel is, but mine is a Colerain .54 in 38". I use a .530 round ball with a .012 pillow ticking patch, over 70 grains of 3Fg, and I also prime my large lock with 3Fg. The farthest shot that I every took was broadside to a doe at 110 yards and that load went right through her. When sandbagged from a bench the barrel does less than 4" at 100 yards..., I can't do that without the bench, but it's nice to know it's me and not the barrel if I miss. :grin:

LD

 

[Rifleman1776]

I believe you will find 70 gr., preferebly real bp in 3Fg, will be a very accurate load and suitable for all you hunting needs.
My habit is to use a larger ball, like .535 for target use and .530 for hunting and rendezvous. The tighter ball will give more consistent accuracy. But the slight loss of accuracy will not be enough to worry about for hunting and ronny shooting. Plus the smaller ball is easier to load, especially when the bore is dirty.

 

[biliff]

Like Loyalist Dave my .54 Colerain barrel is 38". Most of my target shooting is done with 70gr. FFFg Goex, a .530 home cast ball and a drill patch (about .018"). Generally load 80 or 90 grains for hunting depending on deer or bear. Probably don't need it, but it makes me feel better. Spit patch for target shooting, bore butter for hunting.

Tried about every reasonable ball size (.520, .526, .530, .535) and settled on the .530. Gave the best accuracy while still being easy to load over the course of fire. The smaller sizes gave up some group size no matter the patch and the .535's could be a pain in butt to load.

Never tried a conical but I doubt the round bottom rifling would work with them.

Like most of my RB rifles I can consistently keep groups under about 3 1/2" at 100 yds from the bench. Assuming a calm day.

 

[hanshi]

38" seems to be a very common length for flinters. All my flinters are 38" except for a 36". The percussions are a 33", a 32" and a 25".

 

[Zonie]

If the lock was assembled by Chambers (who produces the Siler locks) it is excellent.

The Colerain barrel will have deep rifling grooves, made for shooting patched roundballs.

Minie' bullets and slugs that are both shot without patching will shoot fairly poorly.

The original barrels made for shooting Minie' bullets had very shallow rifling grooves so the slug didn't have to expand far to seal it.

Likewise the barrels on some modern muzzleloaders like the TC Hawken have moderately shallow rifling grooves so the Maxi balls and similar slugs can seal them when the gun is fired.

As I say, the TC and some others have moderate groove depths (about .005) so they can shoot both slugs and patched roundballs but shooting patched roundballs takes a very tight patch/ball combination to get the best out of them.

Your Colerain barrel, being made to shoot patched roundballs won't be as fussy about the patch/ball size and should produce very accurate shots.

 

[Michael76]

Hello gentlemen, Thank you very very much for your insight , it never crossed my mind that the depth of the rifling would have an affect on what the barrel would shoot best. thank you again :hatsoff:

I should be receiving the rifle this weekend so I will post pic's

SWG

 

[frogwalking]

I understand that TVM buys the lock kits from Chanbers and builds them themselves, thus saving a little money. I have a close friend building a rifle from TVM from their kit, and can say the quality looks good. It ought to shoot well for you.

 

[hanshi]

I know at one time TVM assembled their own Chambers locks but heard recently that they were assembled currently by a lock builder (name?). Don't know if it is true but the Silers I got on my TVM rifles years ago are simply excellent.