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NSW Early English Trade Gun?
- Thread starter Waterman
- Start date
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Black Hand
Cannon
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2005
- Messages
- 9,348
- Reaction score
- 896
It was the first gun I ever built. Great gun! It is still teaching me how to shoot....that whole "no rear sight" thing still messes with me sometimes.
I'm back from the first live fire run so here goes:
Like Don said I got mine in the white so I can't comment on the finish since that's my problem.
Mine is a 20 ga, 41" barrel, iron trigger guard, brass buttplate, walnut stock, right hand Barnett lock, brass turtle front sight.
First thing out of the box I was impressed with the lock. Opening/closing the frizzen and cocking the lock are effortless. One of those "wow" moments when you first do it. Its very well finished and polished inside and out.
I then wiped out the barrel and dropped a bore light down it. Again, it appears nicely finished inside and out. The barrel markings are clear and even ("London" on the barrel flat, sitting fox and what I take to be proof marks). Front sight was soldered in place without any slop or uneveness. Well centered on the top of the barrel.
The overall feel of the gun is long and slim. There is a lot of drop in heel (believe its 2 7/8) with a slightly curved comb. Top of the comb is wide enough to be comfortable when cheeking the gun. Buttplate is wide, flat and rounded at the heel. Believe it weighs just shy of 8 lbs, but it doesn't feel like it.
Tried it at the range for the first time today. All rounds were fired with 2 1/2 drams of FFg Goex. First round was 7/8 oz #9 shot in a 20 ga. steel wad. One 20 ga overshot card was used. Yeah, I know, yuk plastic, but I plan on using it on a public ground pheasant hunt, non-toxic shot only (which means hevi-shot for me) so I just wanted to see how well the wad would load. It was a snug fit but loaded easily in the clean barrel. The overshot card fit well. Couldn't jar it loose pointing the barrel at the ground and wailing on the butt. It went bang, pattern was about what you'ld expect from a cylinder bore. Recoil was fairly mild.
Switched over to some .600 RB that I cast up yesterday. .015 patch lubed with bore butter. Too tight to start with my thumb but loaded easily with a short starter. Went down the rest of the way smoothly. Fired first 3 shot group from a rest, no barrel showing. Got a 25 yard group that went just over 2", centered horizontally but about 5" low. Trigger pull was decent, but there was some creep in the sear before it broke. No stacking. Tried another 3 shot group, showing about one quarter's width of barrel. Group was just under two inches and 3" low.
At that point I started shooting offhand, playing around with the amount of barrel showing. Found that just under 3 quarters worth of barrel showing put me dead on at 25 yards. (Maybe there's a trap shooter out there that can explain putting quarters on the breech better than I can). Fired 20 rounds. Still loaded easily at the end, with no wiping.
The lock is definately a bevel up only lock. Bevel down put the flint strike too high, no matter the flint. It sparked well and lit the pan quickly. 7/8" flints are about right.
Checked my fired patches. A couple of them had two cuts on opposite sides. Believe the muzzle is a little sharp and will need to take some steel wool to it.
Generally, it was comfortable to shoot with ball. It seems to lend itself to a more upright, head up, shooting style vice a lean forward, head down style. Looking forward to trying it on the skeet range to see how it swings, once I pattern it with shot.
Like Don said I got mine in the white so I can't comment on the finish since that's my problem.
Mine is a 20 ga, 41" barrel, iron trigger guard, brass buttplate, walnut stock, right hand Barnett lock, brass turtle front sight.
First thing out of the box I was impressed with the lock. Opening/closing the frizzen and cocking the lock are effortless. One of those "wow" moments when you first do it. Its very well finished and polished inside and out.
I then wiped out the barrel and dropped a bore light down it. Again, it appears nicely finished inside and out. The barrel markings are clear and even ("London" on the barrel flat, sitting fox and what I take to be proof marks). Front sight was soldered in place without any slop or uneveness. Well centered on the top of the barrel.
The overall feel of the gun is long and slim. There is a lot of drop in heel (believe its 2 7/8) with a slightly curved comb. Top of the comb is wide enough to be comfortable when cheeking the gun. Buttplate is wide, flat and rounded at the heel. Believe it weighs just shy of 8 lbs, but it doesn't feel like it.
Tried it at the range for the first time today. All rounds were fired with 2 1/2 drams of FFg Goex. First round was 7/8 oz #9 shot in a 20 ga. steel wad. One 20 ga overshot card was used. Yeah, I know, yuk plastic, but I plan on using it on a public ground pheasant hunt, non-toxic shot only (which means hevi-shot for me) so I just wanted to see how well the wad would load. It was a snug fit but loaded easily in the clean barrel. The overshot card fit well. Couldn't jar it loose pointing the barrel at the ground and wailing on the butt. It went bang, pattern was about what you'ld expect from a cylinder bore. Recoil was fairly mild.
Switched over to some .600 RB that I cast up yesterday. .015 patch lubed with bore butter. Too tight to start with my thumb but loaded easily with a short starter. Went down the rest of the way smoothly. Fired first 3 shot group from a rest, no barrel showing. Got a 25 yard group that went just over 2", centered horizontally but about 5" low. Trigger pull was decent, but there was some creep in the sear before it broke. No stacking. Tried another 3 shot group, showing about one quarter's width of barrel. Group was just under two inches and 3" low.
At that point I started shooting offhand, playing around with the amount of barrel showing. Found that just under 3 quarters worth of barrel showing put me dead on at 25 yards. (Maybe there's a trap shooter out there that can explain putting quarters on the breech better than I can). Fired 20 rounds. Still loaded easily at the end, with no wiping.
The lock is definately a bevel up only lock. Bevel down put the flint strike too high, no matter the flint. It sparked well and lit the pan quickly. 7/8" flints are about right.
Checked my fired patches. A couple of them had two cuts on opposite sides. Believe the muzzle is a little sharp and will need to take some steel wool to it.
Generally, it was comfortable to shoot with ball. It seems to lend itself to a more upright, head up, shooting style vice a lean forward, head down style. Looking forward to trying it on the skeet range to see how it swings, once I pattern it with shot.
Looks and sounds like you have a winner there Bill, nothing better than getting to know a fine smoothbore...."cept maybe a fine woman, but the gun won't grow to talk back and nag and make light of all the important guy stuff one has to do...
Trying for something that would work 1765ish and would be reasonable for Northern Jersey/Eastern Penn. A French gun would have have been a bit out of place and a NW gun wouldn't fit timewise. Still had to be shootable for trailwalks and a little fair weather pheasant hunting. It seemed to fit what I was looking for.
robertdale
40 Cal.
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2008
- Messages
- 160
- Reaction score
- 6
I have found that that a sharp knife will do a good job of the muzzle crown. try a little more crown at bottom of bore. this will move the ball impact slightly up.
I have had 9 smooth bores from NSW. build and shoot them all the time. always looking for the perfect one i guess. all will out shoot me.
don't forget to use a small amount OIL on the moving parts in the lock!!
Good Luck and have fun........
I have had 9 smooth bores from NSW. build and shoot them all the time. always looking for the perfect one i guess. all will out shoot me.
don't forget to use a small amount OIL on the moving parts in the lock!!
Good Luck and have fun........
Joel/Calgary
50 Cal.
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2004
- Messages
- 1,251
- Reaction score
- 6
First, I'd like to add my voice to the "Fine firelock, sir" chorus.
I remain &c.,
Joel
Are you familiar with NiceShot? If not, may I suggest a search of the forum for NiceShot or Ecotungsten (the manufacturer) for some information? It may provide you with a viable non-toxic alternative without the need for the plastic.Bakeoven Bill said:
I remain &c.,
Joel
Yeah, I saw the discussion and have checked out the website but haven't bitten the bullet (price issues and shot size availabilty). I'm already set up with hevi-shot, which I can buy locally, so am not in any rush to try this stuff out until the price comes down.
