Pedersoli Frontier 32 Cal all over the place

[TeutonicHeathen]

I just recieved a Pedersoli Frontier rifle in 32 cal. It is very nice looking rifle. I load it with a .310 Hornady ball with a .15 ox lube patch precut and lubed from track of the wolf. It is all I can do to get the ball started. After it is threw the muzzle part i can ram it home no proble but getting it started I deform the ball and its a Pain in the @ss. When I shoot it I have no accuracy at all, my shots are all over the place. Im guessing from deforming the ball trying to pound it in. I am looking for advice? Should I try .10 patches? Any help would be appriciated. Im bumming out right now about it.

 

[azmntman]

use a felt wad over powder and a thinner patch. How much & what type powder you shooting? Id start 10-15 gr 3f or pyrodex P and go up to 35 or so once you get the loading issue dealt with.

 

[biliff]

Make sure the patch isn't wrapping around your short starter. There isn't much clearance and it can make it hard to start the ball.

There also might be some sharp edges on the crown making it hard to start and possibly contributing to your accuracy problems by cutting the patch.

FWIW, I load a .318" home cast ball and a .018" drill patch with no issues. The little ball deforms very easily in a tight load.

 

[TeutonicHeathen]

I am shoot 20 grains FFF Swiss. It is good powder. I beleive I am getting the accuracy issues from trying to load and deforming the ball. Should I try thinner patches? Never had this issue before.

 

[TeutonicHeathen]

If I used a patch and ball combo like that I would have to use a hydrolic press to get it pass the muzzle.

 

[Spikebuck]

Hard to say what your gun will like, but on the .32 and .36 I owned I found a ball .010 under and a .010 patch worked well for me. Pedersoli's have pretty shallow grooves, so not a lot there to soak up thicker patching, IMO.

Sounds like you need to do something, so you might as well give it a try.

Mike

 

[Semisane]

Make sure the patch isn't wrapping around your short starter. There isn't much clearance and it can make it hard to start the ball.

BINGO Bill! I had that problem the first time out with my .32 Frontier.

Light loads didn't do it for me. Mine demands a stiff 35 grain load to get top accuracy.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Should I try .10 patches?

Yes. That would be a good move.
Is the bore smooth? Look into it with a light. Always a chance it has tooling chatter.

 

[mooman76]

What are your fired patches looking like? They will tell you allot.

 

[smoothshooter]

Is it a new gun? If not, check for a pitted bore from improper / lack of cleaning. Most used factory muzzleloaders that come up for sale have this issue. Seems less common on custom guns because they were more likely to have been owned by people who protect their investment.

 

[cutcheon01]

+1 on looking at the patches. When I first started shooting my Crockett 32 I was cutting square patches. They were not all the same size and sometimes they would wrap over and in front of the ball. With a heavier load the patch would strip off and accuracy was OK. Slow loads the patch would stay with the ball and accuracy was no good. Fist size groups at 20 yards. After a lot of reading and discussions, I found that good accuracy was achieved with cutting the patch from a strip at the bore. This gives a centered open patch every time, but marks up your barrel. What I do now is use a loading block with strip patches and cut them off on the wood block. .310 ball with a muslin patch lubed with beeswax/bore butter that was wicked into the patch in my oven inside a small tin. I'm getting near one hole groups at 20 yards.

 

[99whip]

Make sure the patch isn't wrapping around your short starter. There isn't much clearance and it can make it hard to start the ball.

Had this same problem with a .32 CVA. Same ball and patch size as OP. Just another thought though - is your short starter too big?

 

[TeutonicHeathen]

Thanks for all the advice. My short starter is homemade. Piece of antler drilled with a 5/16 piece of ramrod pressed in it. Ordered thinner patches. Will give it a try this weekend.

 

[TeutonicHeathen]

Ok. Received new patches and shot gun today. No loading problems at all. Was able to load balls without deforming them. Was able to get good groups but gun shot 6" low. Filed front sight down and now it shoots center! Ready for some squirrel when season gets here.

 

[99whip]

Glad the new patches worked out for you.

 

[Pioneer flinter]

Did you happen to scrub the packing geese out of the bore. I. Have three of them that grease is really hard to scrubb out.

 

[Billnpatti]

Yep, that stuff can be a PITA to get out. Just use a bunch of patches that you wet with mineral spirits until you seem to have all of the grease out. Then switch to a smaller jag with some of the 3M green pot scrubbing stuff to scrub your bore. Use mineral spirits on it, too. The 3M stuff is slightly abrasive and will scour your bore and help remove any tool chatter marks and sharp edges on the rifling while it scrubs out the last of the grease. Since it is slightly abrasive, be sure to use full length strokes so the whole bore is evenly scrubbed. Finish up by scrubbing out your bore with warm soapy water just as you would after a day of shooting. This should have your bore squeaky clean. Use a few dry patches to dry your bore and then spray some WD-40 down the bore to help remove the last of the moisture, wipe it all out with a couple more dry patches and then a patch with Birchwood-Casey's Barricade on it. Your rifle is now de-greased, clean and ready for your next trip to the range or woods. Oh, be sure to wipe out your bore to remove the Barricade before loading. Barricade is great stuff but it has to be wiped out of your bore before shooting because it is a petroleum product and because any left in the bore can mix with your powder and possibly cause a misfire on your first shot.

 

[JamesCrowe]

You can take a drill and a round stone and crown the bore