As to the Loyalist Arms Trade gun how safe do you feel with it? How thick is the barrel?
You mention India made? Has it been proofed yet and if so what was the proof load?
What is your standard load? I am looking for something that will handle 90 gr's and 1 to 1 1/8 oz of Bismuth.
Is the lock reliable?
Is the touch hole reliable? Does it have a liner?
IF I didn't feel safe with it, I wouldn't shoot it. :wink: I use an ounce of shot, and 80 grains of 2Fg, which is more weight than a round ball, and more friction too. :grin: The thickness of the barrel is more than a Pedersoli, but thickness is a poor litmus test (imho). I say that because Miroku Brown Bess barrels are thinner than Pedersoli, are not proofed, and are very safe when properly maintained.
There are a LOT of misconceptions about
black powder proofing. No, the India barrels are not proofed, nor are the Japanese ones on my muskets, nor are American made barrels for black powder. Now guys like Britsmoothie and other forum users in the UK or in Germany must have their barrels proofed in those countries
by law, and those that have India barrels found they passed the proofing test. So I'm not that worried.
Misconception 1: You cannot
proof your barrel at home. You can
test it in a crude way, but you cannot proof it.
To proof a barrel it
must be submitted to an actual proofing house. Understand that each and every proofing house around the world that conforms to the international treaty uses proofing standards that are universal
only for smokeless powder, cartridge firearms. There is no universal standard for black powder proofing. Anybody who tells you they, themselves, proofed a black powder barrel is saying they
test fired it..., for whatever that's worth. :wink:
The true proof houses when proofing for black powder muzzle loaders, are free to come up with whatever standard they choose before they stamp their approval. So the Italian proof on a Pedersoli barrel uses a 140% max load and a single projectile, while the Birmingham UK house and the German Proofing Houses use a 260% load and a double projectile. So you could have a barrel that passed the Italian test and was stamped, but it could fail the British test.
Misconceltion 2: Proofing a black powder barrel means the barrel is safe to fire.
Proofing is only "good" on the day the barrel left the factory. Incorrect cleaning of a black powder barrel over time can seriously corrode the interior while leaving the exterior in visually good condition. So although proofed, overtime that barrel may have gone bad. I have, when acting as an event safety officer, pulled two muskets as unsafe due to the corrosion I saw inside the bore..., and they both looked fine on the outside. :nono:
(I am the only person I have known in 25 years of reenactment that inspected the interior of the musket barrels during a safety inspection :shake: )
Further, some of the proofing houses do things different. For example, some of the Spanish proofed barrels are
batch-proofed at 200% max pressure. Meaning they randomly took say, 3 barrels out of ten and tested them and when those 3 passed, they stamped all ten as "good"..., but what about the other seven? :shocked2: Also it was recently reported that CVA and Traditions had Spanish proofing done on their barrels, and the barrels were marked with the pressure used..., 700kpcm2...which is about 7500 psi in more common terms. That wasn't the "standard" used by the house..., that was the lowest level the Spanish house would use and still certify the barrels as proofed....at the manufacturer's request :shocked2: So it's NOT a universal standard.
My India locks all spark well and all of the touch holes on my Loyalist Arms tradegun and muskets are not lined.
I have no idea how safe shooting your load will be in an India origin barrel from Loyalist Arms. However, according to
Pedersoli Load Data published in February 27th, 2016..., for the Indian Trade Musket, the MAX load for shot is 90 grains of 2Fg and 1 ounce of powder. You are proposing shooting beyond the Pedersoli max even if you used a Pedersoli tradegun. I have shot a max of 80 grains of 2Fg and 1.25 ounces of shot from both of my tradeguns, India origin and Pedersoli, and I'm still here. I used newsprint for wadding and premeasure shot charges also in newsprint. I have no idea (yet) what results I would get when using a proper, fiber wad (more friction = more pressure). I use 70 grains of 2Fg and 1 ounce of #7 for birds in my choked, Pedersoli SxS using the newsprint that I mentioned. Kills pheasants and squirrel quite well.
I hope this answers some questions.
LD
