Received Trade Rifle today!

[rfdr]

Gander Mt in Greensboro, NC has flintlock starter kits for $45. They come with a flask, priming flask, powder measure, vent pick and short starter. A good deal for the beginner like myself. I also bought 2 yards of pillow ticking from Jo-Anne's fabric. How should I cut the fabric? Also if I use olive oil how much and how do y'all apply it? Thanks!

i think it would be best if you could hook up with a knowledgeable local ml mentor to help ya get started. if not, then do carefully consider how yer doing the load.

1.5x the caliber is a good starting point for the barrel charge (for 2fg - adjust down for 3fg). yer looking for groups, not accuracy. adjust the charge for the best 5 shot grouping and then adjust the sights if need be.

keep the touch hole clean. do so 'tween shots, for EVERY shot. that's a key to good ignition. don't fill the flash pan up - 1/3 to 1/2 of 4fg should do fine. keep the pan powder away from the touch hole, too.

make sure the flint is knapped sharp, and makes good frizzen sparks.

i like to make the first shot of a shooting session with 20-30 grains of powder only down the tube - no patch or wad or ball. powder the pan, point in a safe direction, and fire to clean out the bore of any oil residue from yer last session. now - do ONE moist down/out bore wipe. now yer ready to shoot yer first patched ball.

with whatever the given ball diameter you currently have, i'd wanna try different cotton cloth patch *compressed* thicknesses (not their uncompressed thicknesses). you will find that not all "clutch" micrometer measured patches will compress to the same thickness and that will impact everything from how the ball will ram down the barrel to shot accuracy.

you can mess with different lubes all ya like, but i'd suggest simple spit for starters, then trial other lubes.

without a doubt, i'd suggest a single down/out ramrod swab stroke between shots, to clear some of the fouling so it won't get baked on with the next shot. use a moistened patch for this, never run a dry patch down the tube.

if you don't swab 'tween shots, and yer patched ball is a tight bore fit, you will have fits ramming down successive patched balls unless you either go to a thinner patch thickness and/or ball diameter. make no mistake - if you don't clean the fouling out at some point, you will not be a happy ml rifleman. baked fouling is not fun to clean out.

after session cleaning is imperative. there are lotsa methods and opinions, and all will surely work one way or another. you will eventually figure out one method that works best for you.

lastly, when you get some good confidence about yer ml shooting, do check out the dutch methods for both wiping and cleaning, and his treatise about ball patches. i have found them invaluable, particularly since little to no water is used in any process.

good luck, be safe and have a ball (pun intended!) :thumbsup:

 

[Col. Batguano]

So should you think of a ML'er in terms of a shotgun slug?

 

[Kapow]

O.M.G. Don't ask that here! You will have all sorts come out of the woodwork!