It puzzles me too, I usually just use a thin shot card. I was up grouse hunting one day and I didn't have any patches.and only a few shot cards So I tried a bare ball with only one shot card on top of the corn meal then a 1/2in felt wad on top. It shot very well to my surprise.
on some online calculators and Google. Trying to come close to an accurate reduction to a 20 gauge smoothbore load. Probably pointless, but maybe someone wants to try it at the range.....
See my recent post.(I.D. help wanted) Maybe somebody was working on that a long time ago.Been pondering this for a long time ... along with you all.
Wonder if I have come up with a fairly good theory.
I along with others can get 2 shots that almost touch at say 45 yards. Then the 3rd shot goes its own way ... even off a bench rest. I get open groups with 3 shots of around4 to 6 inch at 40ish yards consistantly. Tight patched .595 , .600 ball over the powder and wad over the top, powder charges from 60 grains 3F to 90 grains and 70 grains 2F up to 100 grains. Wads between powder and ball as well as ball right down on the powder. Nothing changes much between any combo.
My theory is such. Might it be barrel flex what with the thin long round portion of the barrel. Might the heat of the thin barrel begin throwing balls in a very short time ... say within 2 shots?
I wonder if a pretty rigid heavy barrel would give better accuracy with the smooth bore. Say a 1.125 inch breech diameter tapered to a 1 inch at the Muzzle. Maybe even heavier barrels or shorter more rigid barrels.
There is my spewage. My fevered wonderings have now been released. What say yee? Am I batty as a loon or do ya thinkmy pondering has any merit?
Ted
Been pondering this for a long time ... along with you all.
Wonder if I have come up with a fairly good theory.
I along with others can get 2 shots that almost touch at say 45 yards. Then the 3rd shot goes its own way ... even off a bench rest. I get open groups with 3 shots of around4 to 6 inch at 40ish yards consistantly. Tight patched .595 , .600 ball over the powder and wad over the top, powder charges from 60 grains 3F to 90 grains and 70 grains 2F up to 100 grains. Wads between powder and ball as well as ball right down on the powder. Nothing changes much between any combo.
My theory is such. Might it be barrel flex what with the thin long round portion of the barrel. Might the heat of the thin barrel begin throwing balls in a very short time ... say within 2 shots?
I wonder if a pretty rigid heavy barrel would give better accuracy with the smooth bore. Say a 1.125 inch breech diameter tapered to a 1 inch at the Muzzle. Maybe even heavier barrels or shorter more rigid barrels.
There is my spewage. My fevered wonderings have now been released. What say yee? Am I batty as a loon or do ya think
Ted
Lugs are slotted. I do need to file them tho as at some time in the past it looks like they have a peen mark on the underside.
Only posting to say that, with the same type of musket, I too found it the best way both for accuracy and maintains a clean bore. The current owner uses Udderly Smooth udder cream whilst I used the cheapest hand cream in the supermarket. I believe Bill Curtis used an, um, intimate water based lubricant. I bought several tubes of that in a sale in the Pound Shop, earning an unwonted assumption from the cashier. It seems no better than my cheap hand cream. In my case I was taught the system by a French BP competition shooter at my local French club before I heard of Bill’s successes in competition.
Excellent point.
That blue pill should make the barrel stiffer…
around here someplace. I will take a couple with me next range session and give em to the old musket about 30 minutes before beginning the shooting session
