Smoothbore Mirage

[54ball]

I shot my .54 flint smoothie hard and serious for the first time today. I was amazed at how well it shot. It actually shot better than my rifle at these ranges. Dead on at 20 yards, 25,and 50. At 75, I did not hit the target. I noticed a mirage at the closer ranges but at 75 the target was so distored I could not see it well. I showed the weapon to a couple of friends of mine and they noticed the mirage too. The gun was warm but not overly hot while shooting. The mirage seems to glare off of the top flat and stream to the left. I was sighting down the 42inch barrel concentrating on the front turtle sight. The top flat transitions to a wedding ring and then to round. The barrel is not shiny as it is browned but when you sight it, it glares from that angle. Would aplying mud or soot from a candle help with this mirage. A friend of mine suggested clorox to pit the surface but I hate to do that. I have never noticed this with a rifle. Is it because my focus is closer, both mentally and physically, to the barrel by sighting down it?

 

[paulvallandigham]

To answer you question, probably yes. Because the front sight is so low on the barrel, you are picking up the slightest heat wave coming off that top flat. You can glass bead it, or use chemicals( like the bleach recommend) to pit and rough up the surface, or you can put a taller front sight on the gun, or you can hunt in shady places where you won't get a glare, or mirage wave off the gunbarrel. If you look at the vent ribs on shotguns, you will notice that they have lines at right angles to the bore down the length of them. This helps to remove both the glare, and the mirage you are seeing on your barrel.

Did you get a mirage when shooting it out in the sunlight, or under a covered firing line, or both? If the first only, stay under shade when you are shooting the gun. If its both, then the mirage is made of heat waves coming off the barrel. It should be all right for your first shot, and you are not likely to get many more shots from the barrel at game before the barrel cools back down.It therefore should present little problem in the hunting fields. At the range, its a different matter, and you will either have to allow it to cool down between shots, or stay in the shade to shoot it. All shooters have to deal with this problem whether they shoot modern rifles, shotguns, and handguns, or muzzle loading shotguns or rifles or handguns. The loading areas at Friendship for the skeet, trap, and sporting clays, as well as the Quail Walk now all have covers over them to provide shade to cool the barrels down between relays.

 

[54ball]

Paul my shots were made in the sun. It was a cool day so the barrel warmth may have been a factor considering the ambeint temperature. Today was one of those days it felt cool but the sun was hot. Later in the afternoon an hour or so after shooting the mirage was still visible but not as bad while shooting. This evening the mirage was slight but there. My father noticed it when he shouldered the smoothie indoors under indoor lighting.
I have not noticed this with my rifle. I may haft to rethink the old timey low sights when I build my longrifle. The plus to all this is I am confident with my smoothbore to 50yards maybe a little further if I can see my target perfectly. By perfectly I mean not the deer but the the spot I want to hit it.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Heat mirage is common on thin walled smooth bored barrels. They heat up quick. When shooting in competition I always keep a wet rag handy to wipe the barrel down between shots, which helps alot. I also "over bent" the barrel on one of my guns and used a real tall front site and used the very top of the sight for the point of impact. That workeked exceptionally well as my sighting plane was above the mirage for the most part.
Mirage has always been a problem for me shooting round ball, but it's never bothered me shooting shot.

 

[plewis]

I think Mirage is a factor whenever you have longer strings of shots, in rifles and smoothbores. Just yesterday, I shot my .45 rifle, and put 20 balls through it in less than 30 minutes. Not rapid fire, but I was re-loading soon after I fired. The gun was warm to the touch, and the last several shots were "exciting" as the mirage from the barrel was blurring the front sight and the outline of the target. This was also in the shade. In my experience, if you shoot the gun, it's going to heat up, and you are going to get mirage. Just the way it goes. Unless you limit yourself to 1 round every 10 minutes or so, the heat will stay there for some time. The wet rag sounds like it might be a good solution, I may try it sometime! :v

 

[redwing]

Don't ruin your barrel with stupid ideas like pitting and blasting the metal. These guns have had this problem for 100s of years. Learn to use the smooth bore. You might try the wet rag it also works. If you want to see real heat problems shoot the Sharps Ctg. rifles. :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

I agree with Rewing, even though I was the one that said what others do, ie, pitting, sanding, filing grooves, etc. The wet rag will cool the barrel fairly quickly and limit the effect of the heat mirage. I would not put a higher front sight on the gun if it were mine. In hunting conditions, you rarely are going to be firing many shots in a short amount of time, to heat the barrel up so much that the mirage is going to be a problem. However, on a hot sunny day, it can happen, so just take a wet cloth or towel or rag along- I carry a wet towel aroudn my neck to help me NOT GET heat stroke in the sun- and cool the barrel with it as needed. It does work.

Paul

 

[paulvallandigham]

I agree with Redwing, even though I was the one that said what others do, ie, pitting, sanding, filing grooves, etc. The wet rag will cool the barrel fairly quickly and limit the effect of the heat mirage. I would not put a higher front sight on the gun if it were mine. In hunting conditions, you rarely are going to be firing many shots in a short amount of time, to heat the barrel up so much that the mirage is going to be a problem. However, on a hot sunny day, it can happen, so just take a wet cloth or towel or rag along- I carry a wet towel around my neck to help me NOT GET heat stroke in the sun- and cool the barrel with it as needed. It does work.

Paul

 

[TANSTAAFL]

I shot my .54 flint smoothie hard and serious for the first time today. I was amazed at how well it shot. It actually shot better than my rifle at these ranges. Dead on at 20 yards, 25,and 50. At 75, I did not hit the target. I noticed a mirage at the closer ranges but at 75 the target was so distored I could not see it well. I showed the weapon to a couple of friends of mine and they noticed the mirage too. The gun was warm but not overly hot while shooting. The mirage seems to glare off of the top flat and stream to the left. I was sighting down the 42inch barrel concentrating on the front turtle sight. The top flat transitions to a wedding ring and then to round. The barrel is not shiny as it is browned but when you sight it, it glares from that angle. Would aplying mud or soot from a candle help with this mirage. A friend of mine suggested clorox to pit the surface but I hate to do that. I have never noticed this with a rifle. Is it because my focus is closer, both mentally and physically, to the barrel by sighting down it?

I have stated this several times. The first thing I learned about my fusil de chase was to look over the barrel, not down it. In my part of AZ, constant mirage is just a fact of life, shooting or not shooting, the barrel heats up.

 

[whitetrash078]

I like the idea of a damp cloth to cool the barrel. As long as it has taken me to learn to half a$$ shoot a smoothie I would'nt dare change the sights and have to learn to shoot again.

just my .02