Time to Fire My Enfield!!!

[bziggz]

10+ years ago, I got a muzzleloader for christmas. I have fired the rifle with powder, no ball. Finally, the stars have aligned and I get to put some rounds in the gun this labor day. I have a little experience firing muzzleloaders, but no experience equipping or caring for one. First, here's all the info I have on the rifle: It's a .58 cal, 3 band replica enfield, made in italy by (or for) Euroarms of America. 39" barrel, 55 1/4" gun length. It takes 3.5 drams black powder. The nipple (ha) is 8x1.25 mm. Also the number 5625 is engraved on the barrel. All this was taken off the barrel, or by measuring the rifle. The barrel is in great shape, but needs some cleaning. What now?

I've heard I can gradually increase the powder only load, then drop it back down, add a ball, and work my way back up to make sure the rifle is safe to fire. Beyond that, I know very little about where to start. Grains to drams? Smokeless vs. smoking powder? What I actually need to purchase to fire the rifle? Minie vs. balls? etc. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help a newbie.

 

[59sharps]

NO SMOKELESS POWDER!!! :nono: :shake:
with that said. Mine liked 42 gr 3fffg. with a hodgens bullet. std P-h minnie 48 of 3fffg.
78 grn was a full milatry charge if i am not mistaken.
you will need to know your bore dia. and get a minnie .002 under bore dia.
I don't shoot round ball so i can not help you their
5625 sounds like the serial #
check w/ the guys on the N-SSA board.
cleaning use hot soapy water dry then oil.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

The standard military load was 68 grains (2 1/2 drams)of musket powder--BLACK POWDER ONLY! No smokeless regardless of color! A Minie of .575 diameter is best. My Enfield likes a heavy Minie of around 560 grains. You can shoot ball and you can use lighter powder charges with the Minie if you like. BUT NEVER EVER USE SMOKELESS POWDER!!! :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

I agree. Absolutely NO smokeless powder of any kind should be loaded into your Enfield. Not even in "little" test loads. Your gun was not built to handle the pressures smokeless powder can/will produce.

As 59sharps said, you should measure your guns bore before buying any Minie' balls.
They need to be the right size and even then you may have to buy several different kinds to find one that your gun likes to shoot accurately.
By different kinds, I mean there are thin skirt and thick skirt and there are many different weights.

From a historical sense they are what the gun was designed to shoot but IMO, all of them develop some heavy recoil. I would compare this to a field load in a 20 guage shotgun.
While this isn't usually noticed when shooting a shotgun at some fast flying doves or quail it is very noticeable when shooting a large number of shots at targets or other objects. Your shoulder will also remind you of your adventure for several days afterwards.

A .570 diameter roundball patched with some .012 or thicker lubricated cotton patching will make a fun load that doesn't kick a lot and can be surprisingly accurate.
Good powder loads for shooting roundballs in your Enfield vary from 60-90 grains but if your shooting the heavier loads, be sure to collect the patches from the ground after shooting a few shots.
If they looked ripped, or burned reduce the powder load a bit.

There are 27 1/2 grains in a dram so your 3.5 dram load would be 96 1/4 grains.
That sounds like a very heavy powder load for this gun, even shooting a roundball. That load under a 500 grain Minie' will definitely rattle your teeth and it will probably "blow the skirt" on any Minie' ball you place over it.
I would forget that powder load if it were my gun.

Have fun.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

When loaded with a standard military round, recoil is minimal. If you watch someone fire one of these rifles with this load, you'll see that the gun barely jumps. I think part of the reason for this is the straight stock design of the Enfield.

 

[bziggz]

You guys rock. :applause: Thank you

If I may...

it sounds like every gun has a sweet spot in terms of powder amount vs. accuracy. I plan on getting goex or hodgons 3F powder and playing with the amount around the 40-60 grain range. sound right?

if i'm going to use minies, should I get a few brands and see what fits, or can i specifically order minies .002 thinner than my barrel?

also, lubricated cotton patching. oil, water?

Finally, am I missing anything?

Powder (not smokeless)
Balls/Bullets
The Rifle
Cotton Wadding
Powder Measure
Targets
Bullet/Ball starter (different things? or one can do both?)
Percussion Caps
Cleaning Cloths
Gun Oil

Like I said, thank you so much for helping me get shooting.

 

[Zonie]

You guys rock. :applause: Thank you

If I may...

it sounds like every gun has a sweet spot in terms of powder amount vs. accuracy. I plan on getting goex or hodgons 3F powder and playing with the amount around the 40-60 grain range. sound right?
Sounds like a good place to start.
if i'm going to use minies, should I get a few brands and see what fits, or can i specifically order minies .002 thinner than my barrel?
You really should measure your bore but if that is not possible, the Enfield is supposed to be a .577 bore size. Order Minie's that are .575 diameter and you should be close to the right size.
also, lubricated cotton patching. oil, water?
Minie balls use grease in the grooves. Use something like Crisco or Natural Lube 1000.
The patches that are used with roundballs can be lubed with Natural Lube 1000, Crisco, Olive Oil, water or spit. These last two must be shot immediatly or they can rust your guns bore.
Finally, am I missing anything?

Powder (not smokeless)
Goex 2Fg, 3Fg or Pyrodex RS
Balls/Bullets
The Rifle
Cotton Wadding
Powder Measure
Targets
Bullet/Ball starter (different things? or one can do both?)
Needed to start a patched ball. The Minie's will load with thumb pressure only.
Percussion Caps
You must use Musket Caps on your Enfield. #11's are too small to fit.
Cleaning Cloths
Gun Oil
You really should get a .58 caliber brass cleaning jag. It screws onto your cleaning rod and is used to run the patches up and down the bore to clean the gun. It is also used to run the oiled patches down the bore to protect the metal after it is cleaned.
Like I said, thank you so much for helping me get shooting.

 

[Zeedawg]

:bow: What a great forum!! :bow:
Cleaning Rod thread is #10-32

 

[bziggz]

Amen. Thanks to everyone for helping me out. If anything awesome happens I'll post pictures.

 

[Zonie]

Thanks for your input and welcome to the forum Zeedawg.

I might just add that it's a good idea to find out exactly what thread a cleaning rod has before they go out and buy a cleaning jag.
I have a whole bag of cleaning jags and about half of them have #8-32 and the rest have #10-32 threads.

One of my steel Range Rods is threaded #8-32 and the other one is #10-32 so it all works out OK for me in the end but as I say, its best to find out what you need before going out and buying something.

 

[JohnnyO]

Thanks for your input and welcome to the forum Zeedawg.

I might just add that it's a good idea to find out exactly what thread a cleaning rod has before they go out and buy a cleaning jag.
I have a whole bag of cleaning jags and about half of them have #8-32 and the rest have #10-32 threads.

One of my steel Range Rods is threaded #8-32 and the other one is #10-32 so it all works out OK for me in the end but as I say, its best to find out what you need before going out and buying something.

I bought a 10/32 to 8/32 adapter just in case to avoid this problem :grin:

 

[ResearchPress]

You've already had a lot of good informatiion here, but to supplement that you should find the article on Managing the Enfield on my web site informative.

There's a lot of Enfield shooters on this forum who can steer you through your needs. Some here advocate patched round ball (PRB) in the Enfield, but keep in mind the limitations of accuracy with roundball as ranges extend. I shoot my Enfield at 50 yards through to 800 yards with Minie bullets and with success (ie. match winning scores).

PRB may be fine for some informal plinkng, but I never really saw the point in owning an Enfield and not shooting the Minie bullet for which the rifling was intended.... but that's personal preference.

Enjoy your rifle and let us know your results once you get to the range.

David

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I agree. The Minie is a pleasure to shoot and is accurate and the Enfield uses them so well. They load easily and often can be recovered and melted down and recast. And the sights are regulated for the proper Minie already--at least mine were.

 

[bziggz]

No joke about using a minie for the real experience. I picked up plenty of both round and minies for the weekend.

I'm more and more excited as Labor Day approaches. Pictures definitely will follow. Again, thanks to all.

 

[JackAubrey]

When I first read your post and saw you mention smokeless powder there was an instant knot in me stomach and an adrenalin surge.Any amount of smokeless will damage your rifled musket.And don't go by the colour.I have a couple of rifled muskets and I have found experimentation is the word.I like the standard military load of 60 grains 2 f goex.I had to experiment w/ the proper minie ball diameters.This forum is a valuable resource.Keep us posted.Best regards,J.A.