today's practice

[longfowler]

I shot my homemade pistol today, and was very pleased with the results. I want some feedback on my accuracy...I'm curious if this is up to par with other shooter's expectations. the group on the left measures 6-1/8 x 4-1/2 and was shot at 23 yards with a six o'clock hold, 11 shots without swabing. I used 20 grs of goex 3f, .018 wal-mart pillow ticking lubed with olive oil, & .490 ball cast from wheel wieghts. the pistol is 9 1/2 inches of a lyman trade rifle barrel, stock from TOW and T/C lock with a sear spring from a pen to lighten the trigger pull. besides more practice, what can I do, or is this good?
BTW- the right hand target was shot with .015 oxyoke patches before the trigger mod. I put hat pic up just to show the pistol off!

 

[Grey Hawk]

For BP or centerfire, any caliber, any pistol or rifle first is to Bench it on a support Bag. This will let you know for sure where your Point of Impact is and that there is no wondering or chasing. Once you are satisfied with a reliable, constant and safe load, then and only then would I shoot un-supported. BUT if you want to change loads up or down, B&B again to re-establish your PoI.

:2

Grey Hawk

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Very nice looking pistol. As Grey Hawk said, shoot it from a bag. I would put about 25-30 rounds through it, holding at the same point of aim. Adjust the charge to suit you after five or ten rounds and then fiddle with the sights if you have to. Letting the bag support your pistol will cut down on the chances of letting a flinch sneak up on you and throw your shot.

You might start with a charge of about 20 gr 3FG and see where that gets you.

Again, very nice looking pistol. :thumbsup:

 

[Mike Brooks]

Wheel weights are too hard for muzzleloaders.

 

[bwhoffman]

just my experience here....
A few things I see and read in your comments....
as others mentioned, Bench the gun to know for sure. That said, here is what I see!..

the group looks good, I would call the one hole on the left a flyer.
The trigger needs to be lightened somewhat, as I am seeing a trend where your grip/trigger squeze is causing a slight twist of the gun to the right. This is a normal thing that I found can be mostly eliminated in the grip.
Do you shoot with both hands or a traditional one hand duelist grip?

Try that gun with 15gr just for giggles.
Softer lead will allow the patch to engage the ball better and make better use of the rifling in the barrel.

Your group is pretty good. I know alot of folks who would give body parts to be able to do that!at 23 yds, you are getting real close! I'm thinkin' you can get it even tighter!

light loads, softer balls, lighten trigger and perfect you grip. And do it the same way, every time!

 

[flaming canvas]

Pistol barrels usually have a faster twist than rifle barrels to compensate for the lower velocity. I don't know if this has any real effect on accuracy at short range.

It seems to me that muzzleloading pistols are very sensitive to changes in grip. My lyman is sighted based on having my hand as far down as I can get it without having any fingers hang off. If I raise the hand position I see a marked upward change in poi.

Shooting from a bench is a good way to get an idea where the gun shoots, but you may see a change in going to off hand.

:2

 

[crockett]

Longfowler: for shooting from a rest at 25 yards I would expect groups around 2 1/2" to be about average. Target grade pistols would obviously do better.
Changing things can make a big difference. I have a similar pistol that had 6" groups that sunk to 2" groups by using a tighter patch. Some pistols also shoot better with heavier loads.

 

[longfowler]

Thanks for all the Ideas, but Wow! a 2-1/2" group really gives me something to shoot for! I thought I was doing pretty good, but even though I knew I had room for improvement, 2-1/2" from a rifle makes me happy. I don't shoot from a rest, all these were shot with a 2 handed hold. if I have more time I'll try 15 grs, I tried it before but with thinner patches. (I used to shoot 30-40 and was all over the place).I'll try that low hold too, that seemed to help some. I'm taking this to a primitive biathlon on saturday where the tarets are steel gongs at 30-50 yards, wish me luck!