Trade gun again

[Old Charlie]

I am still working on being able to hit where I aim with my trade gun. It has gotten much better. The first two shots are in the black at 50yds off the bench. They fire instantaneous. The next two as you can see a way off to the edge of the paper. With them I get a kach boom. With that hang fire I flinch every time.
I can Knapp the flint and repeat the same thing. two fast firings that will be inn the black and the two hang fires that I will flinch.
This big old Lott lock I guess could use some work. All my other rifles, fire instantaneously.
I guesses I will just have to keep working on it.
Old Charlie

 

[10 gauge]

Thats still good shooting for a smooth bore. I also need some trigger work on my Bess.

 

[tg]

You might try standing upright rather than standing on your head to shoot, it really helps with the follow thru... :hmm:

 

[Cutfingers]

I've found that I can get more consistent accuracy if I run a wet cleaning patch down the barrel along with the patched round ball. I also concur that shooting upside down might have something to do with it.

 

[Many Klatch]

Have you polished the insides of the lock? Friction is not your friend in a flinter. The faster the cock moves the more sparks you will get. The klatches that you get sound more like a clogged touch hole than anything else. What size touch hole do you have? I normally start by drilling out my touchholes to 1/16 inch and 3/64 seems to work even better. If you use a vent pick after loading does that make a difference?

Many Klatch

 

[Rebel]

I think you meant 5/64" as 3/64" is smaller than 1/16". :thumbsup:

 

[Cutfingers]

I did the same, 5/64 touch hole. Another thing you might want to check is the tightness of the screws holding the lock plate to the gun. They should not be tightened up but a little as the mechanism will easily bind.

 

[Old Charlie]

This gun dose not have a touch hole liner. The touch hole is quite large. It will self prime if you shoot 3f. Have been thinking of installing a liner, to see if it would help.
Old Charlie

 

[matt denison]

Hi Charlie.

After reading your description of the hangfire on your trade gun I have a couple suggestions for you.

If your gun is instantanious on the first two shots and is touching off the pan on successive shots then the problem is not the lock. It is doing its job of making sparks. The problem is between the flash and the main charge going off. A couple things come to mind. First is the amount of priming powder that you are using. A little bit (3-6 grains) is better and faster than a whole pan full. A full pan will take longer to burn, causes a fuse to the touch hole and will build up a lot of crud around the vent and the lock. Second is that without a vent liner there is a long dark tunnel for the flash to travel and a lot of area to collect crud. You could try clearing your vent with a pick between shots. Also tap the butt of your gun on the ground firmly when you load the powder to shake it down into the breech area nearest the touch hole. After a few shots you get crud in the breech and could be holding the powder back slightly from a clear path to the touch hole. If you decide to install a vent liner I'd suggest one that is coned from the inside such as a White Lightning or you can cone one yourself with a countersink in a drill press. JMHO Good luck, be safe.

Matt Denison

 

[redwing]

Clean the breech bolt face. It sounds like you have a carbon build up. If you have a scrapper use it. Plug the vent and soak the barrel over night with your favorite cleaner. :hmm:

 

[Many Klatch]

Rebel, yeah what you said 5/64" inch :surrender: :redface: . Decimals are so much easier.

Many Klatch

 

[mmahlock]

But fractions are so much fun :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :wink: :v