Traditions Pennsylvania range report

[cowpoke1955]

Try going to the Yolo range in Winters. Usually someone out there that can help with traditional muzzle loaders. Hook up with the Yolo Front Loaders. Great bunch of people that can teach you a lot. Rancho Cordova and Ione don't have much going on in the way of black powder.

 

[JohnnyO]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions...picked up some Brasso and Ballistol, also going to make sure I have some more .015 patches and am going to experiment more on that. Also made up some moose juice and will make some moose snot as soon as I find a source for beeswax...
Been trying all week to contact traditions about a replacement ramrod...emails have been returned via yahoo saying connection failed, then when I called they were closed early for friday :shake:
I'll get myself a range rod but want a wood rod at least to keep on the gun for looks if anything

 

[paulvallandigham]

The rings sold by plumbing supply houses to use around the waste pipe base of toilets are made of beeswax. And, of course, local beekeepers have it in abundance. Contact your county Farm Bureau to find out who the keepers are. Also, your State's University Agriculture Extension office will know who is " making " honey. There are also on-line suppliers of Beeswax. If you have a hobby store near you, check to see if it sells candle making supplies. Sometimes they carry Beeswax, but the cost is usually pretty high. And, if there is a Rendezvous in the area, attend and shop the various suttlers that set up. There is almost always someone who is selling beeswax.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Used to be you could get all the cheap beeswax you needed by getting those toilet rings to seal the connection between the toilet and the plumbing. It appears they are now making them out of something else. I got one of those about 20 years ago to use for fly-tying, but when I tried to get one a couple of years ago they weren't made out of beeswax anymore. If you can find a beeswax one grab it.

Otherwise, here's a link to Beeswax from Beekeepers. They use a flat rate box and if you order at least 5 lbs. of the stuff it comes out pretty reasonable. When I lived in Vermont, I picked some up across the border a bit in New York at BetterBee in Greenwich, NY. It's always a lot cheaper to walk in and buy it than to have it shipped.

Good Luck!

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:

 

[rudy parnell]

:thumbsup: I think you did rather well.....especially since you are new to the "flinchlock".

Looks to me that you'll hit the recipe real soon.

Enjoyed the pictures and the video. :hatsoff:

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Thicker patch. Try a traditions .015 patch and then some .018 pillow ticking.

My Traditions kentucky is a real big powder whore and loves lots of powder. Same with my cva mountain rifle.

Experiment with different amounts of powder in the pan. My traditions with the right load fires off like my mountain rifle which is a percussion lock.

 

[freeonthree]

Try your local farmers market.
Someone is allways selling honey ask them for bees wax.The one at my local market allways keeps a pound hidden under his table just incase I drop around.

Freeonthree

 

[Juggernaut]

I have the same rifle, I'm very pleased with it. Mine shot low as well had to add powder to dial her in. I found that bore butter seams to work the best. Oh and very nice movie and still

 

[hornetk4]

You can buy bees wax at any craft store like Michaels or joans , it's in the candle making supplies . They sell it by the pound and a pound goes a long way.

 

[JohnnyO]

Got some beeswax and made some moose snot..first batch I don't think I'll like much, as it gets hot here in the summers and I can see the stuff melting all over, the 2nd batch I think I added too much beeswax so it was a bit stiff, heh oh well
I've just prelubed a bunch of patches with moose juice and can't wait to hit the range! I would have gone today but I had homework to do :cursing:

 

[JohnnyO]

I have the same rifle, I'm very pleased with it. Mine shot low as well had to add powder to dial her in. I found that bore butter seams to work the best. Oh and very nice movie and still

If you don't mind me asking, what patch/ball and powder load are you using? Did you file the site down at all? Mine shoots about 8 to 10 inches low at 50 yards, and I bumped up the powder charge to 80 grains of 3F

 

[rafterob]

70-80 grains should be the sweet spot for that rifle based on my experience with Traditions .50 caliber. For target shooting the less powder you can get by with, the better and cheaper. Once you are getting good groups and centering, then file the front sight down. Also before you start filing decide if you are going to use a 6:00 hold or dead-on hold. I've found the 6:00 hold to work well for most targets, but makes it more difficult for odd shapes or novelty targets.

 

[tteng]

Hello all,

I'm a first-time muzzleloader/flinter/forum poster, and I bought the same rifle (Traditions 50cal Pennsylvania rifle) just a couple weeks ago. I noticed the rear sight has a set-screw which push against the barrel. So the sight can be raised by turning the screw. Hope this helps.

I do have a range-safety question: how severe/far is the side-blast from the touch-hole, as not to affect nearby shooter?

 

[bingo1952]

Keep them at a minimum of 4' and even more is better. That's why the reenactors us flash guards.

 

[tg]

This type of sight is known to move around and bumb easily, many opt to change it out for a dovetailed type that is filed for elevation.

 

[JohnnyO]

The camera was placed on the very next shooting bench, maybe 2 feet away, and although there was a strong breeze it didn't seem like much of a flash...better safe than sorry though

 

[rusty spurr]

Hi,
I got one of those a few years ago. The nicest looking production muzzleloader I could find IMHO.

Why don't you back down the powder to 45 gr. And move the target in to 13 yd and see what happens?

A 50 cal sighted in to hit a bullseye at 13 yd should be back on target at around 50 yd with a light target load. (Because of ball trajectory.) This way you can concentrate on other things besides trying to see that little bullseye out there at 75 yd.

When I concentrated on doing the same thing the same way before and after each shot, that is when my accuracy really improved.

If you don't mind me asking, what are you planning to do with it? Hunt, target shoot, plink?