Rock Home Isle
54 Cal.
Finally pulled the trigger, Ordered a .40 caliber Kibler Southern Mountain Rifle.
What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?
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I cast 60 .540 minies, 60 .600 roundball, and maybe 100 .370 round ball. I used an unbelievably large amount of saved dental x-ray peel away backings that were given to me by my dentist. 
I use a Lee production pot and Lee molds. The .370 mold is a Martys Arms.
The minies are for a Pedersoli Jaeger with the 1:24 twist. They mic'd out at .538-.539. Perfect for the .540 bore. I havent shot it at all yet. Still waiting on .54 cal cleaning accessories. I did convert it from percussion to flintlock. Can't wait to try it out.
Finished by lubing and packaging for the shooting bag.
I use a mix of tallow and beeswax so it can get kinda greasy. The 2 ply method makes grabbing a boolit much easier.
I use a Lee production pot and Lee molds. The .370 mold is a Martys Arms.
The minies are for a Pedersoli Jaeger with the 1:24 twist. They mic'd out at .538-.539. Perfect for the .540 bore. I havent shot it at all yet. Still waiting on .54 cal cleaning accessories. I did convert it from percussion to flintlock. Can't wait to try it out.
Finished by lubing and packaging for the shooting bag.
I use a mix of tallow and beeswax so it can get kinda greasy. The 2 ply method makes grabbing a boolit much easier.
A while ago I built a .54/28 smoothbore and never really took the time to shoot any round balls through it save a couple hunting trips. I knew it was shooting low right while working up a turkey load and I missed a couple doe before connecting late season last year. I tweaked the barrel a bit in the direction it needed to go and shot at 25, 50 and 100 yds and all shots within a playing card group. I shot off hand at 25 and seated for the longer shots. Pretty happy with the results.
How does one go about tweaking a barrel?
I've heard the words "crook of tree limb" and "pull until it bends".
All sound scary as hell to me.
Yep, I bent it straight. Not very scientific but effective. I saw a gunsmith do it by smacking a bent barrel over a log, I used a padded vise and a bit of pressure
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There are two different approaches
One is bending the barrel, some use the smack it on something method or stick it in a forked tree branch and pull. I am afraid of going to far so I support both ends and use a press in the middle, I set this up so I can measure the amount of bending.
Downside is you remove the barrel, bend, reassemble, shoot, remove barrel bend... repeat till it hits point of aim.
You can also file a little on the muzzle opposite of the direction the bullet needs to go, exiting gasses will force the bullet in the desired direction (This was Britsmoothies preferred method). Advantage no disassembly required.
Well, last evening I finally got a little time to shoot my Kentucky after doing the Scotchbrite treatment to the bore. Prior to burnishing the bore, I had to swab between shots or the second shot was a pound it down affair. Cleaning seemed like a never ending chore, consuming a huge pile of patches.
Last night I only had time to get in 15 shots, but those 15 shots were all done without swabbing! What a difference! My point of impact shifted down a bit, which I thought was rather odd. My groups weren't spectacular, but the combination of old eyes, darkness coming on, and a rather large front bead weren't exactly conducive to great accuracy. Besides, I was more interested in ease of loading and seeing how long I could go without needing to swab to get a ball down the bore. I can say it was at least 15 rounds! Next time I get a chance to shoot, I'll work on load development to try to wring some better accuracy out of her. Cleaning was also quite different. I used a total of 15 patches! I could have probably gotten by with less because the last few were coming out so clean, I couldn't believe it, so I had to do a couple more to be sure!
I'd call it a success!
Last night I only had time to get in 15 shots, but those 15 shots were all done without swabbing! What a difference! My point of impact shifted down a bit, which I thought was rather odd. My groups weren't spectacular, but the combination of old eyes, darkness coming on, and a rather large front bead weren't exactly conducive to great accuracy. Besides, I was more interested in ease of loading and seeing how long I could go without needing to swab to get a ball down the bore. I can say it was at least 15 rounds! Next time I get a chance to shoot, I'll work on load development to try to wring some better accuracy out of her. Cleaning was also quite different. I used a total of 15 patches! I could have probably gotten by with less because the last few were coming out so clean, I couldn't believe it, so I had to do a couple more to be sure!
I'd call it a success!
Let's see some pictures!
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I ordered some caps and powder today. It may be a bit before I can sit down…
Filmed a splitting the ball on the axe video project yesterday,
Had a barrel of fun putting this one together.....!
Had a barrel of fun putting this one together.....!
Ok...first attempt at relief carving, star inlay...and posting pics here!
Very nice job!
Played with the Ardesa 12 bore. Very pleased with the lock after changing springs and polishing, no hammer bounce and a nice trigger pull at last. Had a double missfire caused by a fragment of cap which broke up, part of which blocked the nipple but worked through it and got gun up and running again which I'm putting down as a valuable experience. Patterned a couple of loads, I'm getting there, not quite 100% bit good enough to end the evening by stalking a rabbit to 20 yards and bagging it for the dog. Got to work on follow through now, it recoils more than any other gun I have and I don't think I'm fully returning to sight picture every time.
Got a call from Kibler that my .36 smr is ready to ship. I texted a friend and told him( Brian Kauffman aka Juniata on here). He offered to put it together for me. I gladly accepted as I have 48 deer to get mounted and deer season starts in 2 1/2 months. I’m quite excited!
Drove an hour to the DNR range to sight in my new Lyman GPR. Started at 50 yards cranking up the sight into the black, shot a four shot group about 2 inches, moved the front site and stopped with a grouping on the right edge of the 10 ring. Ready for saturdays shoot. Then blasted the two bull buffalo at 25 yards with my trade musket just for fun and to smell the deep cloud of smoke. Best day ever
Took a break from making sawdust on the forearm and made a brass embellishment to go on my pineapple patch box lid. Did not have a brass star so used super glue to fix one of my GS stars and cut out the brass piece. Then filed it down and done!
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I spent a while refining the lock on the Pedersoli Jaeger tonight. I'm happy with how its turning out. Can't decide if I want to brown the lock or leave it in the white. Either way it will be much better than factory caplock.
My son just moved nearby with his wife and our new grandson, so my son and I went to the range today and he shot some steel. First time shooting black powder and my flintlock and he LOVED IT. Might have him hooked. 
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