What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

[rhart]

Went back to the range today with the Renegade. Poured some 91% isopropyl alcohol down the barrel when I got there and turned the barrel upside down to let it drain while I shot my Pieta 1860 Army. After the Renegade drained/dried I dry patched her, loaded up and she fired first time/every time the whole day. Ran cleaning patches down the bore about every third or fourth shot with no 'vapor lock' issues. Fairly satisfying day (except I forgot to bring the PA Conicals to see how they shot). Now to clean both guns.

 

[TDM]

Excellent @rhart!

 

[BillyC]

I’m brand new to this game so I have a couple of questions.
Is that load adequate for deer hunting?
Would a heavier load raise that POI without affecting the group size too much?

 

[Jim K]

Jim, I use a small 13/64 fractional open end wrench. Its small and fits the Crockett rifle nipple well. I proper size nipple wrench would be best IF one desires to keep the stock nipple.

However, I have found that the stock nipple is too small for number 11 caps. They can and will fall off very easy. I'm getting ready to order a different one.

This nipple is big. I’m sure it isn’t factory. No way could I get an open end wrench on it. But the tool my friend made works so I’m good to go. It’s nice to have a friend with a metal lathe.

 

[brushyspoons]

I tidied my workbench, disassembled a new flintlock for a southern pistol build, and learned why Kibler locks cost what they do. I hope Jim expands his operation to offer more lock styles, even if he charged twice what he does now for his locks I'd say they're well worth the money (but don't tell him I said that ). But since there's a silver lining to everything, this lock for the pistol will hopefully be a great learning lesson on how to fine tune a flintlock to operate smoothly. Building one of my own from scratch is long down on my bucket list, so it should be good experience.

 

[TDM]

I’m brand new to this game so I have a couple of questions.
Is that load adequate for deer hunting?
Would a heavier load raise that POI without affecting the group size too much?

I’d suggest doing a forum search on .50 cal hunting loads for patched round balls and conicals. If you don’t find the answers you want start a new thread in the muzzle loading hunting section with your question. You’ll get the best answers there. But in a .50 cal with a patched round ball 70-80 gr and with a conical like the TC Maxi-Ball 80-90 gr. As far as POI and group size it will depend on what your rifle likes.

 

[aussie pete]

I’m brand new to this game so I have a couple of questions.
Is that load adequate for deer hunting?
Would a heavier load raise that POI without affecting the group size too much?

TDM is spot on. I love the search function on this site. With a simple search, you get all the information that has gone before. Billy C, go up to the top right of screen and enter in the search domain: loads for .50. You will come up with an encyclopaedia of responses that you can go through at your leisure - your answer is hiding in there.

Just to help, a buddy hunts with a .50, deer, pigs, wild dogs and such. After a series of trials, he finds he likes patched roundballs out to 50 metres, 65 max. His load for his Pedersoli Tryon is 60gns FFG real black, a .018 pillow ticking spit lubricated patch and a .495 ball, set off with RWS ignition cap. He is a cautious hunter, enjoys the stalk and getting right in the target's loungeroom; his results are humane, and he always seems to fill the fridge. Mind, you have bigger stuff over there, and will have to adjust to your target species accordingly.

As to that heavier load raising the POI, that's best for you to sort out at the range with your particular rifle, settled down behind a good rest and some eight-inch black circles ...

Oh, and get to know your target species anatomy. Every beast has a heart and lungs, but each species' lies in a range of combinations, some forward, some back, some higher, some lower.

Cheers, Pete

 

[Alan O]

Poured a glass of wine tonight and took it to the shop. Got online and ordered some replacement tools from MBS. Then went through all my files and cleaned them with a a wire "toothbrush" to get ready to work on one of my builds (or rehabs) this weekend.

 

[deerstalkert]

today i got to thinking what was the gun i hadn't shot the longest time.
concluded it was my Mortimer.
got all my stuff out on the porch and discovered my horn was empty. fixed that.
loaded the .54 up with 80g ff a patched round ball and a sharp flint. fired 5 shots down range at my 60 yard gong. the wind drove me back inside.
i had forgotten how nice that Mortimer shoots.
loaded up my fowler so i can scare the flicker off the outside wall of the second story. have had a war going with him every day for a week.
stinking cold with the wind blowing so was lazy the rest of the day.

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

77 degrees in KY today. No way I wasn't going to miss getting out using the smoke poles and cameras.
Put together another fun video project to post soon...

 

[SOLANCO]

TDM is spot on. I love the search function on this site. With a simple search, you get all the information that has gone before. Billy C, go up to the top right of screen and enter in the search domain: loads for .50. You will come up with an encyclopaedia of responses that you can go through at your leisure - your answer is hiding in there.

Just to help, a buddy hunts with a .50, deer, pigs, wild dogs and such. After a series of trials, he finds he likes patched roundballs out to 50 metres, 65 max. His load for his Pedersoli Tryon is 60gns FFG real black, a .018 pillow ticking spit lubricated patch and a .495 ball, set off with RWS ignition cap. He is a cautious hunter, enjoys the stalk and getting right in the target's loungeroom; his results are humane, and he always seems to fill the fridge. Mind, you have bigger stuff over there, and will have to adjust to your target species accordingly.

As to that heavier load raising the POI, that's best for you to sort out at the range with your particular rifle, settled down behind a good rest and some eight-inch black circles ...

Oh, and get to know your target species anatomy. Every beast has a heart and lungs, but each species lies in a range of combinations, some forward, some back, some higher, some lower.

Cheers, Pete

What he says about anatomy!!!!!

 

[TDM]

You got to know the insides to make the right shot, that’s for sure.

 

[aussie pete]

today i got to thinking what was the gun i hadn't shot the longest time.
concluded it was my Mortimer.
got all my stuff out on the porch and discovered my horn was empty. fixed that.
loaded the .54 up with 80g ff a patched round ball and a sharp flint. fired 5 shots down range at my 60 yard gong. the wind drove me back inside.
i had forgotten how nice that Mortimer shoots.
loaded up my fowler so i can scare the flicker off the outside wall of the second story. have had a war going with him every day for a week.
stinking cold with the wind blowing so was lazy the rest of the day.

Apologies. USofA isn't my first language. What's a flicker?

Pete

 

[deerstalkert]

Apologies. USofA isn't my first language. What's a flicker?

Pete

neither is it mine! and i was raised here!
a flicker is a medium sized wood pecker. very colorful and mostly not a nuisance. also they are a protected species.
taste like chicken!

 

[TDM]

@aussie pete, I didn’t know what a flicker was either.

 

[deerstalkert]

a flicker will respond to a cow elk call. every season i get several that will come to the call from a mile away. really pretty bird.

 

[aussie pete]

neither is it mine! and i was raised here!
a flicker is a medium sized wood pecker. very colorful and mostly not a nuisance. also they are a protected species.
taste like chicken!
View attachment 202607

Wow! That is a wonderful looking bird. We don't have anything like a woodpecker down here, but as far as colour goes, our Rainbow Lorikeets are hard to match.

Thanks for posting that image.

Pete

 

[COTNTOP]

Here they are called "Yellowhammer" by the old timers.

 

[ETipp]

neither is it mine! and i was raised here!
a flicker is a medium sized wood pecker. very colorful and mostly not a nuisance. also they are a protected species.
taste like chicken!
View attachment 202607

Dang, learn something new every day.

And all this time I always thought a Flicker was one of those old southern boys that you hate to get behind because they drive slow with their arm out the window, picks their noses and Flicks them out the window.

 

[Matt85]

Just spent some time cooking up food for my hungry girl with the casting furnace.