What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

[longcruise]

Going to a shoot tomorrow and taking grandson. He's going to shoot the Franken fifty that I put together for him for Christmas. I have a 50 TC barrel that I added a couple years ago. I shot it six times and haven't shot it since. We will both be shooting 50s so wi can shoot the same "stuff".

But this is about today! I only had a few 495 balls so I fired up the casting gear and did up 137 balls. Good session. Only had six rejects.

 

[longcruise]

Well, these arrived today...JT from the UK. Nicley trimmed cutter too...should knock back the sprue well.

Oooo thank for the picture. I've heard so much about those molds but never seen one. What handles fit it?

 

[tarawa1943]

Since the previous thread was shut down (locked) by our new moderator, I thought I would start one up again, as per the suggestion.
So, let's get this thread going again, and share your muzzleloading related adventures of the day!

Inlayed an oval piece of brass into an Indian made Jaeger that was missing it.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Shooting my new Frontier caplock .50 cal. Not all these hits are mine but 5 of them are. This was off hand at 100 yds, I could not believe how great this rifle is to shoot. The photo is just to show the size of the steel can. Very happy day of shooting today, even though I look angry in the pic....haha sun was bright.

 

[Gtrubicon]

Picked up another gong, 8"x1/2" AR500. Painting it white.
View attachment 310573

All my steel targets around here are white, I use upside down marking paint.

 

[LANEY REECE]

So the daughter wants s proper veggie garden and kitchen herb garden this year, so we discussed what to grow so we can eat the veggies at fall ML events.

I may try growing some veggies in straw this year...

LD

I grow my potatoes i my leaves i rack up, could grow them in straw i guess but leaves are free. do most raised beds,less water and weeds after couple of years weeding in the beds.

 

[deerstalkert]

I grow my potatoes i my leaves i rack up, could grow them in straw i guess but leaves are free. do most raised beds,less water and weeds after couple of years weeding in the beds.

we grew potatoes one year in straw. lift on layer and pick them! then the dang field mice found them. had perfect spuds with a hole eaten straight through them.
muzzleloading stuff i did today.
Polished another lock. This one was looking like it was recovered from a shipwreck. i stripped it down and tossed the parts, minus the tumbler, sear, and sear spring into a pin tumbler. added water and a touch of citric acid. tumbled one hour.
the citric acid puts a nice bluing on but is thin. wash with alcohol gently, then dried it with a heat gun at 450*
set the finish, then buffed LIGHTLY with oooo steel wool.
did same with other parts. woke this morning in a foul temper so the boss banned me to outdoor and shop activities. worked out ok!
made up a load of shot to try in the New Englander 50 cal i reamed to smooth bore .54
1.25 oz BB over 80g of ff seemed to do well enough for turkey. if i can find some #4's i will try that. Not enough bb"s to get the density at 25 yards for a red, white, and blue head.
3 more days to Turkey dinner!
the lock i tumble blued. closer to black before knocking it back with 4 ought wire.

 

[Psycho Mike]

Oooo thank for the picture. I've heard so much about those molds but never seen one. What handles fit it?

If you order the "starter kit" like I did, you get the mold to your specs, a casting spoon (might be the Lee...it's more spoon-like, but deeper than I expected....will definitely handle my mold volume but may not have as much "head" as a dipper), custom ground cutter (looks like it'll trim them nice and close) and a set of large handles (look like Lee multi-cavity / commercial handles).

The mold itself looks very well made. The locking ring encroaches on the sprue area a little bit...fine by me as that means less to cut through (as long as it doesn't cause any ill effects for pouring). I highly doubt it will be an issue...brass molds take longer to heat up and longer to cool down.

 

[TDM]

I really like that color @deerstalkert!

 

[deerstalkert]

I really like that color @deerstalkert!

surprised me when i pulled it out of the tumbler. i expected shine up in the white. the citric acid reacted somehow with the metal. even a blind hog finds a nut once in a while.
it hints at gray but is a smooth finish.

 

[BS]

Made a cute little square like Bill Raby uses.
2.1/2" x 3.1/2"s

 

[BS]

I re-cut my ram rod channel, it was 3/8" and just looked small for my 62 cal. [Short Virginia] made it 7/16". I also roughed in for the thimbles. Just made them a bit short.

Laying on the bench was a 7/16" ejector pin. [Hardened pin wit a head]
Ground the head to a sharp edge at .518" diameter and put a nub on the end to pry it out. Worked very nicely for cutting square ends.

also made the thimbles.

1/32 flat stock.

 

[flatcreek]

Stopped by Dixons today and found the measure with cap holder in the slide in the used ben. Very nicely made and I never seen one like it before. Had to have it even though I don't often use caps. Maybe I can put 4F in the cap compartment.

 

[Frontstuffer070]

I moved this thing and I think I spun a main bearing in the process. Its an X-Ray counter weight. I have to cut the top part off to dump the lead block out. Then I may use the steel box as a new melting pot. It's free lead so the effort is worth it.

 

[Terrier]

I moved this thing and I think I spun a main bearing in the process. Its an X-Ray counter weight. I have to cut the top part off to dump the lead block out. Then I may use the steel box as a new melting pot. It's free lead so the effort is worth it.

Kinda hard to tell how big it is…. What’s the size of it?

 

[Terrier]

Cut some tent poles for my wall tent. It’s been retired in a shed for 30 years, but when I pulled it out and unfolded it the other day, and it was in amazingly good shape. Kinda anxious to set it up and see if it stays together!..

I got ambitious and while I had the opportunity, cut more than I really needed.

 

[Beaverman2]

Worked a little bit more on the brass for the WR yesterday after spending the day on a plant shopping spree with SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED, today will be a wash out as guess where those plant starts are going? but, after dinner I'm heading to the shop to start finishing a horn that I started 6 or so years ago, been a while since I snorted some horn dust!

 

[CuNosecap]

Working on some shell and floral carving on my Chambers PA Fowler.

 

[springfield art]

Got a little range time in…..this target is a total of ten shots….five high right, four at the bullseye, one…uh…flinch, jerk, didn’t squeeze…I dunno. All in all, I was happy!View attachment 87272

Superlative!

 

[Frontstuffer070]

Kinda hard to tell how big it is…. What’s the size of it?

It's 17" X 6" X 4" It is filled up to 9.5" height with lead. I should get a good many a round ball out of that.