What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

[Trooper]

Took the T/C Hawken .50 with factory QLA out on the back porch to shoot some soda cans. It was -7° F this morning. Having dispatched the 25 yard soda can, I have retreated to the house to warm up before tackling the 75 yard can.

Edit: Just killed the 75-yard can. Enough cold weather shooting for the day! Time to clean the gun now. Shouldn't be too bad as I used 777.

I pretty much use triple 7 exclusively. Black powder is impossible to find in the Edmonton vicinity and triple 7 goes for 70.00 per can. I just received a Lee REAL 320 double cavity mold and a paper patch bullet mold from accurate molds. Now I’m waiting for a “warmish”afternoon to start casting in my unheated garage. (I’ll cast with my OH doors open) I see Idaho Lewis casting and shooting with his TC 50 cal to impressive distances. I’m sure I won’t be able to duplicate a 1200 meter shoot like he does, but that the challenge and fun.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

I pretty much use triple 7 exclusively. Black powder is impossible to find in the Edmonton vicinity and triple 7 goes for 70.00 per can. I just received a Lee REAL 320 double cavity mold and a paper patch bullet mold from accurate molds. Now I’m waiting for a “warmish”afternoon to start casting in my unheated garage. (I’ll cast with my OH doors open) I see Idaho Lewis casting and shooting with his TC 50 cal to impressive distances. I’m sure I won’t be able to duplicate a 1200 meter shoot like he does, but that the challenge and fun.

I can't even conceive of hitting a target that far off! Not sure I could even SEE it.

The prices of propellants and pretty much everything else is ridiculous right now. Triple 7 was a little over $40.00 American last time I saw it on the shelf. Not even going to talk about the price of eggs, gasoline and beef lately. I haven't actually bought any Triple 7 in about ten years... still using what I bought back then. I've got three horns, each with Pyrodex, Triple 7 and Old Eynsford and have a couple pounds of Old Eynsford on the shelf in reserve. I'll be buying more black powder as soon as Goex goes back into production... if it ever does.

In these times there really is something to be said for small caliber guns!

 

[Trooper]

I can't even conceive of hitting a target that far off! Not sure I could even SEE it.

The prices of propellants and pretty much everything else is ridiculous right now. Triple 7 was a little over $40.00 American last time I saw it on the shelf. Not even going to talk about the price of eggs, gasoline and beef lately. I haven't actually bought any Triple 7 in about ten years... still using what I bought back then. I've got three horns, each with Pyrodex, Triple 7 and Old Eynsford and have a couple pounds of Old Eynsford on the shelf in reserve. I'll be buying more black powder as soon as Goex goes back into production... if it ever does.

In these times there really is something to be said for small caliber guns!

I’ve started to experiment with home grown BP it looks promising but I can’t seem to get the poof that commercial BP gets. More experimentation is needed.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

I’ve started to experiment with home grown BP it looks promising but I can’t seem to get the poof that commercial BP gets. More experimentation is needed.

Haven't done that just yet, but am kinda inspired by some of the stories I've read here. One guy South of the US border actually gets his sulfur from the active volcano near his home. Let the government just TRY to shut that source down! Cave dirt and charcoal are equally difficult to control, so even if black powder goes away, with a bit of a learning curve and some perseverance, we'll be making smoke for another century.

Now if only those stone-agers hadn't scrounged up all that flint over the millennia....

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

Decided to try my hand at video this morning. Camera is in a Kindle Fire 8 leaning against the back porch window. Target is a half-gallon milk carton set at 50 yards by pace. Gun is a T/C Hawken .45 with an 155 grain Hornady JHP unmentionable inside a plastic unmentionable over 70 grains of Pyrodex P. Target obliterated.

 

[wganz]

Late update on yesterday. Iced in. Yuck. eBay was still available. Ordered a .58" minie mould listed as being from an estate sale. Found another .58 minie mould for $20 on N-SSA's site, now just that I need to get the 5 blocks to the PO for a USPMO to send the seller. Getting another Lee Production pot so that there is no cross contamination between the pure lead for minie's vs. the wheel weight leads for unmentionables.

Finally got a shipping label creation email notice for that last band for that 1842 tarbaby project.

 

[Loja man]

Saw this at an antique mall. Vendor claims it is a Civil war confederate musket!!

 

[Bunk]

Rendered some beef tallow left over from butcher our own beef to use for patch lubing.

I have several horns I've been working on at various stages getting them ready for end plugs.

beef kidney fat makes a very solid tallow. Rendering is strictly outside affair.
Bunk

 

[19112tap]

beef kidney fat makes a very solid tallow. Rendering is strictly outside affair.
Bunk

It worked up a little less firm than expected, we also use it for cooking and making soap. Rendered with water on the cook stove then let set until solidified cleaned up and re-melted with water again it came out great. I plan on thinning it before using as patch lube.

 

[Loja man]

beef kidney fat makes a very solid tallow. Rendering is strictly outside affair.
Bunk

Helping some family friends butcher a steer this weekend. Hope to come home with suet!

 

[TDM]

I went through my closet and tried on several vests, 19th century trousers, a pair of French fly wool breeches, and none of them fit anymore. In fact, I have only one pair of breeches that fit. Thank goodness for the gusset on those!

I know that feeling all to well.

 

[Loja man]

Another muzzleloader I handled today! Tag said it was a Hall M1819 Conv. .54 cal….

 

[TDM]

Made a new short starter for the SMR.

 

[wganz]

Saw this at an antique mall. Vendor claims it is a Civil war confederate musket!!

Every hunque of junque is 'confederate' with a price tag attached to the proverbial cow's tail as she sails over the moon. I'd ask for dox of confederate usage prior to laying down serious greenbacks for that.

 

[Bunk]

Helping some family friends butcher a steer this weekend. Hope to come home with suet!

if you can get some of the kidney fat it makes harder tallow than body fat. I saved the kidney fat every year from a steer we fed out The fat is hard it needs to be ground, rendered by boiling and the tissue strained out through cheese cloth.
I was in the cow calf business heifers were either our replacements or sold as replacements. One steer every year was fed 120+ days and processed. My family and I are second tier vegans. The steer eats the veggies and we eat the steer. Works out for everyone but the steer.
Bunk

 

[64Springer]

Drum hole drilled and tapped 3/8"-24.

Filed the lock bolster barrel flat.

Tomorrow is barrel inletting day.

 

[Loja man]

Every hunque of junque is 'confederate' with a price tag attached to the proverbial cow's tail as she sails over the moon. I'd ask for dox of confederate usage prior to laying down serious greenbacks for that.

Actually they only wanted 125 bucks for! Just crack me up that they called in a musket!! it was a small bore rifle! Nothing about it even looks civil war military to me..

 

[wganz]

Actually they only wanted 125 bucks for! Just crack me up that they called in a musket!! it was a small bore rifle! Nothing about it even looks civil war military to me..

for $125, did you buy it?

 

[Pierre009]

You should have asked them what civil war? You may have been surprised at some of the answers...

 

[64Springer]

That antique mall gun is pretty neat.

Gives me ideas for a toss it together build I'm contemplating.

Bare bones ugly but functional.