What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

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Still working on a load combination for the Investarms .50 cal. Hawken. I like 60 grains and today's patch and lube combination winners are 5:1 water/ballistol damp patches and damp patches soaked with the mystery Olde Turkey Track solvent. The dried ballistol patches did not do as good and the barrel fouled very quick. Added dry felt wads and that
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was terrible and dirty. Wiping the patches over a 7:1 olive oil/beeswax was also very dirty and not as accurate. I'm not going to go nuts over this. For me, the damp ballistol patches give me good enough results.
 
That antique mall gun is pretty neat.

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

Bare bones ugly but functional.
¿New genre since Hawkins & Trade Gun have gotten stale?
Cannot wait for the 15 page thread on whether the imported Indian mall gun is authentic/PC/HC enough.
 
Got a couple of moulds ordered. Made the call to the Muzzleloading shop to clear up things on their web site. Did find that they ream open to a smoothbore. Got a FaceBook chat open in another window with a gunsmith about a North Carolina Nessler bullet mould. Researched and found that the lightest legit revolver trigger pull is 2.5#.
 
Got a couple of moulds ordered. Made the call to the Muzzleloading shop to clear up things on their web site. Did find that they ream open to a smoothbore. Got a FaceBook chat open in another window with a gunsmith about a North Carolina Nessler bullet mould. Researched and found that the lightest legit revolver trigger pull is 2.5#.
I've fired several dozens of those NC Nesslers, molded from an Eras Gone mould and even spoke to Mark Hubbs about them.

I couldn't get them to hit anything and neither could anyone else including him

Basically we surmised that these were probably useless bullets in the original period to make troops armed with .69 smoothbores feel better, they were never tested and just made into cartridges by a Deaf, Dumb and Blind institute and issued. They do fire, and you can expect 3 foot groups at 100 yards and sometimes they tumble. I tried many different charges, I lubed them, sized them , they're junk and Mark agreed they were probably originally junk. He found the originals dumped at an encampment site and copied them exactly.

If they ever worked, they were used in something other than a .69 smoothbore.
 
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.

Was the water frozen. I actually love shooting frozen water bottles. They explode better than Tannerite. Doesn't cost as much either. Semper Fi.
 
Was the water frozen. I actually love shooting frozen water bottles. They explode better than Tannerite. Doesn't cost as much either. Semper Fi.
Nope... at least most of it wasn't. At three degrees it freezes pretty fast. As seen in the video, I have a building down range. Don't want a ricochet off a frozen bottle punching a hole that would have to be explained to the landlord. Then again, if I move the target out to maybe 125 yards or so..... Hmmmmm.....
 
Two weeks on those cap & ball nipples, they still will not budge. Tried heat, blaster finally got the kroil been soaking for 3 days with kroil. Made a jig with two dowels, used an impact drill. Cursed sweet talked tried tapping while turning tried turning without tapping. Those suckers are frozen there for life...me thinks.
 
Decided to try and make the magic happen again this morning. Took a T/C Renegade flintlock .50 caliber with a Barnes unmentionable in an unmentionable to shoot at a water-filled plastic cat litter container that was placed approximately 125 yard out. 70 grain charge of Old Eynsford, 250 grain bullet. I missed, but you can see the snow splash just under the target at the crest of the hillock. There were some gusty winds, which is no real excuse. Tried again with different powder charges, but failed with those as well. I guess you can't get 'em all. :mad:
 
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