What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

[64Springer]

An early start on the Traditions Kentuckyish butt rebuild.

Around 5pm I'll drill for the 5/16" wooden dowels and epoxy them in.

Gotta let the epoxy cure for a few hours first. Patience stinks.

Need to locate and order a piece of 1018 bar stock 1-1/4" wide x 1/8" thick. Speedy Metals maybe.

Or no butt plate at all. Just round the edges and paint it along with the rest of the stock.

 

[LANEY REECE]

Thanks! It was hard won by three years dodging mortars.

THANK YOU SIR for your service.

 

[DrLaw]

Finished molding bullets today. I finished because I ran out of soft lead and had to order more.
.31 Colt Baby Dragoon, .36 Colt. .44 Johnston & Dow and round balls in .457 and .380.

The Doc is out here and heading to the office now.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Started work on another horn. I haven’t done a lobed one in a while, so.,,

 

[Rob M.]

Slabbed off the bottom of my plank stock, carved in the ramrod groove , then drilled the Ramrod hole in the forestock ....finished bedding the barrel two days ago ....finished fixing the forge too so will be using it to make round ball soon as my first project on the new to me forge

 

[Shiloh]

Slabbed off the bottom of my plank stock, carved in the ramrod groove , then drilled the Ramrod hole in the forestock ....finished bedding the barrel two days ago ....finished fixing the forge too so will be using it to make round ball soon as my first project on the new to me forge

I have my great Grandpa’s forge. It looks very similar to that one.

 

[Old Sparky]

Finished molding bullets today. I finished because I ran out of soft lead and had to order more.
.31 Colt Baby Dragoon, .36 Colt. .44 Johnston & Dow and round balls in .457 and .380.

The Doc is out here and heading to the office now.

Where do you get your soft lead from? I have been having a rough time on eBay some of it is not soft enough.

 

[IsMackinac North]

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!

My principle complaint about any aspect of the ML hobby is the soaring costs. When I started, we would order great kits from The Golden Age Arms Company for less than $300! Adjusted for inflation, that would be $617 today. No way you get a good kit for that now. I got my first firearm deer with a kit rifle from Golden Age, and scores of smaller game. I was hooked!
I don't buy anything at these new prices.

 

[Old Sparky]

I just shot my first shots in my first smoothbore. It is a 19 gauge Northwest trade gun with 44 inch barrel. I shot a few. 600 balls. Then I let Mr squirrel here have it with some shot. Seems like a pretty open pattern for 15 yards or so. The pattern seems a lot more dense toward the bottom. I am used to patterns that are concentrated near the top. Well I got a lot of experimenting to do now and I can't wait LOL I definitely like this thing it has fired every single time so far. Knock on wood

 

[DrLaw]

Where do you get your soft lead from? I have been having a rough time on eBay some of it is not soft enough.

It's getting more and more costly, but I get it from MidwayUSA. Used to come in two three pound connected ingots, but now is five pounds, one ingot. Since I don't shoot that much, it lasts me. (I know, I should practice, but... ) For other shooting (those new-fangled cartridge guns) I get scrap lead from our club range. Sweat-equity. We clean it out our indoor range every few years and the members who help get lead. We take out about 4 to 5 tons when we empty the backdrop.

The Doc is out now.

 

[Shiloh]

My principle complaint about any aspect of the ML hobby is the soaring costs. When I started, we would order great kits from The Golden Age Arms Company for less than $300! Adjusted for inflation, that would be $617 today. No way you get a good kit for that now. I got my first firearm deer with a kit rifle from Golden Age, and scores of smaller game. I was hooked!
I don't buy anything at these new prices.

And gas used to be 23 cents a gallon.

 

[le125verne]

Made 8-32 female to 10-32 female, 10-32 female to 10-32 female adapters for cleaning ramrod tips. Now I can clean my Mississippi 54 caliber musket/rifle much better.

 

[le125verne]

And gas used to be 23 cents a gallon.

My assembled Franken Ford gas cost $0.25 per gallon. Ahh, the regret of selling it set in about one year later, SHEESH!

 

[Rob M.]

I have my great Grandpa’s forge. It looks very similar to that one.

Thats great . !!

 

[aussie pete]

I've been doing some early morning scouting. Time to get serious soon, before it gets too hot. Mr Croc and Jabiru are safe (protected species, rightly so), but Mr Pig should worry. We'll see ...

Pete

 

[Lawdawg98]

Cleaned out a shelf in the garage and found a bunch of old lead rounds for ML. Not sure the caliber so I have some measuring to do tonight.

 

[IsMackinac North]

And gas used to be 23 cents a gallon.

You'd have to go back to 1929 for gas to be 23 cents a gallon. It went down in price during the Depression, and was back at 23 cents again in 1947. My point is that ML costs have gone up much faster than inflation, and only recently.

 

[Terrier]

You'd have to go back to 1929 for gas to be 23 cents a gallon. It went down in price during the Depression, and was back at 23 cents again in 1947. My point is that ML costs have gone up much faster than inflation, and only recently.

I've seen it as low as 19 cents but I wasn't alive in 1947. It was 50 cents by the time I had to buy any.

 

[longcruise]

You'd have to go back to 1929 for gas to be 23 cents a gallon

I've seen it as low as 19 cents but I wasn't alive in 1947

In 1970 I bought gas regularly for 22.9. It stayed relatively cheap until 1973 and "the energy crisis".

Nothing ml related but the day isn't over yet

 

[64Springer]

Here we go. Starting to look like a stock again.

Top and bottom lines of the stock roughed in. Lov'in that gentle radius from wrist to toe.

Took out the sharp and ugly rise behind the wrist. May soften that area some more. Decisions. Decisions.

Won't do the final shaping for several weeks. That epoxy needs to be rock hard. Or it'll gum up and pull out of the joints when sanded on.