Parker Hale Volunteer advice

[Tatume]

It is not difficult to fire the first shot. I hunt with mine, and have nothing but 100% reliability with it.
Excellent accuracy will be had with the Lyman 451114 mold designed especially for the Parker-Hale Volunteer. Bullets should be made of soft lead, pure lead if available. The barrel is made for long bullets. Pistol bullets made of soft lead might work; try some and see. I doubt they will be as accurate as a longer bullet such as the Lyman.
Nipple erosion is not an issue. Just buy a new one every few years. My best load uses FFFg powder.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The manufacture of your rifle is quite important when you need a new nipple. The British made rifles have a 5/16 - 18 thread, but the Euroarms ones have an 8 - 1.75mm. I wouldn't totally dismiss the possibility that some early Euroarms Volunteers used British parts or tooling. You would be better to use a proper micrometer and thread gauge to measure a nipple, and not to place yourself in the situation of having to measure a nippleless hole.

They do indeed have a tendency to lift the hammer and therefore erode the nipple. A solution if you were designing a rifle (You wouldn't modify a PH Volunteer, would you? No, nobody would), would be to use a particularly powerful mainspring and a double set trigger to avoid an unacceptable trigger pull. You might affect some improvement by checking that the hammer contacts the cap equally all around its circumference. Track of the Wolf make both kinds of nipple to fit the No11 CCI cap. The smaller internal area of those caps, and perhaps also a smaller hole, might also reduce hammer lift and thus erosion.

I have also heard of a tiny transverse hole being drilled through the nipple to reduce this tendency. Actually I doubt this, for high-pressure gases moving quickly are reluctant to change direction - which is the reason why your revolver doesn't lost a lot more power through the cylinder gap than it does. A stainless nipple, like a stainless barrel, should last better, and after a little use will be grey, not obtrusively shiny. There is no doubt about a platinum lined nipple being beneficial, though -at a price. I dabble in gold and silver work, and my suppliers do small bore platinum tube which could probably be silver soldered into a steel nipple at considerably less cost. Those suppliers are in the UK, but there must surely be some in the US. Gold (you may not want to hear this) is cheaper, but softer with a lower melting point. The nipple ought to be rehardened and tempered after silver soldering.

The Volunteer should be far superior to a round-ball rifle for long range accuracy and killing power. It was designed in the belief that Napoleon III could be dangerous (as he proved but to somebody else), in order to encourage military rifle shooting. So the rules limited the weight and required different shooting positions and an unset trigger. It is better suited to hunting than the two types of American rifle which I find most interesting - the very heavy bench target rifles, and the Scheutzen rifles with extreme hooked buttplate, suitable only for standing shooting with the rifle on the upper arm.

[Tatume]

Hammer lift is an easily recognized sign that the nipple is eroded. I suppose even a good nipple could allow enough pressure to lift the hammer if very stiff loads were used, but my load of 90 grains of FFFg with a 450 grain bullet does not do it. Only when the orifice is visibly enlarged will this occur in my gun.

[Good Cheer]

On the fast twist .52 Renegade there's now a 209 adapter installed to eliminate back flow and nipple wear.
Looking forwards to tests when the ice stops.

[Tatume]

I should add that my 16-bore rifle does not lift the hammer either. This gun shoots a patched 435 grain ball using 120 grains of FFFg. When the hammer starts to lift I'll replace the nipple, which I last did about three years ago.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I should add that my 16-bore rifle does not lift the hammer either. This gun shoots a patched 435 grain ball using 120 grains of FFFg. When the hammer starts to lift I'll replace the nipple, which I last did about three years ago.

All perfectly true, I'm sure. But just try using the same bullet weight (the .451s often used more) with the same powder charge, much the same energy and half the bore cross-sectional area.

[Tatume]

All perfectly true, I'm sure. But just try using the same bullet weight (the .451s often used more) with the same powder charge, much the same energy and half the bore cross-sectional area.

I suppose even a good nipple could allow enough pressure to lift the hammer if very stiff loads are used, but my load of 90 grains of FFFg with a 450 grain bullet does not do it.

In earlier posts in the thread I indicated I'm using a 450 grain bullet in a Parker-Hale Volunteer. I followed with the post about the stalking rifle, using a similar weight bullet with 120 grains of the same powder. I am aware that the 120 grain charge would likely lift the hammer of the Volunteer, and said as much.

The amount of force applied to the hammer is directly proportional to the pressure in the chamber times the cross sectional area of the orifice. If either one is increased, the force on the hammer is increased, and enough force will overcome the down force of the hammer spring. With a given bullet and powder charge, the orifice gradually enlarges until the hammer lifts, signaling the need for a new nipple.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

OK. So hammer-lift needs new nipple. But it appears that it is on the order of every year or so, not every 10 shots. That would stink if you had to have a stockpile of nipples in your shootin' bag. It would also stink if you had to spend lots of money every year for platinum nipples.

[pdgh59]

I have been reading this thread with interest. I have just acquired a 2 band Parker Hale Volunteer with Rigby rifling with very little use. Hopefully I will get to test it out on the weekend after Easter. Have cast a quantity of projectiles from a CBE 530 grain mould. The projectiles will be sized to .45. Thinking of starting off with70 grain of FFF.

[Tatume]

My Parker-Hale Volunteer was a prize gun that my friend Larry won in a championship match in Germany. When he traded it to me he said the most accurate charge was 86 grains of FFg with a 450 grain bullet, but he didn't include a mold with the gun. He did give me a coffee can full of the bullets he was using. I purchased the Lyman 451114 mold, and shot comparison groups with Larry's bullet and load and the Lyman bullet with 90 grains of FFFg. There was no measurable difference in groups. While it would appear there should be a velocity difference, again I found none (slightly more of a finer grain of powder, but the difference is so close and black powder is so inefficient, the noise overcomes the effect).

Did you read about my experience with sizing? I use 0.450" for target shooting, and unsized bullets for hunting. There is no difference in accuracy or point of impact. The smaller bullet loads with minimal effort, the larger is tight enough to stay in place during a day in the field.

Anyway, all that said, I'm confident your 70 grain charge and 530 grain bullet will be wonderfully accurate. I hope you enjoy your Parker-Hale Volunteer as much as I do mine.

[pdgh59]

Hi Tatume, I had read your experience on sizing to .450 plus have spoken to a few people who shoot muzzle loading target rifles. I would rather have a projectile that is easy to load. Will have to make do with a copper beryllium nipple until I can organise a platinum nipple from BACO.

[Rookie55]

Well, Black Jacque (any relation to Shellacque?), it's slow goin'. Remember how I said there was just too much work going on...I jinxed myself and it got worse. Did escape to Waldron - nice little drive down there - guy was super helpful and pleasant - got me powder and lube. Still need to get musket caps, bullets, and accouterments - platinum nipple, wrench, wads of some sort, drop tube, powder scale/volume measure tube for my powder horn, sling (any suggestions?), maybe something else I'm forgetting at the moment....baby steps but there's another insane week of work coming up and it's snowing outside anyway....spring and some breathing room will come....

[Rookie55]

And what about wad diameter - .451 like the bullets or larger? thickness? composition? And if I buy buklklets ('cause I don't see myself shooting large nough volumes to warrant buying molds, lead smelter, etc. - where best to buy them? Track of the wolf?

[Tatume]

Track of the Wolf is an excellent source for most stuff related to shooting muzzleloaders. Try shooting without wads. You may not need them. I don't use a drop tube either.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Rookie,

Yes, while I'm not "related" to the Shellacque family the moniker is inspired by the character. On other forums I use him as my avatar.

wads may or may not be necessary. If you don't have quick access to wads or a wad cutter, you can raid the kitchen pantry for cream of wheat, grits, or whatever similar grainy material an drop a small quantity of that on top of the powder charge.

TOW should be able to supply you with boolits. I would imagine there's probably someone here on these forums that would be willing to ship you some for a just exchange. I am interested in how things work for you. I can't get myself to pull the trigger on the four-digit price of a volunteer rifle.

I can't quite understand the idea of getting a gun that you don't plan on shooting enough to warrant casting equipment. How strange? Is that like buying wine to keep in your basement? Or a car to put up on blocks?

[Rookie55]

LOL! Loved watching BJS Saturday mornings as a kid. Who knows...I may get hooked and then run to casting equipment. I certainly had a blast as a teenager doing it for my dad's smokeless pistols and rifles. I may try it without wads and a powder tube and see how it goes. Can always buy them later. What happens if you don't use anything between bullet and powder? Is that a bad thing?

[Rookie55]

anyone have a thought about slings? I'd like something functional but fairly traditional. I found slings on a website called Regimental Quartermaster that look pretty nice. Sling for P-1853 seems about the right width but maybe too long given it's made for a 3 band musket? then there are M1842 and M1861 Springfield slings that may be shorter(?) but may be too wide for my 1.25" wide swivels? Other options?

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I don't know about slings. I was hesitant to get my first flintlock deer rifle which tips the scale at 10.5 pounds with no sling. To my surprise I do not get exhausted from carrying it (and I do put on a lot of miles deer hunting). Rather, I notice that after several days it is the shoulder that holds my shooting bag and powder horn that gets sore - which is far less than 10 pounds. I think what happens is, since my flintlock is so long, I use it as a walking stick up hills, or rest the butt on the ground whenever I pause. So a long gun has its advantages.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

OK. So hammer-lift needs new nipple. But it appears that it is on the order of every year or so, not every 10 shots. That would stink if you had to have a stockpile of nipples in your shootin' bag. It would also stink if you had to spend lots of money every year for platinum nipples.

Hammer lift is indeed progressive, but it shouldn't require replacement anything like every ten shots with any kind of nipple. Admittedly it will erode a lot faster than the bore, and yet black powder rifle bores wouldn't last anything like as well as they do, if nipples lasted no longer than that. If they required to be replaced that often, you would surely wear the threads and permit fouling to enter and cause rust there.

I still think stainless steel nipples are a pretty good compromise, and after a few shots they don't look bright and shiny, any more than carbon ones look inky black. There is also plenty of stainless hypodermic needles and tubing on eBay, in various sizes - if the law doesn't need to protect you from them. I don't trust myself quite so much on silver soldering of stainless steel (though it usually works when it is where I can see it better.) There is no danger in it, though, since if it loosens, it will loosen when the inertia of the hammer is just coming to a standstill, and it can't get out.

[Tatume]

Nipple erosion is not an issue. Just buy a new one every few years. Post #21

I rarely need to replace the nipple in my Parker-Hale Volunteer. Although I have a new one in my kit, I can't remember when I bought it. Nipple erosion is not an issue. Just replace it every few years when the hammer starts lifting.