A new journey begins

[Boerrancher]

I get those fliers on occasion, and I'm pretty sure they are caused by voids. It really shows up shooting the smoothbore. The balls are big enough to see in flight when light conditions are right Some of them have an extreme curve in flight.

I am guessing the only way to avoid that is to weigh every ball? I inspect them after they are cast, to look for lines, wrinkles, dents and dings. I want them to be perfectly smooth except for the Sprue. I am not sure why, but I have always preferred the cast ball to the swagged commercial ones. At times I had to use commercial ones, and they shot well, it just didn’t and still doesn’t feel right loading a store bought ball into a muzzleloader.

I didn’t see any tree rats yesterday morning. They didn’t com out until later when it warmed up and I was busy then. It was 15° F yesterday morning at 5:00 when I checked the thermometer. It didn’t get above freezing here in the valley until about 9:00 and that is when I had to start other things. Maybe this afternoon I will get a couple or some rabbits. I will find away to post pictures soon.

[LAGS]

After I cast the lead balls.
I tumble them in my ball mill.
If there are any voids or defects , they show up very quickly.
Tumbling rounds off the sprue.

[waksupi]

I am guessing the only way to avoid that is to weigh every ball? I inspect them after they are cast, to look for lines, wrinkles, dents and dings. I want them to be perfectly smooth except for the Sprue. I am not sure why, but I have always preferred the cast ball to the swagged commercial ones. At times I had to use commercial ones, and they shot well, it just didn’t and still doesn’t feel right loading a store bought ball into a muzzleloader.

I didn’t see any tree rats yesterday morning. They didn’t com out until later when it warmed up and I was busy then. It was 15° F yesterday morning at 5:00 when I checked the thermometer. It didn’t get above freezing here in the valley until about 9:00 and that is when I had to start other things. Maybe this afternoon I will get a couple or some rabbits. I will find away to post pictures soon.

For serious competition, I always weigh the balls. For plinking, I just use them as the come.

[Boerrancher]

One other stupid question Ric and I will quit bothering you… for awhile anyway. I have 3 flint locks now and all three of them the touch hole is located differently. On the old trade gun it is right at the bottom of the pan, on the 50 cal it is roughly 1/16th of an inch above the pan, and on the new 36 cal it is 3/32nds of an inch above the bottom of the pan. They all seem to work fine, the 36 is a bit problematic if you don’t prime it next to the touch hole, and the Trade gun is problematic if you over prime it. The 50 needs to be primed light like the trade gun but more on the right of the pan. What is the desired position of the touch hole?

[LAGS]

I don't do that many flinters.
But I found that I get better function if the vent hole is about half way up to the top of the pan , depending on the depth of the pan.
I had one flinter , that the hole was at the bottom of the pan.
I had lots of misfires.
So I drilled the hole a little higher and tapped it for a threaded liner.
It made it work so much better.
There is another option too.
You can grind a little off the bottom of the pan to get a little more depth

[Boerrancher]

I don't do that many flinters.
But I found that I get better function if the vent hole is about half way up to the top of the pan , depending on the depth of the pan.
I had one flinter , that the hole was at the bottom of the pan.
I had lots of misfires.
So I drilled the hole a little higher and tapped it for a threaded liner.
It made it work so much better.
There is another option too.
You can grind a little off the bottom of the pan to get a little more depth

I don’t seem to be getting a lot of misfirires as long as I fill the pan the way the gun likes it to be filled. The highest one is the one I just built, and it is about halfway up the pan.

[waksupi]

I have always put my vents at the sunset position, split by the top of the pan. Never had any problem with consistent ignition with a half pan or less of prime.

[Boerrancher]

I wish I could get photos to upload to here from my phone. I went squirrel hunting two days ago with the new 36 and its first kill was a coyote that that was hunting squirrels as well. Then after things settled down from the coyote I managed to get close enough to get a squirrel. I’m rather impressed that a rib shot didn’t destroy it like I thought might happen. On the way back to the house, I jumped a feral hog and while it was trying to decide whether to charge me or run away I sent a round ball right over its head and splintered a sapling about the diameter of a nickel. That made up his mind to run. I’ve hunted pigs enough to know they can take a lot of lead to the ribs before going down, so I alway try for head shots between the eye and ear if they are broad side or between the eyes if they’re looking at me. This one was a bit broad side so I could have notched its ear possibly. I dang sure wasn’t gonna shoot it in the ribs with a 36 cal Muzzleloader, had I been deer hunting with my 50, that’s a whole other ball game. A few years back I hammered one 4 times with a 158 gr RNFP cast, out of a 357 Marlin 1894C, behind the front shoulder. All four shots I could cover with the bottom of a Campbell’s soup can, and the hog still ran 100 yds or more before going down. So a .350 dia round ball that weighs 63 grs is just gonna make a pig very pissed off.

[Boerrancher]

Here is the finished 36 cal Hawken

I don't know why it is being such a pain to upload photos? I get the same error message here on my computer as I do my phone. We will see If I got one of the rifle to load.

[LAGS]

Nice looking rifle.
Looks like an Investarms.

[Boerrancher]

Nice looking rifle.
Looks like an Investarms.

It was a Cabelas kit so yes Investarms. I don’t know why I can’t upload photos. I have several but for some reason they time out. I will try it while I am in town and have a better signal.

Yesterday evening I took it out, and missed a Coyote at about 45-50 yds. He was running so I don’t feel bad about the miss. Then a couple hours later I took a squirrel’s head off with it at about 25 yds. It’s antlerless deer season here, as well as, squirrel, rabbit, and coyote. As well as this little rifle shoots I figure if a doe walks over the top of me, I will shoot her between the eyes or in the ear. I don’t know if that 36 has enough ass for a behind the shoulder shot.

Our deer hunting requirements for firearms are a bit screwy. You can use ANY CENTER FIRE RIFLE OR PISTOL CARTRIDGE FIRING AN EXPANDING TYPE BULLET, which means that a 24 ACP is perfectly acceptable, but if it is a black powder gun then it has to be 45 cal or larger. If a 25 ACP is acceptable why is not a 32 or a 36 cal black powder rifle because they pack a lot more punch? I guess when people who know nothing make the rules, you end up with crap like this.

[LAGS]

I too have a problem uploading photos.
But it is mostly just me and my junky computer.
But I am able to have other members post pictures for me when totally needed.
In a way , that is better for me.
I have so many projects and items going on that if I posted pictures , that would take up a ton of my time.

[Boerrancher]

I am really starting to love that 36 cal Hawken. It’s heavy compared to my trade gun and 32 Crocket, but dang, does that rifle shoot. A couple evenings ago I took it out for a walk and took a squirrel’s head off at somewhere between 25 and 30 yards. Last night I was 3 squirrels for 3 shots, but was only able to bring 2 home. The first one I shot had just come out of its den tree and went up it to bark giving me a perfect head shot, which I made, and it fell right into the center fork of that same tree. The tree and fork were large enough all I could see was the tail hanging out one side and what was left of the head on the other. Of the two others one was on the ground and the other was in a tree. The one on the ground I had to shoot through the ribs as it was running. 25 grains of Goex 3F, with a 0.011 cotton patch wrapped around a 0.350 cast ball is just perfect. As always my usual process of first patch is a grease patch, followed by spit patches after that, keep it shooting consistently for about 20 rounds before I have to run a wet patch or two down it followed by a couple of dry ones. If I don’t the windage doesn’t change, but the elevation starts to increase. My guess is the fouling is increasing the pressure slightly.