I'm done with subs for good!

[Gtrubicon]

Pull the nipple, fill nipple hole with powder, reinstall nipple and shoot the whole mess out.

[Milky Duck]

70-80 grains Pyro and patched round ball has accounted for several deer with the old CVA that me and dad built from a kit I would guess it's around 1600 fps. Very accurate rifle with a double set trigger.

sorry..over here "subs" refers to subsonic rather than substitute.....

[Sasquatch-1]

Ugh, while cleaning my sidelock today I got a patch stuck at the bottom. Tried to pull it out and the rod came out, leaving the patch and jag in the barrel. I mean, the actual threaded part that the jag screws into came off the rod as well. Any ideas on how I can get it out? Much as I love sidelocks, in lines certainly have their good qualities for dummies like me!

After you get the patch and jag out, see if you can find a good quality brass "T" handle range rod. I have looked online and they are hard to find. I got mine from a little shop in Chambersburg, PA. called Ft. Chambers. Very well made rods and the "T" handle allows you to hook it around a square post or wall if it gets stuck.

[badwolf]

Co2 discharge is great for that, or you can try an air compressor.

[siamese4570]

I went back to BP years ago. My T/C sidelock worked ok with it as long as I used the hot Dynomit Nobel #1075 caps. Any other caps resulted in hang fires. IMHO, it was pyrodex that killed of the sidelocks. I can't remember how many people that complained that their gun wouldn't fire. (They were all using pyrodex).
Siamese4570

[FergusonTO35]

Pull the nipple, fill nipple hole with powder, reinstall nipple and shoot the whole mess out.

That's probably what I'll do, thanks.

[FergusonTO35]

I went back to BP years ago. My T/C sidelock worked ok with it as long as I used the hot Dynomit Nobel #1075 caps. Any other caps resulted in hang fires. IMHO, it was pyrodex that killed of the sidelocks. I can't remember how many people that complained that their gun wouldn't fire. (They were all using pyrodex).
Siamese4570

Totally agree with that statement. When I was a kid, there was a very real chance our sidelock would misfire. We just assumed that was the norm for muzzleloaders. I find it is quite reliable with musket caps, a very clean flash hole, and Pyro P. It is actually super reliable with T7 but not using that anymore for reasons already stated. That's one good thing I will say about that stuff, it's the best one I've ever tried in terms of reliable ignition. My T/C sidelock does fine with regular caps, I think because the flash path on that one is much less of a right angle than the CVA.

[FergusonTO35]

Pull the nipple, fill nipple hole with powder, reinstall nipple and shoot the whole mess out.

Dunnit, thanks!

[FergusonTO35]

Hey, what is the nominal groove diameter of a typical .45 caliber sidelock? I'm bidding on a cheap fixer upper CVA right now.

[LAGS]

I take it you mean the Groove for the nipple drum.
Most of the CVA or Jukar locks that I have are just under or actually 1/2" drums.
But they are metric.
Some of them vary depending on the model they were used on , or the year they were made.

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks, I'm referring to the groove diameter of the barrel.

[LAGS]

The barrel Width depends on the model of rifle that you have.
I have had CVA's that were either 13/16" width or another model was 7/8" width.
But I have also seen some of them that the seller of the stock said it used a 15/16" barrel.
I did Re Inlet a 13/16" barrel channel on one model to accept a 7/8" barrel that I had.
Just look on the Net for used parts that they are selling for the model you need for the width they say it is.
If the barrel channel on a stock is wider than the barrel you have , you can glass bed the stock to fit the barrel perfectly.

[quilbilly]

Years ago I tried Pyrodex P and it was a disaster in our climate but both elk and deer got a chuckle out of it. I have used Goex 3F ever since. I came across some Black MZ and, of course, they quit making it but it handled our climate well. I even left a pile of it out in our monsoon humidity for a week on a paper towel as a test and it still worked. I still use the Goex 3F.

[FergusonTO35]

Pyro P has worked well so far with musket caps. I'm probably going to order 3F and stick with it from now on.

[charlie b]

Last year at the range a guy was sighting in his new inline for hunting. Misfires almost every time.

He had pellets but he was putting them in backwards. Once that was figured out he still had every other one misfire (using 209 primers). I gave him a couple loads of loose RS I had and both of those worked fine. I don't know what he did after that.

[FergusonTO35]

Customer at my side job shop had the same thing, constant misfires. Told him the pellets are garbage and to switch to loose powder. He did so, and now reports the rifle goes bang every time and shoots alot better. I carry plastic speedloaders filled with measured charges of loose powder. Just as fast to reload as pellets and much better results all the way around. Also, if the light is dim you don't have to squint to make sure you insert the right end of the pellet. Dump it in and load up.

In a semi-related note, the stupid deer are mocking me. Had three really big does come within centerfire rifle range and just stare at me. I was aiming at them, pleading for one to make a mistake and come closer. I know my limits with a muzzleloader and at that range too much of a chance of wounding. If I had a centerfire with me (you know, for deer-shaped coyotes) I would have capped all three. Oh well, crossbow time!

[FergusonTO35]

I went ahead and ordered a 4x scope for my inline since I can't really use sights beyond about 60 yards. I have to wonder what the effective range of the 60 grains Pyro RS/370 grain Maxi Bullet would be before it dropped big time or just ran out of steam to be effective? If I could get minute of deer groups at 100 without a lot of holdover I would be happy. I figure this load is about on par with a Trapdoor Springfield.

[cas]

IMHO, it was pyrodex that killed of the sidelocks. I can't remember how many people that complained that their gun wouldn't fire. (They were all using pyrodex).

That and guns of certain design. I mentioned recently about a friend's CVA that would not fire (with Pyrodex, the only choice we had) unless you used a pistol primer conversion nipple. My old CVA wasn't all that much better.

I think back to my early days of muzzle loading, Pyrodex and that white CVA patch grease, lord what an evil combination that was, what a mess. (I've always said CVA was responsible for getting more people into muzzle loading, and scaring more people away from muzzle loading, than any single entity.) Losing the grease helped tons. I used Pyrodex, dabbled in 777 and APP, but it wasn't until I bought my first flintlock that I used real BP. It was only the coming of the internet that made that possible. I hope I never need to go back

Years ago I tried Pyrodex P and it was a disaster in our climate but both elk and deer got a chuckle out of it.

I think about this whenever I see people discussing leaving their gun loaded. I always unloaded every evening after hunting, while a pain (especially with no CO2 discharger at the time) I always felt more confident. But so many people I knew said they didn't. One guy I knew said he loaded his rifle and left it that way a month or two if he didn't get a shot. So one year I decided to try it. Hunted with my '63 Springfield, two, maybe three days? Left the rifle out on the enclosed porch at night. Lots of snow that trip. Trailed some big tracks but never got a shot.

The last night I pulled the mini ball, and under it was what looked like chocolate pudding. Made me glad I never had a shot.

[waksupi]

On another forum a guy was bragging about using subs for years and how good his barrel condition is. He had photos of his bore, and it had nasty pitting on every surface. He couldn't see it apparently, but I sure could!

[Soundguy]

Pyrodex P works fine in my revolvers.. in my rifles.. I will generally duplex a load of R with the first 5 grains being real black 4F.. and then a 5gr reduced charge of R.. never have problems that way. In my area.. the only real black available is 4f for 'pan charging'