problems with a .32 cal crocket rifle

[mountainman]

Well the weather finally broke and I got out to shoot my crocket rifle. 1st problem was the hammer was hitting the top of the lock and not hitting the cap that was handled and fixed it shoots every time now. 2nd problem is accuracy. I cant seem to get a constant shot. I poured the ball from a lee mold and they actually measured between
.311 AND .313. I tried patches that were .010 and .015 thick. and I used 20 grains of fff goex. At 50 yards all my shots were atleast 3 inches high and some were 6 inches high. I did adjust the front sight because it shot to the right it is now on center for the most part but the shots are all over the place shooting off the bench and using the set trigger. I just cant get any consistancy. Now here is the wierd part. Last year i was hitting clay pidgeon targets at about that same distance same balls, patches and powder. Any suggestions here ?
Thank you

[nhrifle]

Try lowering your charge by a couple grains at a time and fire 3 shot groups. My Renegade is a tack driver with 45 grains of powder under a round ball, which in my opinion is a very light load for a .50 cal. Perhaps a heavier charge, say 30 or 35 grains. I would also try FF powder, which works very well in my 1858 Remington repro. I have also read that sprue orientation can make a difference, though in my rifle it doesn't seem to matter much.

[bubba.50]

a friends Cherokee did him in a similar fashion. after much head scratchin' & investigation he discovered that due to dryin' out or wood shrinkage or some such that the wood had drawn & the barrel was loose in the channel. a temporary fix of shimmin' with strips of cardboard confirmed it & now it is glass-bedded & no more problems.

[GARD72977]

you may want to try some swiss powder, it works great in a 32. Try changing your lube. I use mink grease in the first patch then jus go to spit patching. Lube seems to have the biggest effect on the small bores.

[R.M.]

When I first got my 32 Cherokee, I tried many, many ball, patch, and lube combos. Nothing really impressed me much until I tried the spit patch. I have fired up 30 to 50 shots without wiping, and accuracy is great. This is with relatively light loads, say 20 to 30 grains of Goex 3F.

[twotoescharlie]

failing eyesight is my problem,cannot hit anything!!

TTC

[Hanshi]

I've owned a Crockett for around 12 years and never had accuracy problems with it. The only powder I use is 3F and charges from 20grns to 30grns (which seems to be the most accurate). It is a consistent shooter as well. I pour my own rb from a Lee mold and tumble them for an hour. they measure .311" with uniformity after tumbling although they're already very good right from the mold.

I lube the patches with Hoppes #9 Plus BP lube or spit; both are equally good. Patches have ranged from cotton t-shirts to .015" ticking with fine results. When I'm shooting well it produces sub 1" groups at 25yds and beyond.
http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt74/hanshi_photo/PICT0510.jpg

I also agree it could be a stock issue or at least something not related to your bore/load.

[mountainman]

Thanks for the info I'll take a look at the stock and see all my patches were lubed with black powder solvent. I did however last year lube with natural lube so I'll look into that also. The rifle was very accurate before sot maybe sitting and getting dried out by the furnace running this winter did something.
Thanks again

[fouronesix]

Tough problem to diagnose, but stock to barrel stress can do it but usually it takes quite a bit of stress to throw things that wacky.

The small bore BP guns can be really finicky about fouling so that could also be the reason in some way. So lube and humidity and powder type would all play a role. Just to isolate the root cause it wouldn't hurt to swab and range clean between shots to see. If it is stock stress then the shots will also be wild when cleaning between shots. If the shots are not wild when cleaning between shots then it points toward fouling. If fouling, a lighter/wetter lube might help. I use the same mix for patch lube as I do for range cleaning- moose milk- just a basic mixture of Ballistol and water.

[waksupi]

Your wood changed on you. Try putting a slight bend in the barrel wedge, and experiment with different tensions. That will probably be the culprit. If the wedge comes completely out, try turning it over. They need put in the same way every time.

[mountainman]

Well I've got the next 3 days off and I think some shooting is in order. I have printed out all of the posts on this subject and will try everything. Thanks for all the info

[Fly]

I've owned a Crockett for around 12 years and never had accuracy problems with it. The only powder I use is 3F and charges from 20grns to 30grns (which seems to be the most accurate). It is a consistent shooter as well. I pour my own rb from a Lee mold and tumble them for an hour. they measure .311" with uniformity after tumbling although they're already very good right from the mold.

I lube the patches with Hoppes #9 Plus BP lube or spit; both are equally good. Patches have ranged from cotton t-shirts to .015" ticking with fine results. When I'm shooting well it produces sub 1" groups at 25yds and beyond.
http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt74/hanshi_photo/PICT0510.jpg

I also agree it could be a stock issue or at least something not related to your bore/load.

Hanshi my friend, you bring up something I never heard of.That is tumbing the balls.Is that to make them
more round or what?
Fly

[Hanshi]

That's correct, Fly. Besides making the sprue disappear, it seems to even them out to more uniform dimensions. I only started tumbling them a couple years ago and noticed how nice they turned out. Doesn't take much time, either, only and hour or two. I tumbled some WW .62 ball cast from a Jeff Tanner mold. They still had projecting sprues even after I snipped them. Though cast from fairly hard alloy the sprues ended up being no more than flattened scars after tumbling. I'm a convert.

[Fly]

Well I'm still a bit confused?When you say tumble, are you doing it in a media of some kind.
I have a lyman vibrating deal for polishing brass.Will that work?

Fly

[mainiac]

My cherokee started shooting a little rough years back,and it too,had a loose barrell from wood shrinking.I temp fixed my gun with strips of black electric tape in the barrell channel,front and rear,and it worked like a charm.4-5 years later,i still havent glassed bedded it.Still shoots really well.

Also, ive seen 3-4 inch boolit drift @ 50 yards,with the 32,when the wind gets to blowing.These things shoot through the wind terrible.Maybe wind is your problem??

[Boerrancher]

Either your wood changed, or your method of loading changed. My Crockett doesn't care about ball size, patch thickness, or lube with it comes to consistency. What it does care about is methodology when loading. The slightest change of seating pressure will change the point of impact by as much as 6 inches at 35 yards. Everything I do can be exactly the same and if I don't seat the ball exactly the same, I go from ragged one hole groups to 10 or 12 inch groups, worst of all is that it doesn't take much change in pressure to mess up a nice group or miss a squirrels head. Check your wood first as suggested and if that is not it, check your method of loading.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Newtire]

I have an Antonio Zoli Zouave that did the same thing.. Glass bedded it and problem solved. That same thing happened to me with the hammer on my Crockett too. Come on this site and get the answer-bunch of straight-up people here, I tell ya!