Maven
06-14-2008, 09:56 AM
I finally got the time to retest my Dixie (Miroku) long rifle, which I purchased (used) last year. While the stock & bbl. show obvious signs of use, the bore is excellent, but was filthy when I got it. Yesterday I tried to determine which ball diameter & patch thickness the rifle performs best with. (Dixie Arms recommends 70gr. FFg with a .490" RB & .018" patch which I tried in the past with some success.) Ergo I tried a .490" RB & .018" patch to foul the bore and retest (good - very good); a .495" RB & .018" patch (excellent; more below), but I only had 15 RB's to test; and a .490" RB with a .014" patch (not bad; more below).
Instead of using GOEX FFg (60grs. initially), which was incredibly filthy, I switched to GOEX FFFg @ 60grs., which was much cleaner. Also, I used Ox Yoke (sadly no longer in business) Wonder Lube (yellow, strong wintergreen odor) that I melted and soaked my patches in. Let me tell you this stuff is excellent and significantly better than the 15 yr. old Winchester Sutler"Moose Milk" I had been using. Btw, the new Win. Sutler "Moose Milk" looks and smells different than the old formulation. The only thing I had to do with Wonder Lube was seat the patched ball and dry swab the bore afterward. Damp patching wasn't really necessary, but I did so only when changing the ball dia. & patch thickness.
Results: All testing was done @ 50 yds. from a rest. Also, I find the rifle too muzzle heavy with too long a pull to shoot [comfortably] off hand. Moreover, I'm not thrilled with the silver blade front sight either & would prefer a Patridge type.
.490" RB (Lyman mold, but closer to .4905") + .018" prelubed patch, 60grs. FFFg: Went into 2" or less @ 50 yds. with some touching.
.495" RB (Lee mold, but ~.4935") + .018" patch & powder charge as above: These required a plastic mallet to [short] start and a heavy range rod to seat. However, most went into one big hole: The flyers were due to hang fires and inattention on my part.
.490" RB (Lyman mold) & .014" prelubed patch, 60grs. FFFg: This combination would be ideal for field use as it started easily into the bore and could be seated with the ramrod that came with the rifle. The potential for accuracy was there (several were touching), but due to time constraints and eye fatigue, I only tried 7 or 8. The sunlight on the front sight didn't help matters either.
I'll try to photograph the targets and post them here in the next week or so.
Instead of using GOEX FFg (60grs. initially), which was incredibly filthy, I switched to GOEX FFFg @ 60grs., which was much cleaner. Also, I used Ox Yoke (sadly no longer in business) Wonder Lube (yellow, strong wintergreen odor) that I melted and soaked my patches in. Let me tell you this stuff is excellent and significantly better than the 15 yr. old Winchester Sutler"Moose Milk" I had been using. Btw, the new Win. Sutler "Moose Milk" looks and smells different than the old formulation. The only thing I had to do with Wonder Lube was seat the patched ball and dry swab the bore afterward. Damp patching wasn't really necessary, but I did so only when changing the ball dia. & patch thickness.
Results: All testing was done @ 50 yds. from a rest. Also, I find the rifle too muzzle heavy with too long a pull to shoot [comfortably] off hand. Moreover, I'm not thrilled with the silver blade front sight either & would prefer a Patridge type.
.490" RB (Lyman mold, but closer to .4905") + .018" prelubed patch, 60grs. FFFg: Went into 2" or less @ 50 yds. with some touching.
.495" RB (Lee mold, but ~.4935") + .018" patch & powder charge as above: These required a plastic mallet to [short] start and a heavy range rod to seat. However, most went into one big hole: The flyers were due to hang fires and inattention on my part.
.490" RB (Lyman mold) & .014" prelubed patch, 60grs. FFFg: This combination would be ideal for field use as it started easily into the bore and could be seated with the ramrod that came with the rifle. The potential for accuracy was there (several were touching), but due to time constraints and eye fatigue, I only tried 7 or 8. The sunlight on the front sight didn't help matters either.
I'll try to photograph the targets and post them here in the next week or so.