sighted in my Lancaster today

[odis]

I went shooting today and was able to file down and drift in my rifle for deer hunting. Tried a number of different loads with .570 and .562 ball in my .58 using both 2f and 3f powder and settled on 100 gr. 3f with .562. I can load it so easy and I was astounded at the accuracy at 50 yd. I hunt in northern MN. and have never shot a deer past 80yds. so this work just fine. I was under the impression that for a bore that big you needed 2f and you should use as tight of a ball and patch combo as you could. I'm chalking it up to the Rice barrel and Chambers lock::smile:

[FL-Flinter]

Odis,

Yet again, proof positive that every gun is an individual unto itself. Rule of thumb is 2F in bigger bores, 3F in smaller bores but more often than one would think, the rule of thumb is useless beyond having something to say when someone asks, "I got XYZ what's a good starting load?"

I had several smaller bores, .32, .36, .40 & .45 that ran best on 2F, two of the .32's fouled to an insane level with 3F yet burned clean with 2F .... I can't even come with a good BS line explain it and nothing else mattered such as; charge volume, patch thickness, ball diameter and even with conical bullets, 3F was out, 2F was in. Some dummy was in a hurry one day and grabbed the wrong can of powder on his way out the door. Got to the range with a can of 1F and a .40 I had just got done building. Funny thing was, 45gr of the 1F produced the best accuracy and just slightly more fouling than 3F & 2F with the difference being I had to wipe after five shots instead of seven if I wanted to run a string that long.

Same deal with patch thickness and ball diameter. There's the starting point and then there are those that shoot best with a looser combination and those that want a combination with a tight fit. Two things that can make a big difference in the patch/ball combo are the patch material itself and the lube. Muslin comes in thread counts from 72 to 200 and simply going from say 96 to 140 can have a tremendous affect on load performance just making a change in the thread count of any other patch material. Same with lube, spit patch and grease, two totally different friction levels that change the operating pressure of the load considerably.

Nuff of the BS, main thing is she's shootin' good for you!

Mark

[RayinNH]

Any posts about flinters should have pictures, please :)...Ray

[odis]

Any posts about flinters should have pictures, please :)...RayIts a Bivins kit from TRW that I put together, Its an ugly beast but it shoots good, kind of like me I guess.

[madcaster]

Any posts about flinters should have pictures, please :)...Ray



Aein't THAT the truth!:kidding: