Spring Qualifications

[BlackpowderBill]

Shooter 575: I don't know how other teams qualify to shoot on the Battery or Company Team, but we had ours qualifications today, near Ionia Road and M43. Last week we postponed because of the snow storm. Today it was about 45 deg F and with a 15 to 27 mph wind @ 90 degrees from the gun target line felt like it was in the 30's.

We shoot paper targets in 2 minutes for each target starting with a loaded musket, @ 50 yards standing. The rifle musket was not cleaned during shooting (in this case, 20 shots).

On the 4 inch simulated clay pigeon I got off 5 shots and had only 1 target hit in 5 shots for a hit time of 120 seconds. I did a little better on the simulated 4 inch tiles with 3 hits or a hit time of 40 seconds. Those three were in a cluster and the other two were victims of the wind or my poor shooting. I got one hit for 5 shots on the simulated paper 3 inch flower pots; again a hit time of 120 seconds. I hit one 6 inch tile at 100 yards for a hit time of 120 seconds. Today's shooting was about twice as bad as my season average last year.

This was the first time I shot this 3 band C.S. Richmond .58 since last September. The long gun was whipping in the wind, but the missing was all my fault. The musket shoots the load really well and is capable of a hit on these targets if I do my job. This CSR .58 likes a custom .577" 464 gr International Minnie that we had RCBS make a few years ago,(not the Hodgdon wadcutter) sized .577", lubed with MCM and a 50.0 gr. charge of GOEX fffg and a RWS musket cap. We chronagraphed it at 1,000 fps. Standard deviation after a fouling shot was around 4.

We are planning on some cannister rounds for the bronze 6 pounder in local skirmishes if invited to shoot them and the range is safe. Marion Skirmish comes to mind.

Regards
Bill

[shooter575]

Bill, Today was real crummy for shooting.Cold and damp.I was going to test some new loads for my Sharps. But I never got out. I should get a bunch of practice in for nationals...
Our Team would use the hit time average for the last two skirmishes you shot for team placement. It has allways worked for us. This year we are down in numbers so if we can prop them up on the line and fog a mirror you be on the A team. The bench is empty!
1st Bluewater [ex caseville] is having artillery. Haack is doing that one.

[RBak]

BP BILL seez...." This CSR .58 likes a custom .577" 464 gr International Minnie that we had RCBS make a few years ago,(not the Hodgdon wadcutter) sized .577", lubed with MCM and a 50.0 gr. charge of GOEX fffg and a RWS musket cap. We chronagraphed it at 1,000 fps. Standard deviation after a fouling shot was around 4."

Hi Bill, long time "no speak". You guys are much, much more knowledgeable on these things than myself, and a SD that low tells me you certainly have your Ducks in one staright line. How in the world do you do it?????

My exposure to CW muskets only spans about five years, and it was you, who years ago gave me some "starting tips", on accuracy for the 1861 Colt I am still shooting.....which, if I remember correctly, your wife was also shooting at the time.

Then Jim Webber came along and spent considerable time with me a couple of years back. Still yet, I have never had a lower SD than 18/20....and I felt good with that, as some were as high as 60!
I don't spend enough time with the musket, as my interests are so varied in the Muzzleloading field. Also, considerable time and effort has gone into getting a smoothbore in .66 cal shooting to my satisfaction with roundball and tic patch. It is not a Perrazi on the Trap Line with shot, but I have taken 23 straight on one occasion.

I don't want to get off topic here, but I would appreciated another string sometime on how you guys accomplish this. I use the MCM lube, and I do my best to hold my mouth just right on each shot, but I seem to be sadly lacking when it comes to the expertise on loading that both you and Jim show.

Russ

[shooter575]

Russ, Just like anything else.You got to play around with it.I found out that having a bunch of moulds to try out realy helps.I must have 25 .575-.578 moulds Some rifled muskets will just like one or two types better than any other.
I had a Euroarms 3 band Enfield in the early 80s that would only shoot the "ashcan" Lee better than the Rapine. Now I wanted a boolet that had real grease grooves.Started buying moulds,None worked worth a darn.
Now I am shooting a custom barreled 55 rifle that will shoot just about anything fairly well.But it seems to like that Hodgen the best.
I have been the team armorer for a few years so I get to try out diffrent minnes to find good loads for my teamates muskets. One thing is they are all a bit diffrent. I now have started to pick up moulds for barrel sizes I don't even own.Just to try out in other peoples muskets.
Now I do not own a chronagraph,I should get one though. So I can't help there.