Shotgun Willy
Member
A while back, I bought a Zouave, and have been trying to work up a good load for it. I've got some questions, I'm hoping someone can help me with.
When loading a .576 ball (supposed to be .575, but measures out at .576), I'm having to smack the living-crap out of the ball starter, to get it started down the barrel. Then when it gets about 2 - 3 inches farther in, I have to smack it again-but not so hard. After that, it's pretty easy to shove it on down in, using my dowel rod. Is it normal to have to hit it that hard? I've tried it patched and un-patched, and both ways leave my hand sore after just a few rounds. It seems pretty obvious to me, that I need some smaller balls, but how small? Should I drop it down to .565, and just adjust the patch thickness? Should I switch over to Minies, and what size-compared to the size of RB-if so? I don't want to buy a mold, until I can be sure I'm getting the right one, but I don't want to buy a whole lot of the wrong size balls for testing, either.
The other question is, does anyone know where I can buy a new rear sight? I ask about the rear sight, because I don't want to mess up the one that's on it, trying to adjust it. At 120 yards, and with 50 - 70 gr. Pyrodex RS, it's hitting 18 in. high. To get the POI down near the point-of-aim, I had to reduce the charge to 35 gr.. That's not going to have a lot of knockdown power, and I'm wanting to do a little hunting with this gun. I wish I could be more precise about how high it was hitting, but by this point, my hand was hurting too much from loading, to keep playing with it.
The rifle's stamped .58 cal, DART, Made in Italy, and PR (the mystery manufacturer).
Thanks
When loading a .576 ball (supposed to be .575, but measures out at .576), I'm having to smack the living-crap out of the ball starter, to get it started down the barrel. Then when it gets about 2 - 3 inches farther in, I have to smack it again-but not so hard. After that, it's pretty easy to shove it on down in, using my dowel rod. Is it normal to have to hit it that hard? I've tried it patched and un-patched, and both ways leave my hand sore after just a few rounds. It seems pretty obvious to me, that I need some smaller balls, but how small? Should I drop it down to .565, and just adjust the patch thickness? Should I switch over to Minies, and what size-compared to the size of RB-if so? I don't want to buy a mold, until I can be sure I'm getting the right one, but I don't want to buy a whole lot of the wrong size balls for testing, either.
The other question is, does anyone know where I can buy a new rear sight? I ask about the rear sight, because I don't want to mess up the one that's on it, trying to adjust it. At 120 yards, and with 50 - 70 gr. Pyrodex RS, it's hitting 18 in. high. To get the POI down near the point-of-aim, I had to reduce the charge to 35 gr.. That's not going to have a lot of knockdown power, and I'm wanting to do a little hunting with this gun. I wish I could be more precise about how high it was hitting, but by this point, my hand was hurting too much from loading, to keep playing with it.
The rifle's stamped .58 cal, DART, Made in Italy, and PR (the mystery manufacturer).
Thanks