troy fairweather
Member
Darn fine shooting, would be deadly to any deer inside 150 yards. Polishing the bore with Scotch Brite will help with cutting patches. Forget it you said what patch material you used, and what patch lube.
Dang it! You done good!! Too cool. Yes, I like .018 "best". Or some .020" for heavy loads. Bessie likes .020"+ with a chewed ball, with un-chewed I use denim for the patch, but a smooth bore is a whole different beast. I've shot .570"s in my Jeager with a denim patch. Don't know what denim measures. Surprisingly, they stayed on a paper plate at 100 yards. However, .600's with a .020" patch is what she likes best. I've tried every lube imaginable in the Jeager, including grease/oil from my bear, but it shoots best with "wonder lube 1000". It's supposed to be a .62" barrel, but I think it's much tighter than that. My guess is .615".So, range day...
The thing is perfectly reliable and more accurate than me, at least with irons. Averages about 3" for three shot groups at 100 yards. I took a picture of one of the "bragging groups".
View attachment 1166340
Didn't measure it, but those are 1" squares, so a bit under 2".
Started with 60 grains Swiss 2f and went up to 90. The rifle liked 70 and 80 grains equally well, so I filed and drifted the sights for 70, which took just one try. Nice when that happens.
With a clean bore and a 60 grain charge, patches showed some cutting from the rifling.
View attachment 1166349
This isn't unusual with my customary .010 patches, and as long as accuracy is good it doesn't bother me. As the barrel fouled and the charges increased, I started noticing little black smudges in the dirt. I didn't make the connection until I saw one smoking. With 90 grains of powder, the gun blows patches as badly as I've ever seen, turning them into these smoky little caterpillars.
View attachment 1166350
So @Ugly Sauce called it: the .530 balls and .010 patches aren't going to cut it. I haven't measured the bore yet, but it looks like I'll need to find a mold at .520 or less, and patches in the .018+ neighborhood. Darn, more shooting to do.
I'm sure there's someone here that will send you some .525s to try with your new mold. Where you Sourcing you're lead from, last I looked price for pure at roto metals wasn't to bad. Only thing I have about the bigger bores is now few balls you get a pound,54 is like a happy medium decent sized ball and get a good amount per pound.
Truth. Try casting up a bunch of musket-balls for a Brown Bess. !!!!! Bessie has a big appetite.I'm sure there's someone here that will send you some .525s to try with your new mold. Where you Sourcing you're lead from, last I looked price for pure at roto metals wasn't to bad. Only thing I have about the bigger bores is now few balls you get a pound,54 is like a happy medium decent sized ball and get a good amount per pound.
Suppose one more nice thing with a smoothbore is on don't have to worry as much if its not perfect pure lead,we're a rifle it better be pretty soft.Truth. Try casting up a bunch of musket-balls for a Brown Bess. !!!!! Bessie has a big appetite.
Truth again, although having a good supply of it, Bessie only eats pure lead. And, I only shoot her once in a while, maybe five or six times at a time.Suppose one more nice thing with a smoothbore is on don't have to worry as much if its not perfect pure lead,we're a rifle it better be pretty soft.
Hey, 50 yards probably looks like 100 with "those eyes". So, it's okay.And I just realized I'm the biggest liar on THR. My excuse is that I'm used to thinking and writing "100 yard groups" but all the shooting I wrote about in my previous post was at 50. Any two inch groups I make at 100, with these eyes and those sights, are purely accidental!
Truth. Try casting up a bunch of musket-balls for a Brown Bess. !!!!! Bessie has a big appetite.
Hey, 50 yards probably looks like 100 with "those eyes". So, it's okay.
Truth, casting slugs in .58" depletes the pot pretty fast. .600" and .570" ball isn't "too bad".My .58 Enfield is bad enough.
But seriously...I used to believe that unless one shot their groups at 100 yards, they was cheating. But, I'm beginning to find that I can get a much better sight picture at 50 yards, and those groups will tell me (or you or anyone) what the rifle will do at 100 yards, without the sighting error. Or in other words, a 50 yard group will give me a better idea of what the rifle will do at 100 yards, rather than shooting at 100 yards and seeing what I can do. Or, I guess shooting at 50 eliminates a lot of shooter's error, and then one can make a good guess as to what it is doing at 100. Does not apply to smooth bores of course. A 3" group from a musket at 50 yards can be a two foot + group at 100.
And when I can do good, that is satisfying. The pic of the plate with the shot dead-center above is at 100 yards.
Of course I always double check at 100, and with peep sights or a scope (don't remember the last time I shot with a scope) I'd go 100 yards at the get-go.
I'm sure there's someone here that will send you some .525s to try with your new mold. Where you Sourcing you're lead from, last I looked price for pure at roto metals wasn't to bad. Only thing I have about the bigger bores is now few balls you get a pound,54 is like a happy medium decent sized ball and get a good amount per pound.
Dang it!!! No fair!! Yeah, I want a .36". But, once again, lots of assets, not much cash in the money bag. And then my mind constantly jumps from small caliber rifle, to a pistol I want, to a double barrel ML...so I don't know what I'll actually do when I can shake out enough cash. !!!I should put in a big order from someplace like Rotometals, but I just ordered another kit from Kibler and am expecting a "What the hell, man?!?" email from my accountant. Good thing the new gun is a .36...
Nothing wrong with that. I have 25, 50, and 100 in my backyard, but again, I've found 50 yards best for sighting in, load development, then a final check at 100.My excuse is much more prosaic... I've been ridiculously busy lately, and the only 100 yard range within an hours' drive has an eight-foot ceiling. Managing a muzzleloader at the place is a trick - I've actually broken a ramrod there! So I stole a half-morning to go to the 50 yard range and called it good enough, and hopefully will have a lighter schedule in the near future...
I've often thought the .45 might be a little more versatile. Or something around .40", which could use the revolver .375-380" balls. I have an original long rifle that shoots the .375's perfectly, perfect fit. However, it's a heavy rifle, or a "little bit" heavy for the caliber, and a family heirloom, so I don't really want to take it on long treks into the wilderness. Light weight is what I'd like in a small caliber rifle. I imagine the Kibler is light.I'd really want a 36 smr for squirrel hunting, tho a 45 would be nice to since its legal here for big game. Really trying to save up for a kit but it's not going well, I hope this fall they come out with the Fowler.