Pedersoli Le page, Wich Caliber?

[LukeP]

What do you think about Pedersoli Le Page for muzzle loading target competition, 25m?
It's sold in two calibers: .36 and .44; wich one is the best for precision shooting?
I know for example Feinwerkbau History n.1 cal.36 is a very good pistol.
But many people at the range consider .44 a little more forgiving caliber; someone said that .36 is a bit more difficult to reload well and less forgiving in shooters tecnique.
I was considering cal. 36 because it has less recoil and reaction, but obviously i'm searching accuracy first.

Thank you,
best regards,
LukeP.

 

[WV SCROUNGER]

Le page

I have a lepage in .44 and it is great....lovely trigger. I would not want a smaller caliber....

 

[[email protected]]

Old

Well to me it depends some on how old you are. I am 65 and can't handle or
control the recoil of a 44 target load as I once did. Mainly 20 grs. FFF. I am
a bullseye target shooter and accuracy is the only thing that is important. I
compete at the Nationals at Friendship each year and know what wins. I have
won my share of matches. Wife pistol whips me all the time now. I can tell you that the .36 and .32 are the ones to beat. I only shoot .32's in everything except revolver and that is a true .36 .360 ball. The ones that
shoot Rugers have had them converted to .36. The little .32 gives up nothing
in the wind at 50 yds. So I would sugest to you to go with the .36. Use a
.360 ball .010 patch lubed with a water souable oil & water mix 5% and cci
REGULAR caps and 16 grs. Goex FFF and believe me, you will have a winning
combibition. If you have a good barrel,this will shoot 2 inch groups at 50 yds.
If I can help you let me know. If you want to see my guns, look at the slow
motion Flintlock thread. Good Luck to you.

 

[SE-Okla.shooter]

I have the 36 LePage but I can't hit the broad side of a barn with it. The problem is the sights I am 61 and can't see the front sight or the little bitty rear v sight. I have shot pistols for over 50 years and do not have a problem with any other pistol. I killed a deer a couple weeks ago with T/C Scout with open sights.

 

[bonza]

Personally, I prefer the smaller calibers. Haven't shot the LePage, but I do have a Hege-Siber (.33 cal.) & a Pedersoli Carleton Underhammer (.36). Plus I now shoot a Remington (Pietta) .36 caliber revolver, after going thru a couple of Rogers & Spencer .44s.....& I much prefer the .36 as a target gun.

 

[LukeP]

Thank you for yours advices.

This afternoon i picked up my new Pedersoli Le Page cal. 36.

I'm a newbie with muzzle loading:
- how grip pistol? high? low? using middle finger around the metal peak under trigger?
- to dry fire, is ok pushing the trigger toward the muzzle (stecher) and then pulling it to relase with the hammer down?
- what brand of rodun balls you consider as the best for precision shooting?
Pedersoli has his own line, also Hornady and H&N (.354 or .362).
- do you use something spacer between powder and patches?

Thank you very much,
best regards,
LukeP.

 

[[email protected]]

Don't

Please don't shoot bullets in your gun. The twist is a little slow. Round balls
will be more accurate. See my first post for loading data.

 

[bonza]

LukeP, As far as grip is concerned, you may need to experiment a little. Try different holds & find one that is comfortable &, most importantly, repeatable. With muzzleloading you will find that being consistent in all you do will increase your accuracy. With my Hege-Siber I tend to use a high grip. My Pedersoli Carleton has a saw-handle so the grip on that is pretty much dictated by the design, same as my flint Pedersoli Mortimer. I never use the spur on the trigger guard if there is one.
Dryfiring can be very beneficial to your sighting & hold. However, doing so with the hammer uncocked won't give you the same feel as you are just tripping the set trigger without any resistance from the hammer. Then again, you should not dry fire without having anything on the nipple to protect it. A short length of rubber tubing slipped over the nipple should work to cushion the blow.
By bullet, I'm assuming you meant round ball (rund kugel), as that is what your pistol is designed for. As the other poster recommended, try the .360" with a .010" patch, I am using a .350 with a .018" patch & getting good results. I normally use Hornady balls, but do cast my own occasionally, too.
If you have access to them, Hornady 000 Buckshot is .350 in diameter &, while a little harder than the swaged lead balls, do very well. I use 00 Buckshot in my .33 Hege-Siber, too. The buckshot is quite a bit cheaper to buy than the swaged balls. I think H&N is a European brand, the only product of theirs I've seen in the U.S. are air rifle pellets.
I do not use any wad or filler between powder & patched ball in my pistols, though I have heard some people do.
Are you in Europe? If so, whereabouts?

 

[LukeP]

Thank you kwhi43, i wrote the wrong word, i was talking about round balls.
Thank you Bonza for your advice, I come from italy; i'm a AP/FP shooter, i'm now interested in precision events with muzzle loading too, so i'll take this Le Page to give me a try.

 

[bonza]

LukeP, you should get in touch with the Italian Muzzleloading Team, here is their website:
http://www.cnda.it/

and some other contact information:
Mr. Antonio Ferrerio, Consociazione Nazionale Degli Archibugieri (CNDA), e-mail [email protected]

They will be able to give you some valuable advise & may have some of their members in your area, they have some very good shooters on their team & I'm sure they'd be pleased to hear from you. I am a member of the USIMLT (U.S. International Muzzleloading Team).

 

[[email protected]]

Bonza

Are you the guy I sold my Carleton Under Hammer to?? It's a small world
sometimes if you are. Phil

 

[bonza]

Hi Phil, yep you found me out!!

 

[LukeP]

Thank you again Bonza.
Yeah, last week i went to a local match, and i talked with cnda member, and i saw 2-3 round of precision shooting with pistol. Very nice, a bit caotic.

See you on the line, muzzle loading shooters,
Best regards,
LukeP.

 

[[email protected]]

Hello Again

Hi again Bonza, Our paths cross again. Mebby we will meet on the line at
Friendship. Did I tell you we are going to move to Madison, which is just
20 miles south of Friendship? Wife wants to be closer to the range. She loves
to shoot daujghter also. It's getting to be such a long drive from Kansas City
anymore. They have 10 pistol matches every month now. We will be moving
in June. Want tp wait until the daughter gets out of school. Hope the family
is well. Tell me, how is the underhammer shooting? Take care God Bless
Phil

 

[[email protected]]

Pedersoli

Here is a 25 yd. target the wife shot with a Pedersoli .36 cal. They do shoot!!

 

[rusty from italy]

Hi Luke, i'm Italian too, and i'm a member of CNDA, i'm not a pistol shooter, my preference is for rifle so i play Vetterly and LaMarmora, 50 Mt in stand up position!
I have 6 pistol too, but just for fun!
Actually the underhammer is the winner pistol, with le page and Kucken...
.36 is the right caliber for precision shooting, try with 12 grain by weight of FFFg (n°2 swiss) with half volume of "semolino" or corn weath as wad between powder and ball!
You can use ball from hornady, is a good choice at a quite good price!
For patch size and ball caliber start with the advice of the Pedersoli book you receive with your pistol!
I'm a member of a muzzleloader club, in wich area of Italy you are??
Ciao
Rusty

 

[LukeP]

Hi Rusty,
i come from Bologna.
I had some "Svizzera n.1" and pedersoli's manual report the same starting load, 12 grains plus (i think) equal volume of "semolino".
What do you think about middle finger around trigger guard spur? I discovered only one shooters using this tecnique, everyone else use normal grip type.
I'll give it a try: middle finger around the spur give me a more repeteable gripping, but non very pleasant.

Best regards,
LukeP.

 

[rusty from italy]

Every recipe is just for start, you must find your right "cocktail"!
For shooting tecnique with a Lepage i can't say you nothing, never fired one, i use revolver C&B and cartridge, but only for fun and relax!
Try the finger on and off the spur, you must feel well the pstol in tour hand...so simple!
Ciao
Rusty
PS we aren't at a long distance, i'm in romagna!

 

[Mike OTDP]

I'd go with .36 caliber for 25m. I might think about .44 for 50m (I would not be surprised to see the MLAIC add a 50m Kuchenreuter event in the future), but .36 should do nearly as well. Try 10-15 grains of Swiss #2 powder. I get the best results not using the spur on the trigger guard.

 

[LukeP]

Last week i went to Forlì to take a look directly at cnda competition, very nice!