Yup. Going smoothie isn't going to help accuracy. Then again, a tightly patched RB from a smoothie can be plenty accurate out to about 60 yards.
My reason for doing it is strictly to make a rifle with a pitted bore into a shotgun.
I have 3 other .50 cal frontstuffing rifles.
Don't have a frontstuffing shotgun.
Variations in powder charge and patch thickness will affect POI, as will the positioning of the sprue (cast balls only).
Voids inside the balls and deviations in shape/roundness will also give you fliers.
Then, there's operator error. The most common cause.
I'm sure there are other factors I'm failing to mention.
Removing the rifling will eliminate one possible cause (poorly rifled or wrong twist rate), but will leave all the other variables in place, as well as introducing a greater sensitivity to patch thickness.
As I stated earlier, I have a flintlock .50 and a TC Renegade caplock with perfect bores. I also have an inline TC Thunder Hawk .50 cal.
The TC New Englander is a perfect candidate for conversion to a 20 gauge shotgun. It would be a perfect companion to the howdah pistol, since I already have a 20 gauge RB mold.
Honestly, though, the Thunder Hawk is slated to become a .45 caliber precharged pneumatic air rifle. I'm not a huge inline fan, but it cost me $30 at the pawn shop due to the pitting in the bore, at the muzzle, and the Timney trigger in it is worth twice what I paid for the rifle.
I figure 2 air reservoirs and interchangeable barrels in .22, .25,.284, .308, and .311 along with .45 cal will take care of all my pneumatic hunting needs.
Besides, the New Englander has a nice round barrel and shotgun buttplate with a single trigger. It should have been a scattergun from the get go.
Did I mention that I can't find a left handed drop in barrel?
I thought about having it bored out and rifled to use as a rifled 20 gauge RB/slug gun for deer/hogs.
I even thought about reaming it to 20 gauge, chopping the barrel and maybe even flaring the muzzle for a musketoon or blunderbuss.
I just don't think I'll be repelling any pirates any time soon.
My reason for doing it is strictly to make a rifle with a pitted bore into a shotgun.
I have 3 other .50 cal frontstuffing rifles.
Don't have a frontstuffing shotgun.
Variations in powder charge and patch thickness will affect POI, as will the positioning of the sprue (cast balls only).
Voids inside the balls and deviations in shape/roundness will also give you fliers.
Then, there's operator error. The most common cause.
I'm sure there are other factors I'm failing to mention.
Removing the rifling will eliminate one possible cause (poorly rifled or wrong twist rate), but will leave all the other variables in place, as well as introducing a greater sensitivity to patch thickness.
As I stated earlier, I have a flintlock .50 and a TC Renegade caplock with perfect bores. I also have an inline TC Thunder Hawk .50 cal.
The TC New Englander is a perfect candidate for conversion to a 20 gauge shotgun. It would be a perfect companion to the howdah pistol, since I already have a 20 gauge RB mold.
Honestly, though, the Thunder Hawk is slated to become a .45 caliber precharged pneumatic air rifle. I'm not a huge inline fan, but it cost me $30 at the pawn shop due to the pitting in the bore, at the muzzle, and the Timney trigger in it is worth twice what I paid for the rifle.
I figure 2 air reservoirs and interchangeable barrels in .22, .25,.284, .308, and .311 along with .45 cal will take care of all my pneumatic hunting needs.
Besides, the New Englander has a nice round barrel and shotgun buttplate with a single trigger. It should have been a scattergun from the get go.
Did I mention that I can't find a left handed drop in barrel?
I thought about having it bored out and rifled to use as a rifled 20 gauge RB/slug gun for deer/hogs.
I even thought about reaming it to 20 gauge, chopping the barrel and maybe even flaring the muzzle for a musketoon or blunderbuss.
I just don't think I'll be repelling any pirates any time soon.
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