Working up to an accuracy charge really does work ! ! ! !

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BCRider

BCRider

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Last time out with my new under hammer rifle was less than stellar performance wise. I was shooting it using 50gns of 3f behind a .490 round ball.

Two days ago I was at another fun shoot and based on what someone in my group had said last time I was using a .30-06 casing as a measure which was holding 62'ish grains of 3f. With this and no other change the rifle was completely converted and it was like shooting a laser. I got 4 misses out of 25 targets. And two of those were due to holding the sights slightly low and high trying to figure out where it was hitting. The other two were from shooting at silly small targets out just way too far away. There's always a couple of those, eh?

So if you find that your smoke stick doesn't seem to be as accurate as you think it should be try playing with the amount of powder. It really does make a difference.

Oh, I was so taken with this that I almost felt like hugging the rifle all evening.... :D

Two of the "targets" on our novelty black powder trail were also hit for the very first time ever. Namely the golf balls on short dowels and the plastic forks sticking out the sides of a vertical 2x4. Both of these are about 8 yards away and both have frustrated me for the previous dozen or so times through that trail since I started shooting BP guns. And suddenly I got 'em BOTH. The guys said the golf ball took off up the hill like it was a 300 yard drive.... :D

And the fork! What can I say? So few people hit them that the same forks have been there for about 3 years now. But after last Saturday there's one less.... :D
 
Forgot the guy's name (Dr. Zero or Mr. Zero?), but he'd get a lot of X-ring hits and his method was to ensure consistency in everything; especially ball weights.

So, you experiment with everything and take notes. Clean between groups and find out what combination of:

ball diameter plus weight
patch thickness
powder charge

And don't fall for the Last of the Mohicans get an extra 25 yards with silk patches. Someone else here tried silk and found it burned all the way through. Besides, that stuff is expensive and no frontiersman would have had that stuff to burn.
 
A notebook is a very useful thing to keep track of my revolver shooting.

I record the details of the load (bullet type and weight, powder type and amount, loose powder or paper cartridge, kind of lubrication, etc) and the results of shooting with it and anything else which I noteworthy about it.

Varying the bullet type and powder amount can pretty drastic effects.
 
Blackpowder is no different from a centerfire rifle. It will like some loads more than others.
 
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I knew in my mind that this all makes a big difference. It just floored me that it's THIS much of a difference.

The sad thing is that with all the stuff I'm doing at present that despite owning this lovely underhammer gun for about 8 months now that I've only gotten it out to shoot a whopping total of 4 times. And other than a few shots taken in the 25 yard cowboy action bay when I first got it the other times have all been out on the other club's black powder trail at the novelty targets scattered among the trees. Hardly a good venue for accuracy testing and taking notes.

So this was just the first step. It may just kick my backside enough to head out to the range with some paper and a good adjustable powder measure to do some proper testing and even take notes and try different patch materials and the like.

I think mostly I just wanted to brag a little on managing to hit that blankety blank golf ball and fork targets..... :D

Oh, and the onion on the stick that I hit earlier on the trail just turned totally into salad. It was a thing of beauty. But I'd managed to hit the onions previously. Just not as centered and not as satisfyingly.... :D
 
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