unsafe muzzleloaders??

[WTM45]

I dont know about the blow ups just asking dont the spanish have a gov proof house? seems like all the othe european contries do.10,000lb does not seem like much of a proof load.I would think that 20, would be more like it.steel tubing will hold 30 or so.just asking.

They do not test for a max pressure, or a burst strength.
They do not know what that might be.

Does not mean a Spanish barrel will not shoot well. It just will not accept the current trend of trying to get a muzzleloader to shoot like a centerfire.

 

[jrry]

What do you think the accident rate of overloads, miss fires, blow ups were in the early 1700's - 1870's ?

 

[WTM45]

jrry, I think they were pretty minimal and almost insiginificant overall. The reason being was the rifle was a very valued posession, necessary for survival. It was treated well, and the shooter grew intimate with it. I have read of riflemen that could identify the quality of their powder by its burn rate, burning a small pile of it on a flat stone. Then they could tell how much to use in their rifle.

The Civil War brought other documented results. Men under fire dropped many rifles that were found with multiple loads stacked up in the bores.