flintlock hunter
Senior Member
I was at the gun club range the other day to shot the oxidation from the 54 flinter sitting idle for awhile in preparation for the Pa 10/17 early muzzleloader opener. If oxidation is there it can, but not always does, throw the fouling round off, so I fire a few times, go home and clean, then put the Barricade as a protectant in the bore. Once that stuff dries there is no need of dri patching like with oil, because it doesn't interfer with the first shot.
Loaded her up for the first shot in a month or so, and she put it about 1/2" to the right, and an inch high. I'm ecstatic! Next shot is a rush loading, (field simulation), from a T/C speed loader, of which I brought along three.
Side to side... perfect, but it's three inches low! A flier? Loaded her up again, a bit more carefully this time. What happened? So I load the third shot with another speed loader, but a bit more carefully, and let it fly.
Third shot is touching the first shot. Load it again with the last speed loader, and shoot. Shot four makes one, three, and four pretty much one ragged hole. This is what the rifle is capable of with it's favorite load.
I have an idea. Load up and use another speed loader as sloppy as shot two and see if it does the same thing. And it does.
I'm guessing that loading the rifle with the speedloader off center caused the same condition as a blown patch would, and not very acceptable accuracy. Having the patched ball completely inside the speedloader didn't help the alignment either, nor did SMACKING the short starter instead of pushing the ball into the bore. Add it all up, and those two fliers give a sum total of me messing up using the speedloaders.
Haste makes waste. But at least my "refresher" course didn't cost me a deer, or worse......a wounded one.
Loaded her up for the first shot in a month or so, and she put it about 1/2" to the right, and an inch high. I'm ecstatic! Next shot is a rush loading, (field simulation), from a T/C speed loader, of which I brought along three.
Side to side... perfect, but it's three inches low! A flier? Loaded her up again, a bit more carefully this time. What happened? So I load the third shot with another speed loader, but a bit more carefully, and let it fly.
Third shot is touching the first shot. Load it again with the last speed loader, and shoot. Shot four makes one, three, and four pretty much one ragged hole. This is what the rifle is capable of with it's favorite load.
I have an idea. Load up and use another speed loader as sloppy as shot two and see if it does the same thing. And it does.
I'm guessing that loading the rifle with the speedloader off center caused the same condition as a blown patch would, and not very acceptable accuracy. Having the patched ball completely inside the speedloader didn't help the alignment either, nor did SMACKING the short starter instead of pushing the ball into the bore. Add it all up, and those two fliers give a sum total of me messing up using the speedloaders.
Haste makes waste. But at least my "refresher" course didn't cost me a deer, or worse......a wounded one.
