Kentucky long rifle question

[Niner]

I think I should add that the separation at the stock joint never was much more than just a crack since the screws olding the barrel to the stock front and rear wouldn't allow much play and only enough to notice.

[DuncaninFrance]

Mmmmm, good point Duncan.
I'll think about it.
My decision to go for a cal .45 rifle is the use of Pyrodex P.
According to an E-mail I received from Hodgdon I can use this powder up to a caliber of .45.

However............a rifle in cal .50...............sounds fantastic.
I'll keep it in mind.


Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

I don't know about Pyrodex P as I said before, we can't get it here in France because it is classed as an explosive like dynamite! Are you restricted in the type and amount of BP you can buy in Holland?
As I have said before in my posts on the Ardesa, that .50" R.E.A.L. Lee bullet is a cracker! I'll let you have some to try before you buy if you do go for a .50"

[blackisler]

I would use pyrodex "r" with both the 45 and 50 calibre rifles , When using pyrodex powders do not go by the blackpowder charge weight ie 60 grns black powder is not 60 grns pyrodex it is used in charge weight by volume ie use a b/p 60 grn powder measure and fill the measure with pyrodex the charge will be lighter than the black powder equivelent . I personally will not use pyrodex anymore and now only use b/p in my rifles and pistols due to it being more corosive and you need to clean it within a few hours after shooting as the residue inside goes all gungy

[Dutch Mosin]

I would use pyrodex "r" with both the 45 and 50 calibre rifles , When using pyrodex powders do not go by the blackpowder charge weight ie 60 grns black powder is not 60 grns pyrodex it is used in charge weight by volume ie use a b/p 60 grn powder measure and fill the measure with pyrodex the charge will be lighter than the black powder equivelent . I personally will not use pyrodex anymore and now only use b/p in my rifles and pistols due to it being more corosive and you need to clean it within a few hours after shooting as the residue inside goes all gungy

Thanks for the heads up blackisler.
I appreciate it very much.
Pyrodex is not new to me though.
I've used it with great results in my Swiss Vetterli and Dutch Beaumont.

Now I will try and see what happens when I use Pyrodex P in my Hawken Woodsman.
If unsatisfactory I will change to BP for this rifle, but I have to try it first.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

[Dutch Mosin]

I don't know about Pyrodex P as I said before, we can't get it here in France because it is classed as an explosive like dynamite! Are you restricted in the type and amount of BP you can buy in Holland?
As I have said before in my posts on the Ardesa, that .50" R.E.A.L. Lee bullet is a cracker! I'll let you have some to try before you buy if you do go for a .50"

Duncan,

I'm not restricted in the type of BP, only in the amount.

Our gun law allows me to store 3kg of modern powder OR 1kg BP in my house.
When you want to store a combination of modern powder and BP 3kg is allowed but........1kg BP counts as 2kg.
In my case I'm allowed to store 1kg modern powder and 1kgBP.
Pyrodex however is BP, but when stored or transported it follows the rules of modern powder.

About the .50" R.E.A.L. Lee bullet.
I'll let you know what I'll do.
The Hawken however will be in cal .45.
The next one might be in .50.
Thanks Duncan.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

[Niner]

Kentucky rifles are generally made in a twist to be suitable for patched round ball as that was the original ammo. A Traditions Kentucky rifle made in Spain...like mine... is 1 turn in 66 inches. That's a relatively slow turn considering the "average" all purpose production BP rifle today seems to be 1 turn in 48 inches in order to be an OK all purpose twist. A patched ball needs very little twist to meet a stable spin speed and will, my opinion, generally give slightly better results out of a 1 in 66 barrel than a 1 in 48 barrel because of the lesser chance of the ball jumping the lands. And.. a conical in a 1 in 66 barrel will just about always give a lesser result than a patched ball out of the same barrel because it may not reach optimium rotation...at least that's my opinion.

[Dutch Mosin]

Thanks Robert,

The Ardesa Hawken Woodsman that I bought has a twist of 1 in 66.
I want to shoot patched balls so I guess this is the right choice.

I don't know what twist Duncan's rifle has, but looking at his results on the range it will probably be a 1 in 48.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

[DuncaninFrance]

It's 1 in 28" Martin

[Dutch Mosin]

WOW, 1 in 28" that's a fast twist Duncan.
No patched round balls for your rifle.
Do all the more modern BP rifles have that faster twist??

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

[Niner]

Inline modern muzzle loaders that shoot slug shape ammo of the conical or sabot variety seem to be all fast twist. Take a look at this page from a big box retailer.

You will notice that most inline muzzleloaders have barrels indicating a rate of twist of 1-in-28 inches. This refers to the rifling in the barrel and how quickly one full turn is achieved. One-in-28 inches is a fast twist and is the optimum rate of twist for stabilizing the saboted bullets and other modern projectiles most commonly used in these guns.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/store ... reId=10151

However, you will still find a number of sidelock tradtional looking rifles that are being made with a medium twist of about 1 in 48 inches.