Milsurp After Hours

Went out to the range today. Took the BP 50, Spanish made , Kentucky rifle along. I had a little left of some actual FFg black power and a full flask of Pyrodex RS equal to it. Both shot about the same. The FFG is really getting some age on it. It came to me in a round about way from my brother from a guy cleaning out a garage in a house he bought next door to him..... years ago. It was old then... probably made in the early 60's would be my guess. It still functions and makes lots of smoke. The Pyrodex shoots a bit higher on a target with the same 50 grain load...by volume of course.

I was shooting patched round ball .... none of that maxi bullet stuff.

The rifle was shooting ok, but I was having a hard time with the sights in the glare of the sun and my not so good right eye wasn't up to the challenge. I was pointing more than aiming. It also didn't help that the teen a couple of benches down was shooting an auto 22 and the spent cases were pelting me about every time I got ready to shoot....

The two small piles of power show the slightly larger grain "real" BP on the left and the slightly smaller grain Pyrodex on the right.

was shooting an auto 22 and the spent cases were pelting me about every time I got ready to shoot....

You should have picked up all the cases and waited till he was ready to shoot again then pelted him with a whole handfull at once

Looks like an enjoyable day anyway Robert.

We have a fun afternoon at the club next Saturday and I will try and get some pics of it.

That looks like a day well spent Robert.(except for the .22 cases ).
I picked up my Ardesa(Traditions) Hawken Woodsman this weekend in Germany.
I will try it out for the first time coming Sunday.
A full report and pictures of course ASAP after the shoot.


Picture taken in Germany this morning.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

I look forward to your report, Martin. I bet your new rifle will be a lot of fun to shoot.

Who's a happy Dutchman then

DuncaninFrance wrote:Who's a happy Dutchman then

I AM


Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

I guess I'm almost ready for coming Sunday.

Here's my load data for this weekend:
* 40gn Pyrodex P
* pre oiled 0.010 patches by OX-YOKE (thanks Duncan )
* 125 gn round bullet by H&N (Haendler & Natermann) cal .440
* Percussion cap by Dynamit Nobel No. 1075 plus



I'll keep you posted.


Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

One of our club members was shooting his .45 Kentucky rifle with BP and ball on Saturday and he seemed to be doing ok with it.
I didn't get time to find out his loads unfortunately as i was busy as RCO for the day.

Have fun on Sunday Martin,

Joe

Thanks Joe.
I'm having fun already.
I should have done this much sooner.............I think.
Let's just wait and see what happens next Sunday.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

Martin, you might want to add a capper to make it easier to put the caps on the nipples. And it's best to get one that is straight line, rather than curved or 90 degree, because it works with all sorts of guns and angled ones are of limited use. And you might want an adjustable powder measure instead of those pre measured capsules. If you use a flask you could get spouts sized to the grain loads you normally use and just tip the spout with your thumb over the opening, let the spring close the spout, turn upright and there is your load.....works better for pistols than rifles because of the lighter loads. BP and Pyrodex are measured traditionally by volume rather than weight so this works just fine and is considered the "normal" way to do it by most people I know.

You might want a stand alone fiberglass loading rod that is longer than the loading rod that comes with the gun. It should have multiple attachments.... loading ram, cleaning jag, and screw for pulling an occasional lead ball. You can also put a band of marking tape on the shaft to mark the depth of an empty barrel.