Posted on 06/09/2016 1:08:39 PM PDT by w1n1
This issue we turn to loading the powder and safety, and wrap up next time with tricks of the trade. There are a few things that you should be aware of to get best results. First, always make sure your gun is empty. If you buy a new muzzleloader, then you can put a rod down the barrel and mark the rod to establish the depth that indicates an empty barrel. When preparing to load a used muzzleloader, remove the nipple where the percussion cap would be placed, and make sure you can see clearly through to the inside of the barrel. If it is blocked, the gun won’t fire, and the only thing you will get is a small pop from the cap.
A method often used to clear or establish a clear nipple channel is by firing a couple of caps without any powder in the barrel. Simply place a piece of paper or something light on your bench, and then aim the end of your barrel at the object and fire. The piece of paper should move when your channel is clear because the percussion cap alone is enough to cause a tuft of air. Once you have established that, you have a clear barrel and you are ready to load.
PATCHING
When loading a round ball, a patch must be used in order for the ball to be accurate and prevent blow by, which would rob the shooter of power and accuracy. You can buy precut patches or experiment with your own. An old sheet makes good patch material because it is both tough and consistent in thickness.
BALL LOADING
You should always use a measuring device to pour the powder into the barrel – never do it from a flask containing a large amount of powder. If there is a live spark from a previous firing, this will cause an explosion.
PRIMING
Just in case you bump or drop your gun, it is not a good idea to prime before you load. With a flintlock, just prime the pan and you are ready to go. For this article we will stick with conventional muzzleloaders as opposed to inlines. Read the rest of the black powder story here.
Was this written by Stokely Carmichael or H. Rap Brown?
That's funny right there.
BLACK POWDER !!!
Funny, I went to the Urban Dictionary and found a totally different definition for Muzzleloader.
I own several muzzle loaders, one of which is a flint lock. Have not shot them in a couple decades, but it was a fun hobby. Made my own bullets, used genuine black powder.
The most accurate is a CVA Hawkins style 50 cal using a patched round ball.
The one with the biggest punch is a Thompson Center 58 cal, using about 120 grains of 2F and about a 600 grain replica Civil War bullet. No matter how the gun is held, after about 10 shots it creates the prettiest sore spot on my shoulder with black, blue, green and sometimes red, all radiating out in rings.
A quick additional safety tip I learned by accident - I was firing my flintlock .50 Hawken at the range when the RSO called for the range to go cold to patch targets. My hawken was loaded and I asked for extra time to fire it out but the RSO said to “just blow the priming powder out of the pan”. I did it but I wasn’t comfortable knowing that I had a loaded barrel.
When the targets were all fixed, we went hot and I decided to put a new flint in and picked the rifle up to test the flint. It fired! No priming powder at all and it fired! I had the rifle pointed towards my target, so the round went where it should have but I was completely surprised that a flint alone could set off the charge.
Figured I’d pass that lesson on to all of you.
.
Ping
Got a Hawkins in .32 cal cap and ball.
Accurate and lite squirrel gun.
The Grandson talked me into introducing him to shooting and his first shot drilled a plate at 50 ft.
Good day for Both of us.
When my eyesight was good, I used to shoot carpet tacks at 50 feet with the 50 cal.
I would take a paper plate, put a carpet tack in the middle, draw a cross hair on the plate with the tack in the middle, and tack it to a tree.
That 58 cal could almost go through a 1/4 inch steel plate. It made just a huge huge dent, where the 50 would just splatter off to the sides. I could also hit a paper plate at 100 yards with that gun. For a open sights muzzle loader shooting authentic conical bullets, that’s not too bad. A guy from a mile down the road came by once when I was shooting, I never saw him before. He said it was so loud he swore someone was shooting a cannon. When I showed him the gun, he said, yep, it’s a cannon.
50 cal. Is My limit,,
Fun Stuff!
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