Range Report

Sharp Shooter · 06-17-2006, 03:25 PM

For some reason I can not get my muzzleloader to shoot right. I tried a few ball-ets and some 530 roundballs with .015 patch and still no good. I worked on the roundball load for a long time. With 90gr my renegade seems to come back and never up. I still get alot of crud out of my barrel from all of the years it has been in use. I think that is why it won't shoot accurate. I am about to give up and get a new barrel. Maybe next time will be better. I atleast started hitting paper this time. Maybe I need to just get used to open sights. The few ball-ets and Hornady's helped smooth my bore out. Even with 90gr and a 425gr Hornady my Renegade went back and not up. I tried the RB with 80gr and 90gr.

cayugad · 06-17-2006, 03:36 PM

SharpShooter- what range were you shooting at? When all else fails, move up to 25 yards, so you can hit paper each and every time. Also make sure you have a good solid rest when testing bullets. If this is free hand shooting that could be a lot of your problem. Also how old is your powder and what kind of powder are you shooting?

Start the rifle off with 50 grains and a patched roundball at 25 yards and see what it does. I realize that this seems like very little powder but the point here is to see if it will shoot a group. If it does, start kicking up the charge 10 grains at a time.

Also you mention a lot of crud. Are you talking about fowling or actual barrel particals? If the barrel is still that dirty after all the cleaning you have done, perhaps you need to Bore Paste it, and worse comes to worse, a gentle lapp of the barrel.

I have yet to see a Renegade that will not shoot roundball well. Ball-ets can be a touch and go projectile. Perhaps all it needs is a lot of shooting to smooth the rifle out.

Sharp Shooter · 06-17-2006, 03:46 PM

I was using Goex I just bought a few months ago. I will move up to 25yds and see what happens. I was on a bench with a solid rest. I need to get some JB bore paste and see what happens.

cayugad · 06-17-2006, 05:11 PM

If you see a lot of fowling, it does not hurt to swab between shots. Especially when first working up a load. In your Renegade I recommend swabbing with pure isopropyl alcohol to avoid hangfires and such, but I am sure moving up and lowering the charge will help get you on paper. Good luck with the rifle.

Sharp Shooter · 06-17-2006, 08:23 PM

It is really hard. I think I might get a new barrel but keep mine so I could get it back in condition and use it for antelpe and deer. I still want a 58cal for the Rockies

sproulman · 06-17-2006, 08:39 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Sharp Shooter

It is really hard. I think I might get a new barrel but keep mine so I could get it back in condition and use it for antelpe and deer. I still want a 58cal for the Rockies

as cayugag said too. i dont think you need barrel.give it good cleaning.i shoot at 13 yards sometimes .i seen folks shoot at 50 yards all over paper.sometimes it was them and other times powder/bullet.i do better with light recoil than heavy.start like he said at 50 grs.real close and make the bullseye REAL SMALL.then, squeeze.if that fails,different bullet is needed. my hawkins .50 cal will not shoot the maxi-hunters. put in a MAXI-BALL 370, AND I CAN CUT HOLES AT 25 YARDS.now i am using powerbelts only for hunting and back to rb after 35 years,you believe that for target shooting.

lemoyne · 06-17-2006, 09:37 PM

Some times crud builds in the cornors of the riflings;when I run into a problem like that there are two things I look for,one is ramrod wear at the muzzle the othere you check for by scrubing the bore with boiling water and citrus soap or lye soap then brush really good with a stainless steel bore brush then use a good lead and plastic remover. The other thing that comes to mind is that the ball and patch combination might not be tight enough. Lee