Yesterday i was shooting the .45 and my ramrod kept getting stuck from some rough spots in the barrel, i went out to the shop and got some valve lapping compound and did 10 passes, cleaned it and finally shot it today @ 50 yards. My first 2 shots were darn near into the same hole, my 3ed i aimed right in the middle of the black circle and hit 1/2" low of where i was aiming. 40 grains RS and .440 roundball. Rifle is ready for shooting at the rendezvous. Cleaned the barrel with One square piece of paper towel, dried with 2 small squares, everything from the patch to the drying towel ran smoothly and did not snag.
Now the little surpise that sat in the corner.
Traditions frontier gander .36cal came alive today when i took the .45 barrel off the mountain rifle, mounted the .36 on and loaded up 20 grains RS, .350 roundball and a non lubed patch. Grouping wasnt that impressive due to the dry patch but i know how it shoots with a lubed patch so im fine. Rifle shot beautifully, even though i had to change nipples due to the stock nipple being egged.
Its awesome now being able to shoot 2 rifles with the same stock and lock. I'll get pics on as soon as i finish cleaning the .36
That .36 caliber would make an excellent small game rifle. I bet that is fun to shoot. Do you have to swab the barrel between shots?
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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, a total wreck, screaming Yahoo, with a big smile on your face."
No i do not. I need to buy a ramrod for the .36 so i can screw the cleaning jag on. Right now im using a store bought straight pine rod. You guys know im not much into swabbing between shots! Now i'll have to head back to ebay and restock my 225 grain powerbelts. Last group with those was 7/8" @ 100 so maybe now they will shrink a little. Not that im complaining but hey, if polishing the barrel helped with PRB, i'd presume that it will help the powerbelts right? Im really looking forward to this seasons mulie hunt.
BTW, the balance with the shorter 28" barrel on the .36 is amazing. You could hold it to your shoulder all day and not break a sweat. That to will make a nice rendezvous shooter. Rear sight sucks so i'll be buying a rear sight that my .45 has and put that on the .36
Ok heres the pics. Im about to load up the .36 and do some shooting with prelubed patches this time and see how it does. I may even remove the browning off the barrel, im just not taking a liking to it that well.
Found its sweet spot. 30grains RS and a olive oil soaked patch. Did some off hand shooting and was really happy with the balance and how it shot. So far so good. Gotta buy some conicals and give those a try. First 3 shots at the top were with 20grains RS and a prelubed patch. Wasnt very happy at that moment!
Little suprise comes alive
