determining caliber..
07-15-2005, 09:38 AM
#1
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
determining caliber..
my dads friend gave him a percussion cap single shot pistol a looooong time ago....he gave it to me to put on a shelf i keep all kinds of hunting memories ect..and its been there since....neither of us muzzleloaded at the time...now i do..i flintlock....the gun has no markings at all...single shot full wood about a foot long and its a percussion cap...i just dont know what caliber...not 50...but its smaller then 50....any measurements i can take to get the caliber?? id say 40-45 cal would be right...a pack of round balls and caps and i can be blasting away with that thing....also any idea of a load i should use if i would shot it?? theres no manufacturer or anything marked on it to contact....i dont know what most pistols like that take....what grain also 3fg??i think it would be pretty fun to shot it....just want to do it safe...and would contacted the maker but none is marked or anything...dont know if it was a kit gun someone made from a kit or what....its in working condition and is clean..i took it apart and checked it out.....if you guys need ill take a few pics to show you guys what im working with...thanx alot for all the info....
07-15-2005, 10:21 AM
#2
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location:
Posts: 185
RE: determining caliber..
ORIGINAL: mauser06
my dads friend gave him a percussion cap single shot pistol a looooong time ago....he gave it to me to put on a shelf i keep all kinds of hunting memories ect..and its been there since....neither of us muzzleloaded at the time...now i do..i flintlock....the gun has no markings at all...single shot full wood about a foot long and its a percussion cap...i just dont know what caliber...not 50...
my dads friend gave him a percussion cap single shot pistol a looooong time ago....he gave it to me to put on a shelf i keep all kinds of hunting memories ect..and its been there since....neither of us muzzleloaded at the time...now i do..i flintlock....the gun has no markings at all...single shot full wood about a foot long and its a percussion cap...i just dont know what caliber...not 50...
07-15-2005, 12:49 PM
#3
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
RE: determining caliber..
mauser 06..
They sell a gauge you can check the barrel with or if you have a set of calipers or a micrometer you could see what the barrel measures from land to land. This would give you an idea of the size ball it would take to fire. Remember when you figure the ball size you have to figure the patch for both sides that wrap the ball.
Can you roll one of your .490 roundball from your Hawkin's down the barrel or does it just rest with a small amount on the top of it? If the ball rolls down, chances are it is a .50 caliber which was rather common. All you need do then is figure the patch combination.
The other common caliber for a lot of them were .45 caliber. I owned a .Jukar .45 caliber single shot pistol. It was a lot of fun to shoot but not the most accurate thing in the world. But when you are young and foolish, just shooting the horse pistol was worth the smoke and ball....
As I remember the load for the .45 caliber was 25 grains of 3f Goex and a .440 patched roundball. Out to about 20 yards we would shoot at a man sized target and get a big kick out of knocking a hole though something. If you find out the caliber, I am sure the people here on the board will have a manual someplace that might suggest a load. All you do is cut that load back a little to be on the safe side if you really want to shoot the thing. I might fire the first three shots or so,off a tire with a long string just to be safe.
They sell a gauge you can check the barrel with or if you have a set of calipers or a micrometer you could see what the barrel measures from land to land. This would give you an idea of the size ball it would take to fire. Remember when you figure the ball size you have to figure the patch for both sides that wrap the ball.
Can you roll one of your .490 roundball from your Hawkin's down the barrel or does it just rest with a small amount on the top of it? If the ball rolls down, chances are it is a .50 caliber which was rather common. All you need do then is figure the patch combination.
The other common caliber for a lot of them were .45 caliber. I owned a .Jukar .45 caliber single shot pistol. It was a lot of fun to shoot but not the most accurate thing in the world. But when you are young and foolish, just shooting the horse pistol was worth the smoke and ball....
As I remember the load for the .45 caliber was 25 grains of 3f Goex and a .440 patched roundball. Out to about 20 yards we would shoot at a man sized target and get a big kick out of knocking a hole though something. If you find out the caliber, I am sure the people here on the board will have a manual someplace that might suggest a load. All you do is cut that load back a little to be on the safe side if you really want to shoot the thing. I might fire the first three shots or so,off a tire with a long string just to be safe.
