early

my book say's check yer patches

been readin through this forum
folks are usin wonder wads over the powder b4 loadin patched balls ta prevent patch burnout (question) ???????????????????????????
im usin cream a wheat filler in my cap&ball. could that be used in a rifle ta pevent patch burnout or is the wonderwad keepin the bore clean/lubed ?????????????????????????????????????????

conicals/ball-lets ??????????????
wonderwad over the powder ????????????
book say's a dab of lube on the base is enough, and just a light coating on the sides if at all ???????????????

lube ?????????
is shortning ok ??????????????????
whats the best ??????????????????

patch thickness ??????????????????
if i gotta 50 cal (.512) i assume; a .490 ball plus .018 lubed pillow tickling patch comes ta .508 ?????????? how tight does it need ta be ?????????

powder ??? im gettin good info from the other threads.

sorry ta pester if this stuff's been covered but im a small fish in a big pond with this new hobby.

early

cayugad

You purchased the Tradition's Woodsman Hawkins .50 caliber with 1/48 twist.

To shoot roundball, I would load 80 grains of Goex 3f powder, and a moosemilk patched with a .490 roundball. This should put you in the ball park just fine. Start your shooting at 13 or 25 yards until you have a nice tight group. Then move back from there to the different distances.

Whether your rifle will need a wad is unknown at this point. It might shoot better with a wad and then it might not. I have also used cornmeal (I never could stand the taste of Cream of Wheats and will not allow it in the house) as a filler and it works also. All the wad is doing is sealing the gas in the ignition of the powder, making it more controlled as it moves the projectile up the barrel. It also protects the projectile from the hot gas. This is real important if you are shooting Triple Se7en powder for some reason as the patches tend to burn up.

The old rule of thumb is, if the conical has a flat bottom, use a wad. If it has a hollow bottom like some of the ballets and differnt conicals then you add a little lube into the hollow to protect that. You should also try shooting the conicals without any lube on the bottom or a wad. Just make sure the sides of the conical are lubed. Most come pre-lubed but if you buy bulk conicals, some of them are unlubed and you need to lube them with a bore butter or T/C 1000 type lube unless you make a home made lube.

Shortning like Crisco will work, but you will find that in hot weather the shortning breaks down fast and contaminates the powder charge. Bore Butter is a good lube for conicals. I make a mixture of bees wax, Castor Oil, and Murphy's Oil Soap for my conical lube. There are many mixtures out there. Mink Oil can be used. There are some hand creams that can be used. The list is endless.

If you purchase pre lubed patches get the .015 thickness and load a .490 roundball. For my patch, I purchase 100% cotton pillow tick from the local wal mart. I wash it in the laundry. I then line dry it. This will measure out between .015-.018 thickness. You can tear it easy, into strips once it is washed and the sizing removed. I then use a moose milk mixture as my patch lube. I lay the strip over the muzzle. I then set the ball on the patch. I drive that under the muzzle lip with a short starter and then cut the patch strip off the ball with a knife or anything else you want. You now have a perfect centered patch.

My favorite for the .50 caliber is Goex 3f followed by Goex 2f. Another good powder that works is Pinnacle 3f.


Your patch can warn you how your rifle is doing. You want to inspect it and make sure it has nice even burn pattern and is not torn or shredded. Torn or shredded patches can indicate sharp burrs in the barrel and powder being too hot and that means you need a wad between the powder and the patch.

that's what forums like this are for. To share information and ideas. There is no such thing as a dumb question because if you dod not know the anwser then you should ask. This is a sport that doing the wrong thing can cause bad things to happen.. so you ask away!

early

many thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cayuqad very helpfull !!!!!!!!!!!!!



ha hah ha LOL on the cream a wheat; my wife say's its nasty. i had some yesterday fer breakfast, but i'll eat anything that don't eat me first. im a cheapskate the cereal is too much $$$$$, im switchin ta corn meal when it runs out.

beleive it or not where i hunt there's often several abandoned hornets nests along the road. during rifle season this year if there still around ill get some fer loading after i make REAL! sure their abandoned.

early

Triple Se7en

Need a quality patch lube that's dirt-cheap?

http://housewares.hardwarestore.com/35-176-hand-cleaners/permatex-hand-cleaner-306308.aspx

Want a homemade bullet lube? Use 40% Bore Butter and 60% Cabelas Lube (white stuff). Microwave in a bowl - stir - then dip the bullets with needle-nose pliers. Let dry/harden - then remove the lube from the hollow base.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=&id=0012628212625a&nav Count=4&podId=0012628&parentId=cat20819&am p;navAction=push&catalogCode=QT&rid=&p arentType=index&indexId=cat20819&hasJS=tru e

cayugad

Many years ago.. friends and I gathered old paper wasp nest and used them as packing between the powder and ball. Why we did it was because I had read in a book about rendevous and Mountain Manliving. In the book it was told how they gathered these in the winter. The pioneer trappers and hunters used the bees nest for packing, which was thecustom. I can not say that the rifle shot any better then a simple wool felt wad but it was kind of fun to gather in the winter time and we sure had some good laughs shooting them.

early

b4 my Dad retired and moved we saw a string a nests along the road after huntin. everyone had a hole in it cuz someone used em fer target practice from their truck window. well he finaly finds one with no hole and starts ta pick it from the bush. just as im about ta yell; he realizes his mistake.
HA HA HA !!!!!!!!!! ya never saw an old man run so fast !!!!!!!!

early

early

thank's !!!!!!!!!!! i'll keep that handcleaner in mind. cabelas already has me on a first name basis LOL
early

eldeguello

The Cream of Wheat could be used. And yes, the Wonderwad keeps the bore from leading up. I use a Wonderwad with a completely un-lubed Maxi Ball and get no leading at all. I use a Wonderwan with all flatbased conical bullets except Power belts, but don't generally use them with a PRB. The only time I tried a Wonderwad with a PRB was when I was testing T7 to see if it could be used with a PRB. I decided the answer was NO! I got high shots and blown patches with T7 PRB loads no matter what the load was, or if there was a Wonderwad on the powder or not.

early

very good info:
i ordered some hornady RB's and 240 grPA conicals........now im trying ta figure how ta load the PA's..........can't find any data so far.

can't find goex either here unless i buy 25lbs.......gonna try pyro and T7 i think.

early

cayugad

Pyrodex RS will work just fine. Pyrodex P is better but harder to find in stores. Just be aware, of all the powders out there, Pyrodex is one of the most corrosive of them, so be sure and do a good cleaning after using/shooting it.

As for how to load the PA Conicals, like any conical, drop the powder down the barrel and then seat the conical on top of it. I believe the PA conicals come pre lubed. I am not sure if they are a hollow bottom or flat but I believe they are somewhat hollow as I remember.

When you get your powder charge down the barrel and your roundball/conical on top of the powder charge, make a witness mark on your ramrod. Leave the ramrod sitting on the charge. Then take a piece of masking tape and wrap that level around the ramrod to the muzzle. Next time you load, make sure that the ramrod reaches that mark. This will tell you the ball is seated right, or even if you forgot powder. It will also tell you if the rifle is loaded, and when it is time to clean the fowling. If you can not get that projectile seated to that witness mark without a lot of effort, swab the barrel.

Some old timer tricks which some do but not all, after dropping the powder down the barrel, take the rifle and thump the toe of your shoe with the butt end of the stock, while keeping the rifle pointed straight up. This will cause the powder to fill the cone of the breech better and it levels the powder charge also. Then set the roundball or conical on top of that.

Before you shoot on the range, be sure to pop three #11 caps through the nipple of the rifle while empty. This will blow clear the fire channel and also coat the inside of the fire channel with a small amount of fowling from the caps. Then push a clean dry patch down to the bottom of the breech and then pop one more cap. Pull this patch. This patch will show you how much fire is making through the nipple and fire channel in to the breech.

Also when I shoot Pyrodex the only thing I will swab my barrel with when it needs it is pure 70% isopropyl alcohol. When you buy isopropyl it comes in two strengths in my Wal Mart.. 70% & 91% I use the strong one for mixing with windshield washer fluid and the weaker as a straight swab... especially when shooting Pyrodex. You get too wet a patch done there of other stuff and you get fowling mud and the rifle will misfire.