i got a kentucky long rifle for my birthday in may from my wife, the problem is ialways wanted one but never learned how to use one. so help on projectiles i can use, powder, howmuch powder etc would be appreciated. its a sear & robuck precussion kentucky rifle

What is this rifle's caliber? What is the twist of its' rifling? Do you have a powder measure? Lubed patches? Caps? A short starter?

IF it is a true replica of a long rifle, it will have a slow rifling twist intended to shoot round balls. If so, use a .445" round ball if it is a .45, and a .490" ball if it is a .50. To begin with, use a .010" T/C pre-lubed patch with either ball, and FFg or FFFg GOEX or Swiss BLACK POWDER, and CCI #11 caps.

Get an adjustable powder measure to use with the gun. Start with a 50-grain charge of powder. Swab out the barrel with a couple of dry patches to get all the oil & crud or any sort out. Next, cock the hammer, put a cap on the nipple, and hold the muzzle down near the ground, close to a leaf or bade of grass, and pop the cap. If the leaf moves, you are all set to load! You may need to pop two or three caps before the flash channel is clear. Now bring the hammer back to half-cock, and remove any pieces of cap from the nipple and the hammer recess. Leave it at half-cock for loading.

After pouring a measured 50 grains of powder down the bore, place a lubed patch on the muzzle, and set a ball in the center of the patch. Push the ball down as far as you can with your thumb. It may not go all the way in. Then you take your "short starter", force the ball in flush with the muzzle, then push it down as far as you can with the short starter. Next, take your ramrod, and slide the ball all the way down nto the powder charge, and seat it on the powder with about 40# of pressure.

With the ramrod still resting on the powder charge, make a mark on it flush with the muzzle, so you will know how far the ball must be forced down the borewhen you reload it after thebore starts fouling up. You will need to wipe the bore aftereach shot to remove some of the fouling before reloading, but it will prove more difficult to load it after the first shot, even with the wiping procedure.

You are now loaded and ready to cap the piece, and shoot. Don't put the cap on the nipple until you have the gun pointed down range, and are just about to aim and shoot. Place the cap on the nipple, cock the hammer all the way, aim and fire.

After you get used to the procedure, you can increase the powder charge for more power, or cut it back for milder target loads. You might find that 50 grains of powder is just right for a 25 to 50-yard target &practice load.

In .50 caliber using round balls, I limit my maximum loads to 120 grains, and my "standard" .50 cal load is 90 grains (1/2 the weight of the .495" round balls I use). In .45, it is 70 grains.