I was staring at the gun rack today and thought of Wabi shooting a CVA Staghorn the other day. So, since I had not shot mine in a while I decided to give it a go. The card on it said 50 yards. So fine.. 50 yards.

When I went to the bullet cabinet, I found a brand new unopened box of Buffalo Bullet 302 grain all lead bullets with a yellow sabot enclosed, that I had purchased and never shot. So I decided.. why not.

Out to the range I went. It was hot again. 82 degrees and no wind. The Staghorn Magnum has a $19.99 Simmons Pro Sport 4x32mm scope on it. A far cry from a Leupold. But it was all for fun.

I set the target out at 50 yards and checked it with the range finder.



I shot a five shot group to see how the rifle liked these Buffalo Bullets. I seem to remember shooting a different box of them in my Black Diamond many years ago and they did not shoot well. But I can not swear to that. I was loading 85 grains of Schuetzen 2f black powder and using Winchester W209 primers. I was swabbing with some real expensive swabbing solution.. it was the dish water left over from this morning's kitchen clean up detail. Hey.. only the best for me.



Not the worst 50 yard group I ever shot. In total I shot 12 rounds. All of them in the general area to the left of the bull and a little low. After 12 rounds the rifle was so dirty it was starting to worry me. I mean the patches were as filthy as I had ever seen a black powder patch. Could have been the heat. Could have been the dishwater was a good cleaning solution. Who knows. But this was getting boring shooting this rifle as it just piled them in a 2-1/2 inch group at 50 yards. So I decided to get a different rifle.

Back in the house I looked at the wall and then noticed the rifle in the corner. It was the Tradition's Pioneer 50 caliber with the Williams Peep sight. I had dug it out to photograph the peep sight the other day and was too lazy to put the old devil away. So I decided it was the Pioneer's lucky day today.

This 50 caliber Tradition's Pioneer rifle has had a ruff life. To give you a hint.. the rifle is named "Rusty."



Rusty was originally owned by a friend of mine. When he first got the rifle it was a great shooter. He mounted a Williams Peep sight on it, and killed a lot of deer with it, shooting roundball. But he then got married and we stopped hunting together.

One afternoon I was at his house and we went in his basement to look at his new wood furnace. There in the corner of his basement was a rifle leaning against the wall. When I saw the outside of the rifle, I was shocked. It was all rusted up and in terrible shape. He then told me he'd hunted with the rifle and things happened as usual. Anyway the rifle was put in the corner and never cleaned. He was sure it was unloaded but I checked it anyway for him. It was empty. So for kicks, I ran a oiled patch down it and it came back rusted very badly in the bore. He then gave me the rifle for free. Said I might find some parts off it. Well the peep sight alone I wanted, so I gladly accepted the offer and took it home.

After working many hours on the rifle, I never have to this day got a clean patch out of it. Gray.. yes. Clean no. Even today, the patch came out rusty when I swabbed the bore with alcohol to prepare it for shooting. I know the gun was as clean as I could get it and oiled when I put it away a very long time ago.

I also saw the card and it said... 70 grains of 2f Pyrodex or Black and a patched roundball. So I grabbed the rifle and some round ball and out to the range I went. I changed targets and not really sure where this rifle would shoot, moved the target to 25 yards.

I then prepared the rifle and dumped 70 grains of Schuetzen 2f down the bore. Looked and realized ... no moose milk. So I grabbed the dishwater I had been swabbing with, and spritzed the pillow tick material and loaded a roundball.



I was swabbing between shots, with the dishwater still. The patches were filthy. Then after the 3rd shot I decided to try and load without swabbing. Big mistake. I really had to lean on the range rod to seat that ball. That rusty barrel loaded fine if swabbed but not so sweet when dirty. Shot #4 showed me the error of my ways. After that I kept swabbing and it kept laying them in the bulls eye.

Well that got boring too. But this morning I had cleaned the kitchen and that meant the refrigerator also. And I removed from the refrigerator some old apples and oranges. So I grabbed them since they were in a plastic sack on the porch and marched them out to 50 yards. I set up 2 of each. The oranges being very old had withered and were quite small. I had my worries about them. I set them on a log off the group at 50 yards this time, to make it interesting.

I got back and loaded Rusty with the same load. Used a 6 o'clock hold on the first apple. I was surprised how hard it was to see them apples back in the woods on the ground. So I had to go back and raise them up with more wood. The apples were actually pretty good shape, so I took a bite out of them. Then they showed up .. that nice white center with a little red around the outside, perched on a chunk of fire wood.

4 shots and four fruits disappeared. That ball just exploded them things. Very cool, lots of fun. But after that I decided Rusty and I had had enough as his patches were coming back filthy and on the last orange, I had two caps fire but no ignition. You ever sit and doubt ... Did I dump powder in that thing? So I finally pulled the nipple .. drizzled a little powder in it. Replaced the nipple and sent that orange to heaven. That was enough for the day. The rifle was dirty and I was too.

Over all Rusty is a good shooter. When I cleaned him the patches "looked" clean. And I oiled it back up. But I would bet he throws me a rusty patch the next time I decide to shoot him.

Looks like old Rusty there can still bring home the bacon if you had a hankerin to take it out. I wonder if a moly coat or other bore coating would take care of your clean patch problem. In any event, it would stop air from reaching it making the liklihood of more rusting cease.

That's a great idea. I will coat it with Montana X-treme bore conditioner. Put it on real thick, and then let it sit.

Rusty is a real good shooter. He deserves to be taken on a deer hunt next fall.

I have little doubt that with 70 grains of powder and a roundball it would be a lethal deer rifle. Especially at the range I hunt them. And out to 50 yards I know its deadly accurate. I just might have to give Rusty a day or two.

I think I would plug Rusty's nipple, fill the bore with Evapo-Rust, and let it sit for two or three days. Follow that with a good cleaning and coat of Montana and I'd bet his rust problems will be over.

Now you've got me thinking I should let a couple rifles I own get rusty. They sure don't shoot groups that good!

Another vote to take Rusty on a deer hunt.

Believe me, when that rifle was fouled and now swabbed.. I sure had my doubts that I was going to get that patched ball down on the powder charge. Yet when I swabbed, it went down pretty easy. That old dishwater seemed to work real good as a patch lube. I guess I have something else to play with now.