Hawken Woodsman + Precision Packer
 

Well, its more than those 2 items, but One thing at a time for starters.

I took the Traditions Hawken Woodsman .50cal flintlock would to 100 yards today and was very surprised by the amount of drop! It was dead on at 75 yards. HOWEVER, the new rest I was using ( I'll talk about that later on) wasn't as user friendly as I had hoped.

But anyway, I had the rifle loaded since sunday evening, after I got back to the hotel and reloaded for the morning hunt.

80gr Goex 2fg
4fg Goex in the pan
.490" round ball
.015" lubed with the listed lube on the pic

100 yards


I certainly think I can do better than a 4 1/2" group, but I'll have to cut at the muzzle next time out with a thicker .020" patch material.

I used the Precision Packer that came in the day before I left to hunt hogs and so I took that along with me but never got the chance to use it as I thought it would be crazy to change my seating pressure before verifying it on target. Perhaps this could be why my POI has dropped so low?



The Precision Packer is pretty simple to use but as far as aiding in accuracy, I am not 100% sure of just yet. I have to play with it a lot more and shoot over a chrony to see if it aids in accuracy/consistent seating pressure.

This deep concave pocket serves as a palm saver for when you push the load down your bore.

I HIGHLY suggest you do NOT use this item with a Wood or Flexy Plastic style ram rod due to the amount of pressure required when using this tool.


Once the projectile is touching the powder lightly, you flip it over and use the other shallow end with the white piece of plastic. You slowly push down steadily until you feel that piece of plastic come to a full stop. This supposedly is consistently seating your projectile as long as YOU stop, when that piece stops. Could you over do it by not paying attention? Yes. It's not fool proof for 100% precise seating pressure. I would have preferred something designed like a torque wrench that pops and lets loose a little bit to let you know, the pre-set torque has been reached.


When I rest up, I'll do some more shooting with Blackhorn209 and then American Pioneer as it LOVES heavy seating pressure, and see how the consistency is with both powders when using this tool.

Not sure it that will be of benefit with black powder. Maybe with BH209 though. Also I wonder over time if the internals will wear and not giving as much resistance. Time will tell I guess.

I don't think I'd be interested in that precision packer. When I'm shooting for best accuracy I use a stop collar on my range rod. When I seat the first ball I set the stop collar against the muzzle so every ball after that is seated to the exact same depth and therefore (presumably) with the same pressure.

What I found interesting is that with some guns/loads, I get the best accuracy by seating the first ball until is just touches the powder with little or no compression of the load. With others, I get best accuracy with some degree of compression.

With real black, especially Swiss, I have found that light to moderate pressure performed best with connies up to 300 grains. Over 300 I seemed to get best performance from a lighter seating pressure. With BH209 I have found that heavy seating pressure is pretty much necessary with all saboted rounds. I've not used it with any connies yet but I would suspect it would be the same. It's been so long since I shot PRB rounds I can barely remember the pressure but I seem to recall finding moderate pressure to be needed for good accuracy.

first ball for me is a light to moderate pressure on the rod. That way as the rifle fouls, by increasing my pressure on the ramrod, I can still make my loading mark. But I like the idea of that gadget you have. I think with a stainless steel ramrod where I swab between every shot, that might be a "good toy."

Kind of a neat little gadget. Don't figure I'll have a use for one though.

When they first came to the scene I mentioned the exact thing to them. It would be nice if it had adjustability for different seating pressures also.

Another thought on the Precision Packer as I read this. It looks as though the one pictured works solely on friction which is why I remarked earlier about it wearing.
Another approach besides a torque type unit would be one with a scale and a "stop" ring. That way you could adjust to the pressure you wanted to use and then set the stop. It would likely cost quite a bit more.
I would probably not buy one though. I use a mark on my ramrod like almost all of us do. My accuracy is plenty for my needs.
I don't think any mountain men or settlers had this item. So maybe this post should go in the regular BP section. Just saying!:action-smiley-099:

It will be interesting once I set up the Chrony and see the numbers fly. MIGHT try that today, if the wind dies down a bit.

Ah just go out and shoot. You don't need to shoot for accuracy when checking velocity :party0007: