That was fun.....

StoneHorse

StoneHorse

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I decided to take my late father's .50 cal Hawken rifle out to the range today. The rifle has not been fired in about 15 years so I decided it was time to blow the dust out of the barrel.

Black powder firearms was never my thing but my father got into it while working as a consulting engineer near Redding, California back in the late 70's. Back then, it seemed to me a lot of time & work just to fire off one shot. Not to mention the smoke & clean up afterwards.

Fast forward to 2012. I'm digging through dad's 'possibles bag' and came up with all the ingredients to load the rifle. I decided to toss the patch lube because it looked like axle grease. I picked up some nice smelling 'bore butter' made by Thompson Centre to lube the patches. I also purchased a container of Pyrodex RS because there was only enough black powder left in the can for one shot (maybe).

I have done a little research prior to heading out to the range. I set the powder measure to 60 grains and pour in the Pyrodex. Damn, I almost forgot to snap off a couple of caps before dumping in the powder. After snapping two percussion caps, in goes 60 grains of Pyrodex. Lubed up a patch and started a ball down the barrel.

Not sure how tight to pack the patch & ball against the powder, I pushed until the rod stopped then gave the rod a little extra push to make sure there was no gap between the powder & ball. I pulled the hammer back to full #### and carefully placed a percussion cap on the nipple.

I had already set up a target at about 60 yards down range. With the music from the movie Jeremiah Johnson playing in my head, I pulled back on the set trigger then touched off the front trigger.

When the smoke has cleared, I could see I had a nice .490 hole in the centre of the target right where I was aiming. I spent the next two hours firing off another 14 rounds. I'm going to spend a lot more time firing off dad's muzzle loader from now on.

Now for a couple of questions. I have heard I can get a little more velocity with Pyrodex P instead of Pyrodex RS using the same number of grains. Is that true?

and

The percussion caps are destroyed during firing. I mean the caps are split wide open. Is that normal? The nipple is correct for the firearm as far as I know.

Cheers.
 
Yes, the caps split often and that is normal.
Enjoy!
Now you have to clean the gun with hot soapy water, dry it , oil it and put it to bed till next time.

Black powder guns don't like to go to bed dirty....:(
 
question
When the smoke has cleared, I could see I had a nice .490 hole in the centre of the target right where I was aiming. I spent the next two hours firing off another 14 rounds. I'm going to spend a lot more time firing off dad's muzzle loader from now on.

Why only 14 round in 2 hours ??

and yes I hope you washed it down good

Hot soapy water is the best
 
I think I would avoid P in something as large as a .50.

You might get a bit more velocity but chances are that you will also get a LOT more pressure, the stuff being designed to work its best in very short barrels.

Just my take on things, you understand.

You're having fun. That's what it's all about!
.
 
Both of my 50s like 60 grains of Pyrodex P. I use the same measure of FFF black with much the same results.
Keep the powder charge to a reasonable level and you won't have any pressure worries.
 
smellie said:
I think I would avoid P in something as large as a .50.

You might get a bit more velocity but chances are that you will also get a LOT more pressure, the stuff being designed to work its best in very short barrels.

Just my take on things, you understand.
Click to expand...

...and most other peoples', too. P stands for 'Pistol' and RS stands for 'Rifle/shotgun'.

Can't be just a happy coincidence...

tac
 
just having some fun said:
question
When the smoke has cleared, I could see I had a nice .490 hole in the centre of the target right where I was aiming. I spent the next two hours firing off another 14 rounds. I'm going to spend a lot more time firing off dad's muzzle loader from now on.

Why only 14 round in 2 hours ??

and yes I hope you washed it down good

Hot soapy water is the best
Click to expand...
I was taking my time on a nice sunny day. I felt no need to rush through firing the 15 balls that I found in the possible bag. Need to buy more balls :D.

I can remember dad telling me decades ago to snap off a couple of caps to burn off any oil.

Yes, I gave the barrel a good hot soapy bath.
 
Having been a charcoal burner for over 30 years, can I give you a few pointers?

1/ Never mind trying the P or fffG in a 50. yes, it can be done, probably safely most of the time, but it just wasn't designed for that purpose. BP has been around for over 500 years. They've pretty much worked the bugs out by now and have figured out what works best.

2/ Don't bother trying to squeeze that little extra bit of velocity out of 'er. Again, they aren't designed for that. They throw a BIG chunk of soft lead at a critter. if you hit it, it'll flatten out to over 1" in diameter, bigger with a Maxi. it's very effective medicine.

I would recommend trying to get the most accurate, comfortable load you can use, and just have a lot of fun. they are a blast. I have a couple of 45 cal. Kentucky's. The best loads I've found are 30 gr. of ffG with a patched .440 round ball. Takes the head off grouse out to 30 yards every shot if I do my part. For bigger critters, I use 70 gr. of ffG and a 240 gr. Maxi. I can usually group 6" offhand at 100 yards. Both those loads are waaayyyy under max, but they're the best for those 2 guns. As a matter of fact, i used one of the Kentucky's at our local Turkey shoot for years. Never won, but always came in among the top 5 or 10, shooting against modern open sight rifles at 100 yds.

And, I really don't intend this to be condescending or anything similar. I made a lot of the same mistakes you are talking about when I got started out.
 
Papaclaude said:
Having been a charcoal burner for over 30 years, can I give you a few pointers?

And, I really don't intend this to be condescending or anything similar. I made a lot of the same mistakes you are talking about when I got started out.
Click to expand...
I have been shooting for close to 5 decades but I just started shooting BP this week. I will take all the pointers I can get. Thanks for the info.
:)
 
Steppenwolf said:
Followed by a squirt of WD40 while the barrel is dry and hot?
Click to expand...

Putting WD40 down your barrel will displace any remaining water (WD= water displacement) down the barrel and breach but do not think that it will protect your bore. A better product is G-96. It will remove water but will leave a protective film. If WD-40 is the only thing you have then follow up with a patch with gun oil. Good idea firing a couple of caps to blow out any oil residue. I have a couple of guns I have to store upside down for a few days after cleaning otherwise the channel gets plugged and even firing some caps will not remove it. Look around for some black powder. I don't like Pyrodex as it is very corrosive. Your 50 should be able to use either 3F or 2F but I would stick to 2F.

Cheers. Steve.
 
I had my BP rifle out to the range today and I have couple of questions. I have noticed my rifle requires three or four fouling shots before the POI settles down. Is that typical for BP rifles?

and

Anyone using Ballistol as a black powder cleaner and/or patch lube?
 
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