first black powder rife

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tacdical

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hey i recently just picked up a .50 cal rifle I was wondering if there's any tips when going out to shoot it for the first time? and also if i clean it the same way i would the rest of my rifles any help would be appreciated
main concern is what if i use to much or two little powder when loading it
thanks

edit i have been reading through the FAQ for beginners
 
Welcome to the world of the Holy Smoke....

Get hold of the Malahat Marauders black powder group at the Victoria Fish and Game club. They will be able to answer all your questions and mentor you the correct way thru the BP world as well as helping you find powder and accouterments that you may need.

As far as cleaning goes there are different methods, they will be able to help you. Sunlight dish soap and warm water (not boiling) scrub the bore and then dry by running patches down the bore until clean and dry, then apply a good oil. I use WD-40 first then 2 days later wipe it out witha couple of patches the I rewipe the bore with CRC Power Lube.

There are a couple of Bibles for black powder;

- Black Powder Handbook by Sam Fadala
- Black Powder Handbook and Loading Data from Lyman

Order them up as they have all the information you will need.

BTW what did you buy?
 
Awesome thanks, and ill have to see if they are there the next time i go up there. Definitely will look into those books thanks for the help!

I think its a sidelock its a Thompson center arms .50 cal renegade
Shot one awhile back thought it was neat to picked this one up
 
What have you got or what can you get for powders for it?

There's only three options. Proper black powder, Pyrodex and 777 or Triple 7.

All three when burnt produce a fouling that has a salt compound in it that draws moisture from the air. And salt being what it is it's best to use the hot water mentioned by MC One Shot. The soap just helps to cut any oil used as a lubricant in the bore.

The salt in the burnt fouling is rather aggresive at atracting moisture so it's best to clean the gun the same day it is shot. A few hours isn't the end of the world but try not to leave it to the next day. And NEVER leave it longer than that. Indoors in the winter in Ontario might be dry enough. And the middle of the Sahara might be dry enough. But Vancouver Island? Hmmmm.... I wouldn't even leave it overnight.

If you'll be shooting round ball with it look for .490 round ball and play around with different patch material. While the patch material must be pure cotton that leaves lots of room for different weights and resiliency amounts. I've found that I got the best results from a firm but not crazy tight fit of the patched round ball in my .50's. And for a charge of proper Black or Pyrodex you'll want to play with a variety of amounts from about 40gns up to around 100gns. Likely as not you'll hit the sweet spot for accuracy somewhere around 60'ish grains.

Best of luck and search out the other BP shooters. They're an odd bunch but great fun to hang around..... :d
 
Good advice; FWIW - your rifle is a hook breech. For my hook breech GPR, I pop the barrel out, remove the nipple and drop the breech end in HOT water with (as MC One Shot says) plain ole dish soap in it. Then start swabbing the bore, keep the breech end in there and it will hydraulic the water right up to the muzzle. Swab it good; then take it out & a couple of good patches until they come out dry. Then all I do is run a patch of whatever gun oil I have handy down it. That's it, I don't have time to go back, no rust so far in ~25 years.

Then wipe out the lock if it needs it, the hammer for sure and any other part that got sooty. Done - put it back together; make sure the nipple & channel is clear if it's a percussion. You can do that by snapping a cap at a blade of grass or paper towel etc., watch for movement.

Some folks caution against the HOT water because of a risk of flash rust; I've never had it happen & it may be specific to your local humidity/conditions.

A critical part of your accuracy AND cleanup (and the time between needing to clean the barrel) is the patch lube. I've tried everything over the years from commercial stuff to chewing the patches; and everything in between. Chewing works OK but I found it just didn't hold up to many rounds, especially in hot weather - now I use nothing more than olive oil & water that's it that's all. I've shot as many as 50 rounds without cleaning the barrel, still ringing the gong. YMMV.

My 0.02 is all that is, worth what you paid for it.

Good luck; keep yer powder dry.
 
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