insanelupus
WKR
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2015
- Messages
- 668
Form,
I'm far from an expert, but was trained under the tuteludge of one who was. He built the .54 that I took this buck with several years ago at 75 yards. First time that rifle had been hunted in almost 30 years and my mentor died within a month of this photo being taken. Best present I could have given him. I've learned a little from others mistakes since then.
One word of caution, if you have to hammer that ram rod home with the tailgate, probably best to clean. Little good will come of doing so and often some form of damage can result. Sometimes, we have to accept and conform to the limitations of the tool we are using, or find a tool that better conforms to our standards.
Those pre lubed patches are convenient, true. As you have discovered, the tighter the patch/ball, typically the better the group. But powder fouling is a thing. Good Swiss powder (if it can be found, tough at the moment) is a gift and second to none. Running your patch material (100% cotton) through a hot wash cycle and drying is supposed to be beneficial, which means cutting (pre cut or at the muzzle) and lubing them . And experimenting with lube (hey, don't be weird here) is a good idea. Mink oil is often touted and that's been my go to for the rifle pictured. My mentor used a home brew of sheep tallow and beeswax, perhaps with a little linseed oil (memories fade). I asked once about bear grease and his experience indicated it is too thin. There is a balance in patch lube regarding thickness and viscocity I'm still learning.
I've purchased a .58 I need to repair a little and then get online next year. The rifles my mentor built are relegated to terrain I can navigate without falling these days, but the elk don't usually live there! Thus the purchased .58. I'll be playing with lube, ball size, and powder charges, provided I can find more 2F Swiss.
One thing friends have found helpful and I believe it was mentioned, a fiber wad over your powder charge before the PRB is seated. Research I've done indicates going up a caliber is helpful too (I'll be using .62 wads). Lowers extreme spread and has helped accuracy with several I know using conicals, but does the same for PRB.
My experience has all been with slow twist barrels for PRB and the .58 I have is basically a sporterized Remington 1863 Contract rifle that was never actually produced. An Antolio Zoli creation of the 70s. Complete with shallow rifling, 3 groove short barrel, and I've found multiple twists listed from moderate that should be PRB fine to slow and no good for conicals, which I doubt.
Rarely with a muzzlleloader will there be a generic secret sauce. More than modern rifles, each is a rule into its own and requires experimentation.
My mentor told me there have been and are many muzzleloaders capable of very good accuracy. He built many of them over his lifetime. But not every shooter is or has the patience to find it he told me. But the myth that PRB is not capable of small groups at 100 yards is just that, a myth. Not all muzzleloaders are capable of it, but he always reckoned there were fewer shooters capable of finding the necessary combo than there were muzzleloaders.
I'm far from an expert, but was trained under the tuteludge of one who was. He built the .54 that I took this buck with several years ago at 75 yards. First time that rifle had been hunted in almost 30 years and my mentor died within a month of this photo being taken. Best present I could have given him. I've learned a little from others mistakes since then.
One word of caution, if you have to hammer that ram rod home with the tailgate, probably best to clean. Little good will come of doing so and often some form of damage can result. Sometimes, we have to accept and conform to the limitations of the tool we are using, or find a tool that better conforms to our standards.
Those pre lubed patches are convenient, true. As you have discovered, the tighter the patch/ball, typically the better the group. But powder fouling is a thing. Good Swiss powder (if it can be found, tough at the moment) is a gift and second to none. Running your patch material (100% cotton) through a hot wash cycle and drying is supposed to be beneficial, which means cutting (pre cut or at the muzzle) and lubing them . And experimenting with lube (hey, don't be weird here) is a good idea. Mink oil is often touted and that's been my go to for the rifle pictured. My mentor used a home brew of sheep tallow and beeswax, perhaps with a little linseed oil (memories fade). I asked once about bear grease and his experience indicated it is too thin. There is a balance in patch lube regarding thickness and viscocity I'm still learning.
I've purchased a .58 I need to repair a little and then get online next year. The rifles my mentor built are relegated to terrain I can navigate without falling these days, but the elk don't usually live there! Thus the purchased .58. I'll be playing with lube, ball size, and powder charges, provided I can find more 2F Swiss.
One thing friends have found helpful and I believe it was mentioned, a fiber wad over your powder charge before the PRB is seated. Research I've done indicates going up a caliber is helpful too (I'll be using .62 wads). Lowers extreme spread and has helped accuracy with several I know using conicals, but does the same for PRB.
My experience has all been with slow twist barrels for PRB and the .58 I have is basically a sporterized Remington 1863 Contract rifle that was never actually produced. An Antolio Zoli creation of the 70s. Complete with shallow rifling, 3 groove short barrel, and I've found multiple twists listed from moderate that should be PRB fine to slow and no good for conicals, which I doubt.
Rarely with a muzzlleloader will there be a generic secret sauce. More than modern rifles, each is a rule into its own and requires experimentation.
My mentor told me there have been and are many muzzleloaders capable of very good accuracy. He built many of them over his lifetime. But not every shooter is or has the patience to find it he told me. But the myth that PRB is not capable of small groups at 100 yards is just that, a myth. Not all muzzleloaders are capable of it, but he always reckoned there were fewer shooters capable of finding the necessary combo than there were muzzleloaders.
