Ah, the vagueries, mysteries, and joys of the smoothbore
Jun 5, 2021 12:21:27 GMT -7
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Post by brokennock on Jun 5, 2021 12:21:27 GMT -7
I think on of my favorite things about shooting a smoothbore, especially shooting roundball out of a smoothbore, is that they don't seem to follow "the rules," or conventional wisdom. Rifle shooters swear by the mantra, "the tighter the patch/ball combination the better."
Not so the smoothie. As long as I have a good gas seal between powder and ball, weather ball is patched or just sandwiched between wads, tighter seems to shoot worse. My Early Virginia smoothrifle likes a .695 ball patched with a .010 patch better than a thinker patch or a .600 ball with a .010 patch, and likes a .610 ball in between wads even better.
Apparently the gas seal has its limits too.
I've been shooting my E.V.S.R. exclusively for a few years. My Fusil des Chase needed a couple repairs I wasn't prepared at the time to make. And, because I don't get to shoot/practice enough,, the rear sight made better practical sense.
The F.d.C. just handles and carries so much nicer.
I finally fixed the broken barrel lug, treated some worn spots on the stock with tru-oil after zapping some small cracks with thin CA glue. And,,,, added a small brass rear sight back even with the forward lock bolt. Sight picture is perfect for me, rear sight is naturally slightly blury and from sight is crisp. I can ignore the rear sight if need be.
This was back in early April.
I finally got to the range with her on Wednesday. I've always shot her with a .600 ball and a patch following the recipe the previous owner gave me.
I decided to try the more historically correct wads.
And, tried to improve gas seal with a nitro wad between powder and lubed felt wad, then ball .610 diameter, then thin card. I usually only use thin cards and the lubed wad.
It shot okay but not great. Was with about a bit over 65 grains of 3f. (Kicks much harder than I remembered, harder by far than the smoothrifle)
I tried the same lady with a thin card instead of the nitro wad, instant group improvement.
I tried the same load combo with a measure labeled "65g" but when the charge is weighed it averages about 58 grains...
Even better group.
This was all off the bench at 25 yards.
Next I'm going to try this load at 50 yards. As well as more 25 yard testing with 70 and 75 grains of 2f, maybe a few shots at 80 grains.
I'm reminded of a good friend's response at a modern pistol match when someone was asking him about load data advice. His response? "Shoot what works."
Not so the smoothie. As long as I have a good gas seal between powder and ball, weather ball is patched or just sandwiched between wads, tighter seems to shoot worse. My Early Virginia smoothrifle likes a .695 ball patched with a .010 patch better than a thinker patch or a .600 ball with a .010 patch, and likes a .610 ball in between wads even better.
Apparently the gas seal has its limits too.
I've been shooting my E.V.S.R. exclusively for a few years. My Fusil des Chase needed a couple repairs I wasn't prepared at the time to make. And, because I don't get to shoot/practice enough,, the rear sight made better practical sense.
The F.d.C. just handles and carries so much nicer.
I finally fixed the broken barrel lug, treated some worn spots on the stock with tru-oil after zapping some small cracks with thin CA glue. And,,,, added a small brass rear sight back even with the forward lock bolt. Sight picture is perfect for me, rear sight is naturally slightly blury and from sight is crisp. I can ignore the rear sight if need be.
This was back in early April.
I finally got to the range with her on Wednesday. I've always shot her with a .600 ball and a patch following the recipe the previous owner gave me.
I decided to try the more historically correct wads.
And, tried to improve gas seal with a nitro wad between powder and lubed felt wad, then ball .610 diameter, then thin card. I usually only use thin cards and the lubed wad.
It shot okay but not great. Was with about a bit over 65 grains of 3f. (Kicks much harder than I remembered, harder by far than the smoothrifle)
I tried the same lady with a thin card instead of the nitro wad, instant group improvement.
I tried the same load combo with a measure labeled "65g" but when the charge is weighed it averages about 58 grains...
Even better group.
This was all off the bench at 25 yards.
Next I'm going to try this load at 50 yards. As well as more 25 yard testing with 70 and 75 grains of 2f, maybe a few shots at 80 grains.
I'm reminded of a good friend's response at a modern pistol match when someone was asking him about load data advice. His response? "Shoot what works."
