Fellas I found this gun in the father-in-laws cupboard and I've had it fixed up. The barrel was bent and has been straightend and recrowned by a blackpowder guru, and the trigger sear repaired. Now I want to shoot this thing and I'm ordering a mould to cast mini's, I've taken a cast of the barrel and its a .577 cal. I know nothing about blackpowder guns and would like to know the steps involved loading the beast. Also could anybody suggest a starting load and a max load?
Thanks
Posts: 8047 | Location: Bloody Queensland where every thing is 20 years behind the rest of Australia! | Registered: 25 January 2001
Quote: Fellas I found this gun in the father-in-laws cupboard and I've had it fixed up. The barrel was bent and has been straightend and recrowned by a blackpowder guru, and the trigger sear repaired. Now I want to shoot this thing and I'm ordering a mould to cast mini's, I've taken a cast of the barrel and its a .577 cal. I know nothing about blackpowder guns and would like to know the steps involved loading the beast. Also could anybody suggest a starting load and a max load? Thanks
I'm assuming that since it has been "fixed" by a "blackpowder guru", that he determined that it is safe to shoot!! If so, then: Cast some Minie-type bullets. Lubricate them by filling the base cavity with Crisco or T/C "Bore Butter". The correct weight of the Minie ball is in the 530 grain range. The Civil War service load for such weapons, including the Springfields and Enfields, (which yours is), was 60 grains by VOLUME of FFg BP. Use this charge, or the volumetric equivalent of a modern substitute powder (Pyrodex RS, Clean Shot, or GOEX ClearShot), AS YOUR MAXIMUM LOAD in that old gun!! I'd start with no more than a 50-grain load with the Minie ball. You can also shoot .570 Hornady round balls with a 0.015" TC patch and the same powder charge in that gun!
I'd recommend against using T7 in it, since T7 develops higher pressures.
Loading Procedure: 1. Wipe barrel with two or three clean patches to remove all oil.
2. Fire two caps on nipple to blow any oil out of the breechplug and nipple area, then wipe bore again one last time with clean patch. When popping these caps, hold the muzzle down next to a leaf or some blades of grass on the ground, and observe to make sure the blast from the cap blows the leaf or blades of grass. This shows you that the flash channel is unobstructed, and you can proceed to load it with the expectation that it is going to fire!!
3. Place butt of rifle on the ground (on a rag or piece of clean carpet). Measure the powder (50-60 grains)with your adjustable powder measure, and pour the powder down the barrel.
4. Place Minie ball into the muzzle, and force it into the barrel with thumb pressure. The ball should be one or two thousandths under bore diameter. (In my .577" barrel, I use .575" Minie balls.) Now take rammer, and ram ball down solidly on powder charge. Seat ball on powder with 40-50 pounds of pressure, but DO NOT POUND OR "WHANG" THE BULLET WITH THE RAMROD!!! (MARK THE SPOT ON THE RAMROD AT THE MUZZLE TO SHOW HOW FAR THE RAMROD IS IN THE BARREL WHEN THE BULLET IS FULLY SEATED.) I scribe my steel rods with a knife blade. This is so you can make sure you get the bullet all the way down when ypu load succeeding rounds, as fouling builds up! (NEVER FIRE A MUZZLELOADER UNTIL YOU ARE CERTAIN THE BULLET IS ALL THE WAY DOWN ON THE POWDER)!! Withdraw rammer and replace it in its' groove under the barrel.
5. Place hammer on half-cock, and, with muzzle pointed DOWN RANGE, place a cap on the nipple, and seat it as far onto the nipple as you can with thumb pressure.
6. Cock, aim, and fire piece! (IF THE GUN EVER FAILS TO FIRE, KEEP IT POINTED DOWNRANGE UNTIL YOU ARE SURE IT IS NOT GOING TO HANG-FIRE!!)
Repeat the above procedure, omitting the oil removal steps, of course.
During your shooting session, if using black powder, you may have to wipe the bore after a couple of shots to be able to reload after fouling builds up. If you are using Pyrodex, you should NOT have to wipe!!
With this old gun, I'd stick to the service load of 60 grains as a max. load! Don't try to stretch the old geezer!!
When done shooting, remove the nipple with a nipple wrench, and using a funnel, pour two quarts of boiling water through the bore, then wipe it with several clean patches until one comes out dry. Then use an oily patch to oil the bore. Use a wet patch to wipe all fouling off external surgfaces, then oil them as well. i clean nipples by soaking them in a small glass of hot soapy water, then scrub them off inside and out with a round toothpick, making sure to thoroughly clean the flash channel in the nipple, so I can see through it before reinstalling it. Lube the nipple and nipple seat, with no more than "half-a-drop" of oil!
You will need to purchase a nipple wrench that fits your gun's nipple, an adustable powder measure (I prefer brass ones that have a pouring funnel attached), perhaps a couple of wooden ramrods for cleaning and for loading at the range, a cleaning jag or two, and perhaps a couple of extra nipples. IF you decide to shoot some patched round balls also, you'll also need a "SHORT STARTER", because the patched balls fit too tightly to start them into the muzzle with just thumb pressure.
eldeguello Yes the bloke that fixed the rifle gave it a good look over and gave it the thumbs up. Thanks for the info thats exactly what I wanted to know. A couple more questions. Won't the lube in the base of the mini dampen down the powder? What do you recomend for hunting, the round or mini? I want to use this rifle on pigs where the average shot is from 5-20 meters. I'm thinking of the mini as it would be easy/quicker to load in the bush. I've heard that the patched round ball is more accurate?
Thanks again for the infomation.
Posts: 8047 | Location: Bloody Queensland where every thing is 20 years behind the rest of Australia! | Registered: 25 January 2001
