Okay guys....bear with me. Lots of newbie questions.
I've already searched and read as many old threads as I could find.

I just ordered a Kodiak combo with .58 caliber rifle barrel and 12 Gauge shotgun barrel. My only BP experience is with a TC Encore 209 X 50 that I use Pyrodex pellets and Pyrodex powder and sabots with XTP bullets.

The Pedersoli information says to use .575 round ball. I am having trouble finding .575 balls. Most I find are .570. These will be okay if I use a thicker patch, right?
Can I use .575 Lyman Minie balls or will accuracy be crap?

I'd love to hear any suggestions on the 12 gauge BP loads. Shot, buckshot, slugs, sabots????

Some posters have mentioned replacing the ramrod. With what did you replace it?

What essentials does one need to load and use this combination gun?
Nipple wrench? Nipple charger?
Cleaning supplies?
patches and wads?
lube or bore butter?

I've been shooting for 50 years and reloading for over 10, but this BP stuff is all new to me.
I have downloaded many manuals and am in the process of reading them, so I am aware of things like marking your ramrod, checking for bullet movement in unfired barrel, regulation, etc. I just want to accumulate the tings I need so I can safely shoot this thing when it arrives.

Thanks

Lesson #1; STOP using pyrodex. It is the worst powder in the world and is the most corrosive. I got several pounds of it the first year it was available and still have it; it is nasty stuff. Use real black powder. If you must use a substitute, I use 777.
Do not use a nipple primer.
Use 570 balls; trust me you won't know the difference in five thousandths. Try minies; should work fine.
You can try sabots; I don't 'now the twist on the Kodiak. I had a 58 double rifle Kodiak once but it would not shoot sabots.
Shotgun side; ok, it's a shotgun. I know nothing about them.
Ramrod; they mean get a plastic one so you won't break the wood one..
I never use the ones on guns anyway; get a rod to use on the range; I use fiberglas with jags on both ends.
Yes you need to remove the nipples to clean it.
Cleaning supplies; you need only two things; water, and oil. Ok, patches.
Clean the BP fouling with water then oil the bore. Water is the only Army approved black powder solvent and it works the best.
Lube; of course you need to lube your patches and minies; I use cisco. bore butter is just expensive crisco.
Been shooting black powder since 1968. And building them since 1969.

The rifle barrel is 1:48" twist. I wasn't planning on using sabots in it. I'd like. To stay on the traditional side of things
On the shotgun side I might like to use slugs or sabots, but I will probably end up using buckshot.
The only reason I mentioned a nipple charger was the manual suggests trying that if you have a misfire as an attempt to fire out the load rather than pull it.
I AM about to order Lyman's BP book. I already have their cast bullet book.
Yeah, I'm not impressed with Pyrodex. It was all I could find locally one time. I now have real BP FFg on hand.
It looks like the barrels come off so that should aid cleaning a bit.

It should shoot minies as the original twist for them is one in 72. Do not be afraid of cleaning BP rifles; that is a myth. Just use water; never oil until clean; that will not dissolve BP fouling. Swab between shots will help. With a moist patch; I use spit for that. Moose milk; biggest scam ever produced, but made the guy a lot of money. It is water based cutting fluid that costs a dollar a barrel. It does work though. So does water.
All the ruined old barrels are caused by corrosive caps and primers; not from the black powder. That is where the bad rep came from.
If you keep it clean you will never have a mis fire.

I have one and love it. The only thing not covered by Tom was: your bullets/shot loads need to be TIGHT against the powder. On occasion recoil can dislodge a looser one and you end up with an air space. NOT GOOD.

I have some very good info on the shotgun side and if you PM me with an email I will get it to you. I harvested it off the internet so you can find it but I will save you the search if you'd like.

The shotgun side is the one I need the most help with, so a PM will be sent as soon as I post this. Thanks in advance.


I have a .58 Minie mould but it's heavier than the 460gr loads is see, so I'll have to work up and do more research.

I pieced together an order from Midway last night that should get me in the ML shotgun business. I'll figure what I forgot to order once I start loading. Of course.
00 buck will be my 1st load development. I may try some smaller shot later for squirrel season

A Black Powder Cape Gun....that should be fun!

I'd use a plastic shot cup if I was inclined to shoot a shotgun. The rule is the same volume of powder as shot.
What weight is your Minie? Doesn't matter; load some powder under it and see if it stabilized. That is the beauty of black powder; you make each load on the run.
Start with the standard Rifle Musket load; 60 grains. Go up from there.

But the plastic shot cup would be small for bore, wouldn't it? Since they are made to fit inside a shell?

My Minie mould is a Lyman 530 gr. That is exactly what i planned to do...start low and work up. I expect to have to use a bit more powder to get that longer conical to stabilze. We shall see...

I'm going to have to find me some more soft lead. I think I used all my pure lead on my last set of Quigley loads.

I have no idea; I do not shoot shotguns. But remember, the inside of your shell is the same size as your bore; the chamber being bigger, so the shot cup will fit the bore. So, it might/should/could work; depending on your bore. I have seen it done is the reason I mentioned it.

I shot the Kombo quite a bit last Friday. It took quite a bit of front and rear sight drifting to get the rifle barrel on target. I'll probably be looking for a better rear sight. The double one on it now is crap and only held by one screw. This Kombo is D&T'd for a tang sight, and I happen to have a 433 sight. I think the only way I'll use that sight is to zero it in at 150 or 175 for that rare, long shot. A 4" MPBR will take care of anything out to 135.

The 12 gauge shot cup is a wee bit small. I'm afraid using one will cause plastic fouling in the barrel and require solvent to remove, an added step in the cleaning process. I got decent patterns 1st try with the 00 buck. I tried what little #5 shot I had and got a nice donut pattern. I guess I need more shot or less powder.

Seems to do better so far with round ball than Minies, but I have a lot more load development to do. Several folks warned me this thing would kick, but it's a pussycat compared to several other rifles I have.

One of the articles I sent you talked about how to make contained shot cartridges to load into the ML. I have tried it and it works pretty good. Easier than loose shot pellets.

I guess I haven't made it to that article, yet. I'm most likely to use buckshot or a .690 round ball. I will have to order any other shot I want to try as all I have is #9 for handgun cartridge shotshells.

I'm determined to find a better rear sight for this thing and attach it properly.

I did get some excellent hard polycarbonate tubes that hold up to 110 gr FFg and are small enough in diameter that they pour easily into the rifle barrel. Great suggestion.

V.M. Starr, probably the most accomplished muzzleloading shotgun user ever in the US, had a standard load of two hard cards over the powder, the shot charge and over shot card. I can't quote him exactly but basically he said you can use more or less for wads but it won't matter. My experience echo's his.

I do have a question. What's the .690 RB for? That's 16 bore sized.

quote:

Originally posted by sharps4590:

I do have a question. What's the .690 RB for? That's 16 bore sized.

.690 or .695 round ball is what Pedersoli recommends for 12-gauge. I'm guessing with a .015 patch it ends up being .720 over-all diameter.
I did have to look it up when you asked to be sure. .690 is actually a tad under 14 gauge (.693) so it would be too large for a 16 gauge.

I don't know when I'll get around to testing it. This is doing pretty well with 9, 00 buck pellets over a 75 gr FFg charge that that is going to be my starting point. I am going to test it with 10 to 12 pellets and see how it does at various ranges.

My issue is going to be with the rifle side. I have front sight drifted way right and rear sight windage drifted way left and am still a bit right of point of aim at 50 yards. Plus that back sight only has one screw in it, so it wants to pivot. I'm looking for something better. It's silly to have 2 rear sights on it anyway. I'm going to sight in the rifle barrel for MPBR and use a tang for longer shots. I never shoot anything with my leverguns much over 150 yards anyway. Any farther than that and the front sight covers up too much animal.