Shooting original 1861 contract muskets !

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  • Last Post 20 March 2013
6pt-sika posted this 16 March 2013

We have a kinda chopped 1861 contract Trenton musket in the shop . I was thinking of working on it a bit and get it shooting well enough to pop a deer with it this coming season .   But after much thought I am now thinking I might just take one of our original correct muskets and do the same thing . I have fairly decent specimens of the Trenton , Colt , Savage , Norwich and Mason . Also have a couple Mississippi's and a Zouave .   One of these oughtta do plenty well enough to kill a deer inside 75 yards . They're all 58 cal except for possibly one of the Mississippi's which is 54 .   I'm thinking rather then cast for this thing I'll just buy Buffalo Bore or some such ready cast minni bullets . Have some Goex 3Fg but I know where I can borrow lay my hands on some Goex 2Fg . So other then progectiles the only thing I need is a nipple wrench a new musket nipple and some musket caps .

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6pt-sika posted this 16 March 2013

Hmmm I didn't realize I could use Triple 7 granulated !

Hogdon Triple 7 2Fg seems to be acceptable for 58 cal ML lit with a musket cap . I already have some of that , so instead of borrowing some BP I'll try the Triple 7 first .

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6pt-sika posted this 16 March 2013

Well just now over the phone I was given a take off barrel from a 1861 Springfield rebuild !

Barrel has a good bore and hopefully should fit the rifle I have .

Will see if that one will fit my 1863 Wm Mason contract gun .

 

The chopped gun I “was” intrested in has been parted out and I was given the barrel and stock .

 

So I have a couple ways I can aproach this whole thing .

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6pt-sika posted this 17 March 2013

I'm thinking of using straight Crisco to lube the mini bullets for the 58 .

Is this normal among the skirmisher guys ?

 

In the past I used Crisco to seal the tops of percussin revolver cylinders .

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linoww posted this 18 March 2013

I use Triple 7 FFF in my P-H .577(1980's mfg) with very good luck.I use about 60g and a 560g shallow skirt Minie.I have used Crisco;TC Bore Butter or 1/2 beeswax and 1/2 olive oil.I cant tell any difference in accuracy.The T-7 grouped better than “real” BP in my two Parker Hales BTW.

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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Skirmisher posted this 18 March 2013

A lot old time skirmishers used Crisco in the base. It'll work best in cooler weather, gets messy in the heat. Best accuracy is obtained using a minie .001-002 inches under bore diameter. A typical target load will be 40-50 gr 3F BP. A deer will never know the difference between that and heavier charges. Most deer that I shot were dead where they stood. Never had to track one hit with a 500 gr bullet pushed by 45 gr 3F.

Be prepared for it to shoot high with original sights out to 100 yards regardless of load. They were set up that way. Once you find the right load combination they are great fun to show off with as to how accurate they can be to non-believers. Have a blast.

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6pt-sika posted this 18 March 2013

linoww wrote: The T-7 grouped better than “real” BP in my two Parker Hales BTW. Thats good to hear as I like T7 better then BP if truth be told .

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6pt-sika posted this 18 March 2013

Skirmisher wrote: A lot old time skirmishers used Crisco in the base. It'll work best in cooler weather, gets messy in the heat. Best accuracy is obtained using a minie .001-002 inches under bore diameter. A typical target load will be 40-50 gr 3F BP. A deer will never know the difference between that and heavier charges. Most deer that I shot were dead where they stood. Never had to track one hit with a 500 gr bullet pushed by 45 gr 3F.

Be prepared for it to shoot high with original sights out to 100 yards regardless of load. They were set up that way. Once you find the right load combination they are great fun to show off with as to how accurate they can be to non-believers. Have a blast. Also good to hear that 3Fg will work instead of getting the coarse 2Fg that I don't happen to have any of now .

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Skirmisher posted this 18 March 2013

3F is preferred. There are some skirmishers that use 2F (their sweet spot load). Of course on our team events which are rapid fire, ease of reloading is all important. 3F is cleaner burning, less fouling. With the right bullet, load and lube you should be able to shoot at least 10 rounds before patching the bore. All too often people believe the old time literature that has been published and republished that you should use 2F for .50 cal and above. Most skirmishers use 3F in .69 smooth bores.

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6pt-sika posted this 18 March 2013

Skirmisher wrote: 3F is preferred. There are some skirmishers that use 2F (their sweet spot load). Of course on our team events which are rapid fire, ease of reloading is all important. 3F is cleaner burning, less fouling. With the right bullet, load and lube you should be able to shoot at least 10 rounds before patching the bore. All too often people believe the old time literature that has been published and republished that you should use 2F for .50 cal and above. Most skirmishers use 3F in .69 smooth bores.

I keep 3Fg on hand for my little 36 caliber A.B.Smith halfstock PA rifle . But when I sold my 54 Isac Haines Contemporary I gave the 2Fg I had to my friend that bought it .

So between Goex 3Fg and Triple 7 3Fg I should be fine .

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6pt-sika posted this 18 March 2013

My 1864 Wm Mason 1861 contract musket and the remains of the 1861 Trenton contract musket !

 

 

Markings on the barrel of the Trenton gun . I have a complete original Trenton at home in the back of the safe but I'm not overly joyed about digging it out at the moment . The Wm Mason , the Zouave and a pair of Mississippi's were close to the front so the Wm Mason got the nod for possible shooting !

Plus it's probably the worst of the bunch .

 

 

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linoww posted this 19 March 2013

Here is how the P-H 2 band does when shooting well.its a 1-48 twist.

these are at 200 yards (three groups in a row) 55g triple 7 FFF Ph58560 mold .574 dia. and tumble lubed with Carnauba wax.

I envy your original rifles.

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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6pt-sika posted this 19 March 2013

Thanks !

That Mason was picked up last summer . But the others have been picked up over the last 20-30 years .

 

So it isn't far fetched for me to expect 3 shot groups at 50 yards inside 2 inches ?

Minus the diameter of the bullet of course !

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linoww posted this 20 March 2013

mine shoots 2 MOA to 100 yds with good light and no wind.When the eyeballs are not too good its about 3-4 MOA to 100 yards.At 200 yards 6” groups are shot but not an every group thing.

George

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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