Cheaper way to feed ML?

Hello, While most all of the match rifles used a false muzzle to start Paper-patched bullets straight into bore..There are two distinct types of paper patches..the earliest used strips of paper..calculated to form up around slug as it was pushed into bore..just touching each others edge & not overlapping. On these, the false muzzles were milled with corresponding slots for paper strips to lie in.
The other paper-patch bullet--and the type I am thinking of is the wrapped patch..the same as the early breech-loaders used.
Now I know dyl doesn't have a false muzzle on his rifle..but I do know a bore sized soft-lead slug will obturate from the kick of real black powder to fill rifling grooves. Suppose he sized a soft lead slug to just under bore dia., & patched it up so as to be a snug fit in bore..I'll bet it would work..and he could get all the velocity possible with no leading.
 
If you really want to shoot for cheap, it don't get much cheaper than a roundball twist .36 caliber barrel and patched 000 buckshot, which is about .350 in diameter and can be bought for about $25 bucks for a five pound box from Hornady.
Five pounds is about 538 balls in 000 buck.
 
I took a look at those bore buttons- seem pretty inexpensive. Would that help with fouling? The breech plug seized when I tried to remove it at home - and this is only after just 3 shots that day! (swabbing in between)
 
dyl,
After a couple of shots at the range, take your wrench and break the seal on your breech plug. You don't have to take it out, just break the crude seal, then snug it back up. You can shoot all day, and it will still loosen easily when it comes time to clean out.

Be sure to use a good grease on the threads of your breech plug, and don't over-tighten it when you put it in after cleaning. That is the #1 thing I see people do, that makes your plug hard to remove. All you need to do is just snug it down.
This will help.
 
Some folks wrap their breech plug with Telfon thread sealing tape and then also use anti-seize grease. The tape stops the powder residue from blowing back into the threads which can seize the plug.
Another alternative is to use the Blackhorn 209 smokeless black powder substitute. Swabbing is not required between shots when using it, however it does require using a smokeless powder solvent to clean it.

The cheapest way to get Blackhorn 209 is to call Ed's Gun Shop and ask for Carlos. Including delivery, his price may actually be less expensive than the average retail price, but the minimum order is 2 containers.

http://www.edsgunshop.com/
 
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Progress is trading one nuisance for another !!

Some folks wrap their breech plug with Telfon thread sealing tape and then also use anti-seize grease. The tape stops the powder residue from blowing back into the threads which can seize the plug.
Click to expand...
It's worth repeating what is happening here, on removable breech plugs. When you fire your rifle, the barrel expands, just enough to allow hot gasses to travel along the threads. Then it resets and the "crud" builds up in the threads. This is especially true with the use of 777. The lable reads; Easy Cleaning Muzzleloading Propellant. Hey, not so easy !! .... :eek:

I use a good Copper based anti-seize. It fills and coats the threads with copper. The gasses and crud, still come through but but do not stick to the threads. When I remove the plugs I get a lot of crud shavings and the threads are still coated with the copper. I have never have a frozen breech plug except those that I inherited. ..... :rolleyes:

Be Safe !!!
 
Thank you for the tips - when I examined the breech plug the first 2 or 3 threads were blackened but boy you'd think the whole thing was covered in fouling. It took the long handled socket wrench to get free. I will try breaking the seal regularly during a session. Maybe even remove the breech plug before the rifle cools and I take it home.

Wish I had some anti-sieze grease, I'll try at the auto shop. Every time I go there however and ask for something they ask me what it's for and whether it's car or firearm related (i usually don't get specific) they hand me something else. At least they're trying to be helpful.

Arctic, thanks for the hookup!

My latest ammo findings:
Walmart had 240 grain XTP in sabots for $12 for 30. That seems like a good deal to me. I bought one to test, might go back for more since buying the components might cost more after shipping.

Box of Pyrodex 50 gr pellets is $30 and 1 pound powder is $20. They didn't have blackhorn.
 
Dyl, if you are going to by anti-seize lube from an auto parts store tell them it is for spark plugs. That stuff is made to handle hot and dirty conditions - similar to a breech plug.
 
More ways to skin this cat !!

Dyl, if you are going to by anti-seize lube from an auto parts store tell them it is for spark plugs. That stuff is made to handle hot and dirty conditions - similar to a breech plug
Click to expand...
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Good call and it may even come in stick form or like a crayon. The copper based type that I get, is used for making up high temp. piping flange bolts. There is also a nickle based type that has a high temp rating but dries out too fast. As stated before, the copper coats the threads and keeps the crud from sticking to them. ..... :rolleyes:


Be Safe !!!
 
Some inlines shoot patched round ball tolerably well. You have to monkey with the powder charge until the groups shrink.

This 5 shot group was fired at 50 yards from my old CVA StagHorn inline with 1/32" twist. The bore was not swabbed between shots. The powder charge was 80 grains of 3F Goex Pinnacle, patches were drill cloth lubed with Goop hand cleaner:

http://imageshack.us/a/img29/7995/dsc01366b.jpg
 
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Good advice about the anti-seize - spark plugs eh? I have lithium grease but it's clear and I haven't heard of it having anti-seize properties.

That's a good group - not swabbing intrigues me. Perhaps that's an unintentional advantage of patched projectiles? The gunstore guru gave me the impression that I was ALWAYS supposed to swab in between shots. I don't remember what Thompson Center's manual stated about that matter but I could imagine they want to protect their accuracy/good name.
 
I remembered a question I wanted to ask.

Tightening up the breech plug until "snug".

The manual has it's definition of when you can no longer grip the barrel without it turning in your hand. That doesn't take a lot of torque from me because I always have a thin layer of oil on the barrel.

Let me ask you: snug isn't really tight at all is it? To me it means stop applying pressure fairly soon after the rotation stops.
 
To me, snug means to not add very much torque at all to the breech plug once it's fully inserted to be flush with the bottom of the breech plug hole. I might back it out once or twice just to make sure that it's all of the way in, but after that, additional torque isn't really necessary since it won't back out on it's own. The plug has too many threads for that to happen.
I apply even less torque to conventional nipples. They're usually only barely snugged and I've never had any back out on their own. And nipples have a considerably lesser amount of threads than a breech plug does.
 
Ask the parts person for Permatex Anti-Seize with copper. Most parts store carry it.

Too, 'a little dab will do ya', so a small tube rather then the big jug will last you a long time.
 
I own a White ML and shoot slip fit 460 lead conicals. I can shoot all day with 60 gr of loose TTT and not have to swab between shots. Gotta love those Whites!!
 
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