abrahamsmith
New member
I just bought my first muzzleloader, a 50 caliber "sporterized hawken" from Cabelas (I think it's made by Interarms or something like that, bit I'm not near the paperwork).
Anyway, after having a great time firing about 40 rounds through it yesterday and this morning, I'm wondering a few things:
1. What's the proper use of the powder solvent chemicals? Each time I used it, I could never clean all the gunk out of the breach, so the next shot was a squib (this happened twice). Cleaning with a cup of hot water was seemed just as easy and less error-prone!
2. how well do those little plastic tubes for "speed loading" work? I can see how they might be nice for hunting.
3. How much difference would I notice in velocity consistentcy if i switched from Pyrodex RS to RS Select? I'd imagine that the greatest source of error is my ramming, not the powder.
4. How much variation is there in different cap brands? I was using CCI #11's. For modern reloading, we pay close attention to the primer brand.. how much does it matter here?
5. My twist is 1:48. I've been told that this won't work with sabots. Is this true? Balls and conicals work great so far.
6. What general tips do you have, i.e., "Don't ever do <this>" or "If <this> happens, do <that>."
Thanks!
I'm definately hooked!
-abe
Anyway, after having a great time firing about 40 rounds through it yesterday and this morning, I'm wondering a few things:
1. What's the proper use of the powder solvent chemicals? Each time I used it, I could never clean all the gunk out of the breach, so the next shot was a squib (this happened twice). Cleaning with a cup of hot water was seemed just as easy and less error-prone!
2. how well do those little plastic tubes for "speed loading" work? I can see how they might be nice for hunting.
3. How much difference would I notice in velocity consistentcy if i switched from Pyrodex RS to RS Select? I'd imagine that the greatest source of error is my ramming, not the powder.
4. How much variation is there in different cap brands? I was using CCI #11's. For modern reloading, we pay close attention to the primer brand.. how much does it matter here?
5. My twist is 1:48. I've been told that this won't work with sabots. Is this true? Balls and conicals work great so far.
6. What general tips do you have, i.e., "Don't ever do <this>" or "If <this> happens, do <that>."
Thanks!
I'm definately hooked!
-abe