today was a learning experience

[chemist308]

Well, today was my first day firing a black powder rifle. So far, I've learned quite a bit. Now one fellow at the range was telling me that the reason I can't get any kind of a group is the fact that I'm using a conical in a 1 in 48" twist barrel--said I should switched to patched round balls. Personally I think it was probably more me. Anyway, I was always under the impression that the 1 in 48 was a compromise twist supposedly suitable for balls and conicals.
Anyone know anything about this one?

Also, I was very surprised to find the end of day cleaning to be something better done in a bathtub than a vise. Would have been real easy if I'd installed a slop sink in the garage...

Also, how to you do the between fire cleanings without water. What solvent or just dry patch?

 

[armedandsafe]

Welcome to the joys of "shootin' dirty." You don't have to clean between every shot with most rifles, just when the ball starts to get tight. I've had rifles where this happened about every 3rd shot and others where I could go close to 10 before they got tight. I use a bronze brush with a squirt of WonderLube 100 followed with a dry patch.

The 1:48 is a compromise in twist, but some rifles are more finicky than others. Try with round balls and see what happens. Sometimes, even varying the thickness of the patch will change the pattern. It just depends on whether your rifle is male (shoot anything just to get a bang) or female (finicky as all getout and changes day-2-day.)

(That sould get me some flames. )

Pops

 

[wrcook]

Between shots I have always used a damp patch. Most guys had a jar of soapy water on the shooting bench. If you think that you might have gotten the patch too wet, run a dry patch.