American Bushman

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing." —Benjamin Franklin

Monday, November 13, 2006

More time at the range

Sunday was spent at the range again to try and improve on my Saturday performance. Being new to muzzleloading I've experienced some truly unique moments already. This time I managed to hit the target once, the paper once, and then I had a misfire.

Misfires occur when the primer goes off but the gunpowder doesn't. In my case it was caused by a dirty breech plug. When the misfire happens you continue to point the muzzle down range for 60 seconds. Then you load another primer and attempt to clear the barrel. I had a second misfire. Wait another 60 seconds and try one more time. The third time I pulled the trigger the primer popped and blew the trigger assembly out of the gun.

That, of course, was my last straw. I pulled the gun apart at the range, swabbed out the barrel with solvent, wiped down the trigger assembly, and then pulled the breech plug. This allowed me to push the bullet and remaining powder out of the barrel.

So, two days, five shots, and two day-killing mishaps later and I'm hooked. I've got to work out a few minor issues with loading the gun and then figure out how to consistently hit the target but I'm certainly prepared to go do this again and again.

Thanks for reading,

B

2 Comments:

At 4:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What type of gun have you got?
Using primer caps yet still patches is an odd mix as caps and minie balls came in about the same time.
Black powder is so much fun with misfires, but if the first shot fires ok then you are probably doing well. Just keep a safety pin in your hat for pricking out the priming hole. I've seen people with the whole lock mechanism wrapped up to stop it freezing in cold weather as well!

 
At 4:34 PM, Blogger American Bushman said...

Hey Sam, it's a Knight Revolution .50 in-line. The patches I'm using are simply cleaning patches.

Next year I'd like to build a Hawken but finding left-handed kits is not easy.

I'm totally hooked on black powder shooting and just need to get more familiar with the shooting protocol to get more than three shots before my gun stops working.

B

 

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