demonwolf444 Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 (edited) As promised on one of underdogs recent threads i got out with my muzzle loader today. When i first got the gun i was getting unreliable ignition and stripped everything which seemed to solve the problem. More recently the problem returned after forgetting to clean it after an outing, and it seems that my nipple clogs up very easily, as the hole on the other side of the cap end is around 0.5mm dia. Anyway, i stripped the gun down to the bare minimum and brushed scraped picked and oiled everything in the hope of solving the issue. I also removed the rear sight to help me point and swing more which was hard to do with the rear sight. The gun is a "hawken rifle" with no rifling, made by Ardesa in .54 caliber which is around 28 gauge. I typically use a 70 grain charge, with a scientific measurement of shot of two and a half cap fulls of the cap of the mini whiskey bottle i carry shot in. I'm sure there are better loads to use but it seems to work for me and gives good patterns. Anyway entering the field a pigeon broke from the tree's on the left of the field across the field, but it was rangy for a 12 bore, let alone my muzzle loading 28, so i let it be. walking across the field revealed nothing but as i reached a vantage point i got into the hedge as a group of pigeons and crows lifted from a wood heading over the field. Excellent one was coming straight over me, sitting tight i eased the hammer back to full cock, mounted turned and swung through the pigeon, a crack echoed through the air, another miss fire! Without my worm with me i was going to call it a day and head home, but decided to try and clear it then and there, running out of caps, i used three of my remaining 10 to see if i could ignite the charge, being wary of the muzzle all the time, ( i have seen a few serious hang fires before ). In a last ditch effort i placed one more cap on, "BOOM" i cleared the charge safely in to the ground. Tempted to call it a day i made for a point in the field where a fallen tree provides cover, only to see pigeons flying to roost. I talked my self into reloading, and sat as all sign of life left the air just as i had loaded. Typical. A deep buzzing of geese pricked my ears, as if torturing me a skein of geese flew directly over me, well within range of a 12 bore, however not of the muzzle loader and lead shot.. I sat as the geese flew on their way, and packed up. Walking back i decided to fire off the charge, pulling the trigger resulted in the instantaneous BOOM of black powder and shot exiting, always a shame to draw a blank, but at least it seems to be igniting now. The picture makes the 33inch barrel look much much shorter than it is. Its not the easiest game muzzle loading but when it all comes together there is nothing like it. Edited December 4, 2013 by demonwolf444 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Hey....thats a nice looking smoothrifle! All my nipples get opened to 1mm. If you can do it it will be worth it! Instant ignition all the time. Before I leave the house I pop a cap on the empty gun BUT put a rod and jag down with patch. That catches any spital and the little back pressure stops cap debri blocking the nipple! I hope your oiling with veg oil like olive oil! Normal mineral based oil is bad news! It turns BP soot to tar! Don't give up. My first shot and powder flask was shampoo bottles! My first powder measures were shotshells cut down. Good photo. Underdog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Lovely looking gun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted December 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 (edited) Hey....thats a nice looking smoothrifle! All my nipples get opened to 1mm. If you can do it it will be worth it! Instant ignition all the time. Before I leave the house I pop a cap on the empty gun BUT put a rod and jag down with patch. That catches any spital and the little back pressure stops cap debri blocking the nipple! I hope your oiling with veg oil like olive oil! Normal mineral based oil is bad news! It turns BP soot to tar! Don't give up. My first shot and powder flask was shampoo bottles! My first powder measures were shotshells cut down. Good photo. Underdog. Thanks underdog you have cleared a few things up for me there! Before i leave the house i shoot two caps down to clear it normally. Got a little brush i run through after about 5 shots in the field. Was going to PM you re drilling it out this evening. Been wondering about drilling it out for ages, as my friends takes bigger top hat caps but the nipple is at least a 2mm hole ( tiny amount of powder falls out if you tap the gun with no nipple on ) but his gun has never miss fired, so i had been thinking about it for some time. After every outing it gets stripped, boiling water, bore brush ect. then i do oil it with normal mineral oils but from now on i will use some veg. I have a powder flask but just like keeping it simple, a shot flask is on the list, will scour the bay or see what Kranks have next time i visit. Not going to give up, love shooting the thing, when it works its so satisfying, but it does have this habit of misfiring when the nipple gets fouled up; Ill drill it out tomorrow. Maybe i can update tomorrow with some pigeons. So far i have had six rabbit and a pigeon with it. Edited December 4, 2013 by demonwolf444 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camokid Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 stunning gun i would be worried to take that out... lol next pic with a fox please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 Thanks underdog you have cleared a few things up for me there! Before i leave the house i shoot two caps down to clear it normally. Got a little brush i run through after about 5 shots in the field. Was going to PM you re drilling it out this evening. Been wondering about drilling it out for ages, as my friends takes bigger top hat caps but the nipple is at least a 2mm hole ( tiny amount of powder falls out if you tap the gun with no nipple on ) but his gun has never miss fired, so i had been thinking about it for some time. After every outing it gets stripped, boiling water, bore brush ect. then i do oil it with normal mineral oils but from now on i will use some veg. I have a powder flask but just like keeping it simple, a shot flask is on the list, will scour the bay or see what Kranks have next time i visit. Not going to give up, love shooting the thing, when it works its so satisfying, but it does have this habit of misfiring when the nipple gets fouled up; Ill drill it out tomorrow. Maybe i can update tomorrow with some pigeons. So far i have had six rabbit and a pigeon with it. That is an encouraging reply U. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul taylor Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 Beautiful gun that. I can see the appeal but too much messing about for me. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted December 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 stunning gun i would be worried to take that out... lol next pic with a fox please Ha, its certainly a "piece" and its a bit different. From what i hear you have to be at an approved range to shoot a ball through it, so for fox i would have to create some really heavy load and shoot at really close range from a tree stand and call it in or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camokid Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 sorry i assumed it fires a single projectile so its shot firing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 Yep, big brother gets his panties all twisted up if you ask to hunt with a frontstuffer and a ball or bullet! U. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarecrow243 Posted December 6, 2013 Report Share Posted December 6, 2013 Hi I had a 50 cal hawken I found out it did not like certain caps also after pouring in the powder tap the barrel a couple of times to settle the powder I used pyrodex in mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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