demonwolf444 Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Tested and on ticket with no issues so far. I double charged it and fired it using a string through a dry stone wall as a barricade. We did not film it. We were so nervous about the whole thing there was too much to think about. A double charged load just makes a very loud boom. Moving forward with finishing and chequering now. Will get a video of it firing normally asap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Can't believe you didn't hold a camera above the wall to film it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Brill...I was not expecting anything else DW. Next time though do put something soft between the wall and the butt....that alone can break a stock! U. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Hi Well done on the test fire glad it went ok Are all your mates wimps get them out with the camera All the best Of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiffy Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 shame we didnt see the initial firing but understandable i supose as your bound to have had more imprtant things on your mind.. looking forward to the video when you get one done though... still not had a chance to fire my muzzle loader yet so watching yours will have to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted February 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) Can't believe you didn't hold a camera above the wall to film it. Had a friend with me but he was stood about 50 yards away, obviously it was quite un remarkable. Just a lot of smoke and a rolling BOOM like thunder. Brill...I was not expecting anything else DW. Next time though do put something soft between the wall and the butt....that alone can break a stock! U. Put the but of the stock in a tire laid flat on the ground. Tied the front of the gun around the front of the barrel, had some bail string around the front and back triggers, and pulled, it took a fair yank and a few attempts as it kept slipping off the trigger, but when it went off it sounded like an artillery piece. The gun was pointed at about 30 degree's shooting into 1000 yards of empty field with no house in any direction for at least 800 yards. On firing the recoil lifted the tire up nearly till it was standing. Taking it ferreting tomorrow so should be able to get you some footage. Only because i'm out of cartridges. I think we worked out it has something like a 15 inch spread at 20 yards, that was with a 50:50 load with about 30 grams of lead and equivalent volume of shot with improvised paper shotcups, ideally i would like to work out some lighter loads, 24 or 26 gram loads just to be putting less stress on the barrels but i need to get a shot flask ideally. Too bloody damp and cold, can't seem to get the finish to dry up properly its just staying tacky for days, so i have just rubbed it back and left it for now. I have about 7 air rifle stocks which need finishing so i will get the electric heaters on and get them all finished up at the same time. Can't be bothered to drive miles to a decent gun shop, so i have been using military top hat caps which are well over sized but work, when i get some stuff sold i will pick up some shot and caps. I need to re stock on literally everything i dread my next gun shop trip. Edited February 8, 2014 by demonwolf444 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted February 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 PS if anyone has an old shot flask hanging about, i will make you an offer on it. If any one has a shot maker i can borrow that would also be just excellent, really annoying that i will end up buying lead shot even through i have plenty of scrap lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Well done DW. See you soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Cut some newspaper in 1,5" squares and roll into balls. Wads! Same over the shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Old hessien sack works too. Cut some card into squares...get it just right and you have your over shot cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted February 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) going to end up buying correctly sized wads. Just want to make sure i am getting a decent pressure load. Wads in corporated Kranks for the shot.. like 40 quid for 7kg tub i think. Basically going to end up paying like 55 quid to get sorted ammo wise. Edited February 11, 2014 by demonwolf444 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 I have a leather shot bag I made donkey's ago....you can have it if you would like it. You will get good pressure just the same, the very pressure of being crushed between the powder burn and the shot will seal the bore. Some guy's I know just use shredded cedar bark as a wad or tow, saddle stuffing etc. Wads as we know only came about to fill cartridge cases due to their set lengths. I have had many a good day with just a few over shot thin cards between powder and shot. U Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) Hi Good job idea you could make a wad punch Find some steel pipe same sise hole as bore of gun grind edge of pipe to form cutting edge cheap temporary one Or use a lathe to make exact size if you have one available Jus a idea All the best Of What size wad punch do you think you would need? Edited February 13, 2014 by Old farrier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven b Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Very nice project budy welldone .cracking job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted February 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) Appreciate the kind words and help once again fella's. Wad size needs to be around 17-18 mill. I have a drill press so i might look into a punch on pay day! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hole-punch-tools-cutter-puncher-die-use-with-hand-press-machine-different-sizes-/151161227558?pt=UK_Crafts_Leathercraft_LE&var=&hash=item2331e94926 Makes it twice as enjoyable sharing my experiences with others. Saw Underdog today who gave me the a fore mentioned shot bag which i really appreciate. He also put some shot in it to tie me over till payday, for which i am very grateful, no i just need to keep up my end of the bargain and get some pigeons with it! As i said to underdog today, i hope to borrow some chequering tools from another obliging ( welshwarrior ) PW member in the near future, which should see her finished up properly. All the best guys Edited February 14, 2014 by demonwolf444 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Good to see you DW...and your buddy. Sorry I was in a rush n' hope the sxs fits him well. I made that shot bag about ten years ago! When I was doing a lot of archery a fellow archer always had bags of leather in his car from his job at Rolls Royce!! He gave a bin bag full of offcuts etc. Anyway, a 11/16" leather punch is about half way between 17-18mm! http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=11%2F16+leather+punch&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=1 With that and a hammer you could stamp away until your right arm fell off! Here is an extract from a Mr V.M. Starr, a famous American muzzleloader! I use only one kind of wads and those I cut from cardboard like display signs that are extra thick, about 3/32 is about right and use two of these on the powder and one on the shot. I have had several pretty wise gun men tell me that that is not enough wads before they saw the results but never have had one say a word further on the subject after they had seen one of my guns perform so loaded. You can put in more wads on the powder if you wish or if you enjoy cutting them but my experience tells me that you are just wasting your time and cardboard and in spite of the fact that shot gun shells have felt wads in them and always have had as far as I know I don't think they are at all necessary in a muzzle loader. Anyhow, if my guns shot any better I would not know what to do with the extra efficiency.Now let's get one loaded. Pull both hammers to full cock and put a cap on each nipple and snap them and listen to the noise they make if they make a noise that is hollow inside the barrel you will know that the nipple is open and the fire went into the barrel where it is supposed to but if it goes off with a sharp crack on the outside only you know that the nipple is plugged. I like to point the gun at some small light object on the ground like a blade of grass and watch and see if the force of the cap will move it, then if I hear a hollow tonk inside the barrel and see the object move I know that the passage is open. It is not a bad idea to snap a couple of caps an each nipple and then blow through the barrels and watch the smoke come out of the niples. That gives you a good chance to see just how well the passage is cleaned out.Now if you really want it to go off the first time and no fooling, pour about a half charge of powder in each barrel and bump the breech a couple of times on the ground to settle it and keeping the muzzle up put on a couple of caps and see if she shoots. If that goes off you may be quite sure that it will fire every time after that. If it don't, find out what is stopping up the passage and try again until it fires that loose powder because there is no use to load it if it ain't a-going to shoot.Now set your hammers in the safety notches and take the gun by the muzzle and turn the hammers towards you and set the butt between your feet and grip the barrels between your knees hard enough to hold it in an upright position, this leaves both hands free to handle the gadgets. Reach around to your left hand hip pocket where I told you to put the powder flask, take out the flask and measure out a charge for each barrel and be sure that one goes in each barrel, they shoot better that way.Now reach into that right hand coat pocket and get four of the cardboard wads that are supposed to be there and put two of them in each barrel and push them down to the powder then hit them just one good sharp rap with the ramrod to be sure they are seated firmly, but don't pound, pounding powder is a hang over from the days when Grandpa stole the old gun from the chimney corner and wadded her with hornet's nest or anything else that came to hand. Sure she shot but no one including Grandpa himself knew how well. Now grab that shot pouch and measure out a charge of shot and pour one down each barrel and be sure that there is one in each barrel or you will get one awful surprise when you touch off the one with the double load in it. You don't have to tell me I KNOW. Now do what I tell you and no fooling_pucker up and spit down each barrel after the shot charge before you put in the wads the spit will soften up the fouling from the former charge and the wad will act like a squeege and clean the barrel each time you load and you can shoot all day without fouling troubles as long as you spit each time.Now put one cardboard wad in each barrel and push them down onto the shot as before and don't pound this time either or you will knock the shot all out of shape and they will fly every which way. Just hit the wad one sharp rap to seat it and let it alone. Next comes the caps. Shove your hand down into that right hand pants pocket and get two caps. You will be surprised to find how easy it is especially if you wear overalls like I do. Put one on each nipple and let each hammer down gently on each cap in turn and give it a little push with your thumb to seat the cap firmly on the nipple, set the hammers in the safety notches and you are ready to go. After you have fired one or both barrels make it a fixed habit to always put the hammers in the safety position as you take the gun down then there is small chance of accidental discharge. If you keep those hammers in the safety position there will be small chance that one barrel will go off while you are loading the other even if you forget to take the cap off the loaded barrel while you are loading the empty one. Of course the practice of taking the cap off the loaded barrel is the only way to be absolutely sure that it will not go off on you while you are loading the empty one and is a good rule to follow ALWAYS.It is also good practice if it so happens that you fire one barrel several times without firing the other, to check with your ram rod and see if the shot wad is still tight in the unfired barrel, a half dozen shots or so will sometimes loosen the wad and let the shot roll out and spoil your shot right when you need it most. I have missed a few doubles on pheasants that way myself. U Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted February 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Not a problem, was nice to see you too. He was well pleased with the SXS.From your description we were thinking we would be having more of a project on our hands but it doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as you made out. I hope the muzzle loader was immaculate enough for you! I found that little passage somewhere, or either someone pointed me towards it, although i never remember the spit thing. This morning i turned a little ram rod cap on the drill press, its just forced on to the end of the ramrod but at least now its a usable length. Clearing the nipples is absolutely essential, however its always a toss up of plugging my ears and doing it before i leave the garden. Or risk scaring things off and doing it after. James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiffy Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 if your after a punch, phone kranks as they custom ground to size one for me as they didnt have the right size and didnt charge any extra for it finally had my black powder license this week so picked up a bottle of black yesterday so i can finally try the hawken i had from you.. weather permitting im off out tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 if your after a punch, phone kranks as they custom ground to size one for me as they didnt have the right size and didnt charge any extra for it finally had my black powder license this week so picked up a bottle of black yesterday so i can finally try the hawken i had from you.. weather permitting im off out tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted February 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Good luck kiffy! Its quite nice to shoot as a shotgun in a odd way, the barrel is long and heavy which really helps you swing through. Read through the advice on leading and firing that underdog posted as its really useful. Went roost shooting with the muzzle loader today, got the charge right as i dropped all the ones that had landed just fine. The first barrel misfired on me twice but fired fine the second time capped. This is because i am using the wring sized caps i think, currently i am using some top hat caps just squeezed on, still waiting to be paid before i can go to kranks and get some caps and shot. Anyway dropped two out of the roost, had probably 10-12 shots but i think i am way in front of them, as i have not shot the muzzle loading in a while i think i was making too much of a point of swinging through i meant to get a picture but it came in dark on me. I will get the clay trap out and get used to shooting it soon. Chequering should be happening soon. Its so shootable. Anyway walked up a hedge back that's lifting with rabbits on the way back and got a left and a right on two rats... Keep meaning to put in for my black powder ticket, still on pryodex at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiffy Posted February 16, 2014 Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) oh shes heavy barelled alright.. shocked me, gorgeous gun though.. cant wait to try it i was going to get pyrodex to avoid the grief of getting the explosives license but they talked me into it in the gun shop.. fair play they to them, although they where out of stock of pyrodex the first day i went in they could have sold it to me and probably made more profit from me but they didnt. the explosives license is easy enough to get, no different to a shotgun license and its free all you need is a correctly spec'd box which im lucky on as i had the right sized ply in my workshop so it only cost me a couple of quid to make... with your passion for muzzle loading you have got to get it... i see your in north yorkshire so heres a link for you http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/1208 you need second from bottom, form COER 1a and like i said its free.. even better is in my local shops black powder is half the price of pyrodex at ninteen quid a bottle... both reasons are perfect for a yorkshire man Edited February 16, 2014 by kiffy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted February 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 I realized i was going to have to send off for it soon when you put it like that kiffy! Looked at Kranks, 33 quid for some pyro RS and 15 quid for black powder. I'll make up a box and send off for the license. Its a bit of a treck to go to kranks, so i want to get shot powder and caps in one trip, so i'll stick with the pyro and use up what shot i have / can pilfer from rusty carts till my license comes through. If you guys want we should make a thread similar to the "pump club" for general muzzle loading chat and info sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiffy Posted February 16, 2014 Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 well i had to mention the cost side of it, we all know what you yorkshire men are like kranks has a really good price on powder and caps if you can make it there, my local sells kranks powder for £19 and the caps are £7 so it would save me if i could get to them, sadly thats not possible... worth sending for their catalogue as well.. some lovely guns in there, nothing compared to this beauty you just did though If you guys want we should make a thread similar to the "pump club" for general muzzle loading chat and info sharing nice idea save dedicated muzzle loading topics like this going way off topic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonwolf444 Posted February 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 Dont mind this going off topic, I like to see people helping other people, sharing interests, its what its all about But it might be helpful for interested people to find info if it was all in one place. Ive been to kranks before its a great shop, lots of things to look at Will make the box next week and have the paper work sent off on Monday... does it take them long to process. Bit of a chew on that you have to have a piece of paper for every other thing, but once you have it it makes life easier. (cheaper!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted February 16, 2014 Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 You will enjoy the real stuff DW promise! I struggled with out it for years and wish I had pulled my finger out years ago now! U. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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