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Thread: Smoothbore Accuracy at 50 yards.

  1. #1
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    Smoothbore Accuracy at 50 yards.

    I have read Skirmish Line articles and the threads on the Bulletin Board "Smoothbore Theory" and "50 Yard smoothbore is driving me up the wall." I gained a lot of useful information that has been beneficial.

    I have a Model 1816 H&P conversion (Hoyt Barrel) with a bore diameter of .687. The stock has been glass bedded.

    It shoots like a charm at 25 yards. I am the reason it misses.

    50 yards is a different story. To paraphrase one the title of one of the threads "It's driving me up the wall." I shoot from the bench and most times I get 2 shots in the black and the other 3 hit the 8 and 7 rings. Most of the times the shots in the 8 and 7 rings hit left.

    I have a Lyman and a Pedersoli mold and they cast around .680-.681. I have shot them roughened and dimpled and shot them smooth. Either roughed or smooth by the 3rd round I'm tamping them in and sometimes it takes work to get them to the breech. Rounds that have been tamped to the breech are not so accurate.

    I have another Pedersoli mold that casts around .673-.674. I use a mill file and the mill side of a farrier file then I turn the farrier file to the spike side to roll them around. After that the rounds are around .678-.679. It goes down the barrel real nice. When the barrel is clean the ramrod pushes it down on its own.

    I have shot them with 3 coats of Alox, musket lube, and no lube or Alox. They do not shoot so well. It is better with 2 or 1 coat of Alox with 1 coat doing just a little better.

    My barrel does not like Goex. It shoots best with Swiss 2 F. I went up 5 grains to find the best group.

    So here is what works wondrous at 25 yards but struggles at 50. A roughened round ball cast between .673-.674 roughed to .678-.679 with 1 coat of Alox. A powder charge of 60 grains Swiss 2 F at 25 yards. A powder charge of 74 grains Swiss 2 F at 50 yards.

    Any advice to improve at accuracy at 50 would greatly be appreciated. I thank you in advance. All the best.

  2. #2
    jonk is offline
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    I'd say, don't stop at 74 grains. I can hardly say I have reached perfection, but was out practicing again this weekend with the load that will keep them all in the black from the bench (70 gr of 3f goex) and I'd have to think that with 2f, to get a similar veloicty you'd be well into the 80 grain range.

    I noted that with 70 grains the gun cracks more like a kentucky rifle than a usual smoothbore.

    I too sometimes have to really hammer the balls down. Doesn't seem to matter whether I use alox or whatever, with the stiffer load it just cokes up.

  3. #3
    bobanderson is offline
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    I have an H&P with a Hoyt .687 barrel as well. My guess is you need to upgrade your powder. In my opinion, the Swiss powders produce really hard fouling in the smoothie, which makes for short shot strings.
    I switched to 45 grains of Goex Express 3f. Now I can load and shoot 15 to 20 shots without having to force the ball down the bore. The accuracy is better than I can hold. I'm told that the new powder, Old Eynsford, is the same as the Express. In limited testing, it shoots fast with soft fouling, just like Express.
    I also think the Alox turns to a crusty residue if you use too much. I put 15 roughed balls in a bowl and use just 3 drops of Alox. I roll them until there is a light golden tint on them.
    Bob Anderson
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    Company C, 1st Michigan Volunteer Infantry
    Small Arms Committee

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    I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."
    - John Wayne in "The Shootist", 1976

  4. #4
    efritz is offline
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    Tom,
    If you send me your email address I'll send you pics of my targets and what I'm using. The files are too big to post here.
    My bore is the same as yours.
    The ball is from a Tanner mould .672.
    Pure lead.
    File the sprue.
    Rough with a wood rasp.
    One coat Alox.
    60 gr. 3F GOEX.
    Do all your testing with a dirty gun. At least 3 rounds down range. Then go with 10 shot groups.
    A couple of the targets I used a .678 ball with good results but the .672 works just as well at 50yd. I too tried different balls, lube, powder, powder weights. The above is what I settled on. I can shoot a 10 shot string with sighters. After the 4th or 5th shot there's resistance but not enough to where I have to beat a ball down and disfigure it. Like you, the first round goes down with the weight of the ramrod. 2 and 3 go down with a swoosh. I'll clean with patches soaked in simple green between relays with dry patches to follow. Snap some caps and start all over again.
    A respected DSSA Smoothbore shooter helped me with .0015 undersized ball clue. It enabled me to get my points.
    If you get it shooting at 50 yd. It'll shoot at 25 yd.
    Don't worry about where it shoots. After you get the group you want you make those adjustments with sight picture. Mine shoots a little right so I just hold a little left.
    Good luck. Your doing things right.
    When in doubt, mumble, when in trouble, delegate.

  5. #5
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    gmkmd is offline
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    Quote Originally Posted by efritz View Post
    ... helped me with .0015 undersized ball clue.
    I think you mean 0.015 undersized (fifteen thousandths).
    Glenn M. Kaye
    73rd New York Volunteer Infantry

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    efritz is offline
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    Quote Originally Posted by gmkmd View Post
    I think you mean 0.015 undersized (fifteen thousandths).
    Correctomundo. I think that was one of those naps I was taking during math class.
    When in doubt, mumble, when in trouble, delegate.

  7. #7
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    Smoothbore Accuracy

    Thank you everyone for your comments. I had run out of ideas to test and now have a few more. I'll head out to the range this coming Monday with an increased powder loads. When I run out of Swiss 2 F, I'll buy one pound of Goex Express and test that. Someone suggested to me that I find the right combination of ball diameter, lube, and powder load that allowed me to shoot 5 rounds because I could only shoot that many rounds in a relay. Thanks again. I appreciate it very much.

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