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Thread: Burnside - a new solution ?

  1. #11
    geezmo is online now
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    Is that with the .560" 56-390A mold that you spoke of above?

  2. #12
    Carolina Reb is offline
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    That's the one, cast with musket lead.

  3. #13
    noonanda is offline
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carolina Reb View Post
    That's the one, cast with musket lead.
    Have you tried them using harder lead, and if so how did they shoot?
    Last edited by noonanda; 06-22-2020 at 10:55 AM.
    Daryl Noonan
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    "You see in this world there are two types of people my friend. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig!!"

  4. #14
    Carolina Reb is offline
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    I tried 1 part WW and 2 parts pure lead in my good load, and it did not shoot as well. In fact, groups opened up to about twice the usual size. I have not gotten systematic to see if there is another load that works as well as soft lead.

  5. #15
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    Soft lead may be required

    My Burnside has been on the shelf a couple years, but the article in the latest Skirmish Line on adjusting a Burnside got me to pick it up again. Now I already put a brass shim under where the sear rests at full cock ( and that is tricky to do on a Burnside), so the trigger pull is acceptable, but might use just a little polishing. NOW I see where 150 years of drying have changed the rear stock dimension just enough to cause lateral play - known as 'yaw' (roll, pitch and yaw being three freedoms of motion, like on an aircraft).

    So instead of 'bedding' (which I generally don't like to do), I fashioned a tapered shim to fit on the left side of the rear stock where it meets the receiver. BTW, Burnsides were marked just about everywhere, and on the inside left front of the rear stock are the last 4 digits of the serial number seen elsewhere - so all the parts are original to the firearm. After enough test fittings, when all the screws are tightened up (done a little on each one in sequence until all are tight), the connection between the front and back of the gun became 'rock solid'. Note that the tapered shim gives the butt stock the slightest 'offset' ... something that many PA long rifles were made with, and is something that helps the 'fit' to my body and shooting style better. The J hook was shimmed to be both tight and correctly aligned.

    Incidentally, my 'put together' Smith had a bit of 'yaw' due to wear in center of the knuckle joint (and the mis-matched front and back did not meet squarely ... my guess is that during manufacture, mating halves were drilled and 'line reamed' together in a jig). Using JB Weld to form a tapered 'gasket' (saran wrap prevented sticking to the front during curing) the gun was snapped shut with the lock oriented down and then rested on a support of the lock. This created the slightest bit of aforementioned 'off set', eliminated 'yaw' (once cured) as well as stopping gas leakage. Before this treatment, the rounds had too much windage (caused by the 'yaw' between the front and back halves of the carbine), and I was chasing my tail trying to knock the rear sight to one side or the other to correct. With a solid relationship between the front and the back, the shot group was tight and stable enough to medal in individuals and team competition. After enough use, the JB weld 'gasket' can blow out ... but is easy to re-do after degreasing.

    An empty chamber still wiggles slightly characteristic of Burnsides), but my modified cartridges eliminate all or nearly all motion (the labor intensive steps are noted earlier in this thread). Soooooo, from reading many of the posts on Burnside rounds in this and other forums - it seems that SOFT lead may be an additional requirement for getting a decent group. After all, the original rounds were of soft lead - and soft lead will obturate better, versus the 'swaging' that occurs with harder carbine leads. And i NEVER considered trying soft lead before ... duh.

    As said, the .562 roundball (hard lead) works fine at 50 yard, but I wonder what the result will be with SOFT lead round ball. Time to get back to a practice range.

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