My first primitive muzzleloader.

[Dalton]

Hi guys,

I just purchased my first primitive muzzleloader.  It is a Lyman Great Plains flintlock rifle in 54cal..  It has a 1:60" twist and I will be shooting round balls.  I noticed that the 54cal moulds made by Lyman come in .530" and .535" diameter.  Is there a preferred one?  Should I buy some pre-made balls and see which diameter works better in my gun?  Are you supposed to use wads of varying thickness depending on ball diameter?

Help a newby out!:grin:

[Thomas Krupinski]

I think it will be pretty much of a toss up on which diameter you will use.  It will depend upon the thickness and what type of patch material you end up using.  I use pillow ticking from the fabric center at the local Walmart.  Wash it first to take out the fabric sizing and then see how it fits.

Good rule of thumb is that you want the patch material to be thick enough to offer resistance as you push it down the barrel, but not so thick that you have to really pound it down with like a hammer or such.

Having said that if your rifle is new, there may need to be some smoothing of the bore before you can really tell.  If the bore if rough from from being new and not lapped, you may feel an unusual amoung of resistance seating your patched round ball.  

You might try the Lee round ball moulds.  They are inexpensive and work well.  I have a few and they cast good.  I would probably go for the smaller size first.

Good luck and have fun with the flinter.

[Winter Hawk]

You might want to just buy some balls in both sizes and try them.  Also different thickness patches.  Try one thickness patch, one diameter ball and vary the powder charge until you get the most accurate load.  then change to a different patch and do the same, see which combo is more accurate,  Change ball diameter and do the whole thing again.  Finally you will have the best ball, patch and powder combo for your rifle.  Then buy a mold for that diameter bullet.

Let us know how yopu make out.  Oh, and wipe the bore between shots.  Usually just one dry patch in and out works for me.

-WH-

[Bob/FLA]

Welcome to the group!  Good advise posted above.  Since you're new, let me nudge you in the right direction.  In a rifle, you use patching  or patch material when loading balls...in a smoothbore, you use wads under the ball, just like a shotgun.  It's a lingo thing.

When I buy a new rifle, I try one patching material and several sizes of balls.  If that fails, then I try different materials.  The reason is that I shoot several rifles and wanted to keep the same material for all of them.  It has worked out pretty well for me as I use pillow ticking for all my rifles.  Try different patch lubes until you find the one that works best in your gun/load combo.  I have also found that after a few years of continuous shooting, the barrel changes and I may have to tinker with patch/lube/ball combos until things settle out again.  

I posted a message about flintlocks some time ago, specifically what to look for when buying flints.  Since a rock is the heart of your ignition system, it's the most important  part.  If you need direction on flinters, drop a line or ask the board.  These guys are great!

Have a great time and relax...it's a hobby.

[Will Bison]

Here's a good link for you. It explains some of the finer points of keeping a flint gun running smooth.

http://members.aye.net/~bspen/flintlockfaq.html

The pillow ticking I use is yellow with two narrow dark blue stripes and a wider stripe between. Made of 100 percent cotton of course. It measures .015". Well if you add up .530 + .015*2 it equals .560 or .020 too big. It works because you are engraving the ball as it goes down the bore.

A good quick check of your ignition time is to prime the pan, turn the gun upside down and pull the trigger. If you get a flash it's fast enough. The spark is igniting the powder before gravity (not just a good idea, it's the law) has a chance to pull the powder out of the pan.

I would agree that it's best to start with .530 balls and get the rifle dialed in as best you can. Then pick up a box of .535 balls and see if it changes the group size. My custom .54 loads just a little harder than I like with the .535 but I use them in a pinch. I don't see any difference in group size.

Have fun, there is nothing like being able to shoot a flint gun well.

[Dalton]

I appreciate all the great advice.  It sounds like the same rules apply to muzzleloading as apply to BPCR.  Experimenting is the key.  I will start out by buying some pre-made balls in different sizes and match them up to different diameter patches and see what works best.

I will definately have more questions as I get further along, but at least I know where to come for answers.

Thanks Again.:grin: