New Huntsman's First Outing

[noleman]

I finally got to shoot my Huntsman for the first time yesterday at a friend's hunting camp near me.  It is the stainless steel model.   This was not a "range" type setup at all.  I just mounted a target on a piece of plywood about 40 yards down a trail through the woods.  I didn't have any kind of bench rest and thus shot standing up "free hand".  I do not have a scope and was using the plastic sights that came on the rifle.

I had cleaned the barrel and lubed up the breech plug before using the gun.  My plan was to start out with 90 grains of Pyrodex pellets, run 5 shots through and then pull the breech plug and clean if necessary.  I was shooting 240 grain XTP Mag Sabots.  Some guys had suggested shooting conicals to smooth the bore, but I did not plan on using loose powder so I tried the copper plated TC bullets.  After 2 shots I had a bad primer misfire.  I finished the 5 shots, pulled the breech plug and swabbed out the barrel with a couple of Traditions EZ Lube cleaning patches.  I didn't particularly like the clean up, so I used my 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and windshield cleaner.  I had a box of 30 grain pellets and a box of 50 grain pellets.  It was then that I noticed I had been shooting 3 50 grain pellets, when I thought I had been shooting 30 grain pellets.  Oh well, it was hot and I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have.  At least I proof tested the magnum load and lived to tell about it.

I only shot a total of 10 shots during the test.  I shot some 90 grain loads and a couple of 100 grain loads with a couple of bullet types, both 240 grains one copper plated, the other was lead.  I had 3 shots in the diamond in the center of my target, which I though wasn't too bad considering my eyesight at 53 years old and the sweat pouring off of me in the middle of the day in NW Florida.

The gun shoulders well and the recoil isn't bad with the nice pad on the stock.  I'm no expert at triggers, but this one seems fine to me.  The hammer cock and trigger pull seem smooth and quiet.

One question I do have is in regard to the primers.  I was using Winchester W209 primers that I bought around December of last year.  I had several, about 8 or 10 misfires, where the firing pin struck the primer with no "explosion".  I'm hoping it is just a batch of bad primers, but is there a chance I have a firing pin problem?  I'm using the supplied primer carriers and I used the same one for all of my shots.  I'm thinking of getting a box of Kleanbore primers so that maybe I won't get the gun as nasty.  Any suggestions, let me know.  I plan on shooting again next weekend.  I can't make my mind up if I want a scope yet.  I may try to hunt some without a scope.  Around here most shots would be well under 100 yards, but as stated above, my eyesight is not as good as it once was.               

[bubba]

nole this is not an uncommon problem. It is caused by the firing pin being gunked up from the factory. I took some g96 and sprayed the firing pin area and workrd it in and out with the hammer wiping the stuff that came out every time. This cured my problem and I am sure it will yours also

[Busta]

noleman,

Like bubba says clean the firing pin area first. If you have a brass punch, you can punch out the top pin in the frame that holds the firing pin and firnig pin spring. You can then use a Q-Tip along with a cleaner to get any crud/metal shavings that may be in there.

Another thing to check would be back the plug out a little (1/8 to 1/4 turn)at a time, put a carrier in to check for a tight lock-up. Once you get a tight lock-up, fire off a primer and check the dent against one that is struck with the plug all the way in. If there is a gap between your standing breech and the primer, that will lead to light firing pin strikes due to the distance between them. I use the pink teflon tape on my plugs going around the front and seating the tape between the bearing surfaces of the plug and plug recess. I have two factory plugs and a .25 ACP plug and the two factory plugs are a hair different in length, although the look identical to the eye.

If the cleaning of the firing pin area does not cure your problem, it is probably your breech plug. Call Customer Service and tell them your problems and would like them to send you a new breeech plug to see if it will work better.

Remember we are dealing with thousandths of an inch here and may not be visible to the naked eye, but one thousandth of an inch might as well be a mile when your gun don't fire.

[warrior1]

noleman, next time out try 15-20 patched roundballs(thompson's bore butter is good) first.these shots will help season the barrel.then try your hunting load for accuracy.
also cva makes a cleaner for removing plastic residue left by the sabots.

good luck with your muzzleloader, please let me know how it shoots,i am thinking of having a barrel fitted to one of my nefs, dan