Author Topic: Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist  (Read 1320 times)

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Offline gun_dog

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Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist
« on: March 10, 2007, 03:14:25 PM »
I picked up some Hornady .530 round balls, some oxyoke .010 dry patches and some Pyrodex RS powder. Oh, and some Bore Butter. I thought I would lube my own patches with it. This leaves me with some questions. 1) Are the .010 patches correct? 2) What is the best way to get them to absorb the lube? Some folks use the Pyrodex P. What is the difference between the two powders? Any help will be appreciated?

Offline Will Bison

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Re: Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2007, 12:11:59 AM »
Lets do some addition; .530 + .010 + .010 = .55   In a .54 Cal this should be a good start. IF they start real hard go to a smaller ball. I'll bet they slide right down. Pyrodex RS or Pyrodex P "mox nix". The "P" is for pistols but works fine in rifles. Start your load at about 60 grains equivalent.

You can melt the lube and dump the patches in or just rub it on out of the tube.

My guess is you will probably want a thicker patch but better to start thin and work up. Better to start a bit on the loose side than to get a ball stuck half way down the bore.

Some folks call all this Black Magic, I call it Experimental Science. It is rally trial and error.

Bill




Offline Snowshoe

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Re: Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2007, 03:06:12 AM »
The first time out with my .54 Trade rifle, I used a .535 ball, 15th pillow ticking patch and moose juice for lube, and a dry patch on top of  the 80g of Goex 3f. I had good accuracy and, I have never had a faster clean up at the end of the day. I will never go back to bore butter.
Snowshoe

Offline quickdtoo

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Re: Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2007, 04:04:22 AM »
I love pine scent Bore Butter for hunting and bore treatment, the best way I've found to lube patches is in a microwave, put a dollup of BB on top of a stack of patches on a plate and stick it in the oven long enough to melt the BB. ;)

Tim
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Offline roundball

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Re: Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist
« Reply #4 on: March 11, 2007, 01:12:43 PM »
I picked up some Hornady .530 round balls, some oxyoke .010 dry patches and some Pyrodex RS powder. Oh, and some Bore Butter. I thought I would lube my own patches with it. This leaves me with some questions. 1) Are the .010 patches correct? 2) What is the best way to get them to absorb the lube? Some folks use the Pyrodex P. What is the difference between the two powders? Any help will be appreciated?
My experience has been that the .010" patches are just about worthless...usually can't survive the fire from a hunting load and don't hold enough lube to help much with the fouling.

I have one caplock and two Flintlock TC .54cal 1:66" RB barrels...the best combination I've found in all three of them is .018" pillow ticking & Hornady .530 balls.  (50grns Goex 3F targets, 90grns Goex 3F deer hunting)

We really have to be careful and remember we can't do staraight math adding up dimensions because patch thickness compresses to half it's normal size when short started...and this is a good thing...a snug PRB is usually the most accurate and crreates the least fouling by minimizing blowby.

My .02 cents of course
"Flintlocks.......The Real Deal"
(Claims that 1:48" twists won't shoot PRBs accurately are old wives tales!!)

Offline offhand35

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Re: Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2007, 01:18:44 AM »
I have been shooting .530 ball with .012" patches in my Lyman Deerstalker. The .018 patches loaded a little too hard for me. However, the .012 linen is a little bit thin, and I kept blowing out my patches until I put a Wonder Wad wool button on top of the power 1st. Accuracy is great, and the patches are not cut or blown.
Squirrel.......the OTHER dark meat.....!

Offline gun_dog

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Re: Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2007, 03:29:52 PM »
Thanks for the very good information! I did not realize the lubed patch helped with the fouling. How does that work? Does the lube coat the barrel and keep the powder residue from sticking?

Offline Slamfire

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Re: Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2007, 08:04:25 PM »
Not really, it just causes the foulin' to stick to the patch, pullin' it out of the grooves.  ;)
Bold talk from a one eyed fat man.

Offline SuperstitionCoues

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Re: Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2007, 11:45:26 AM »
I have been shooting .530 ball with .012" patches in my Lyman Deerstalker. The .018 patches loaded a little too hard for me. However, the .012 linen is a little bit thin, and I kept blowing out my patches until I put a Wonder Wad wool button on top of the power 1st. Accuracy is great, and the patches are not cut or blown.

Offhand,

I have had the same problem with my 50 cal. GPR - blown patches at .012 thickness.  I usually use Bore Butter or Trappers Pure Mink Oil for a lube.  Tell me, did you use the plain or lubed Wonder Wad buttons?  I can get either through Track of the Wolf. 

I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.

Offline offhand35

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Re: Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist
« Reply #9 on: March 17, 2007, 05:13:07 PM »
SuperstitionCoues,
I have been using the prelubed wonder wads in my 54cal Deerstalker and in my 36cal Investarms bbl. It is annoying to add an extra step to the load chain until you get used to it.......When hunting with the 54 it is easy enough to add the wool wad to the quickloader.... for the 36 I just have some in a small open plastic bag in the shooting bag.....
You could use the unlubed type as well, but there seems to be no problem with lube getting into the powder.....
In the 36 the problem wasn't so much blown patches as wild fliers that seemed to calm down......
Squirrel.......the OTHER dark meat.....!

Offline coyotejoe

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Re: Getting set up to sight in .54 cal Renegade 66 twist
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2007, 06:08:12 AM »
Working up the load your rifle likes best can take a while, there are just so many variables, ball diameter, patch thickness, patch material, patch lube, powder type, powder charge, cap type, swabbing the bore or not, just to name a few. You really need to keep good notes on your progress and things will change as the barrel breaks in.
 But as a generality, I'd not expect much from .010" patches. T/Cs do have very shallow grooves so the recommended combination is a thin patch with a tight ball but .010" is really thin. You might try it with a .535 ball but  .015 to .018" would be better. Yes, that will require a hard swat or two on the ball starter to get it past the crown but once the ball is imprinted with the rifling you'll find it easy enough to run on down, since lead is non-elastic and once sized to the bore it remains sized until fired.
  For general range work, target and plinking there is no commercial lube that works better than plain ol' spit. Pop a patch in your mouth, get it good and wet, pick off the flakes of chewing tobacco and go for it. I cut my patching at the muzzle which assures a uniform patch with no excess material wrapping over the front of the ball and I've never found the pre-cut patches to shoot nearly as well, nor are they really convenient. Getting a patch out of the plastic bag, separating one from the others, picking off the loose threads, lubing it, getting it centered, all takes longer than laying a strip of fabric across the muzzle, starting the ball and slicing off the excess fabric. You do need a very sharp knife though. A tight patch and ball combination with spit lube swabs the bore with every load so that every shot is from a clean bore. Last Sunday I fired a 25 shot match and never swabbed the bore once. I only took third place but I am very shaky to be shooting an offhand match. After shooting you can clean with spit patches as well as any commercial product and better than most, all of the products of combustion are water soluble and nothing works better, they just cost more and that is the reason they are produced and advertised with great claims.
  Pyrodex is not so good as real black powder but is OK in cap locks. If you are getting hangfires due to the ridiculously small flash channel T/C drills from nipple to chamber the finer grain "P" type may do better than the large grain RS.
The story of David & Goliath only demonstrates the superiority of ballistic projectiles over hand weapons, poor old Goliath never had a chance.