Shot the Huntsman today

[stimpylu32]

Took the new 24" Huntsman barrel out for a spin today , tested 3 diffrent bullets all with the same powder charge and some strange things happened .

First the powder charge was 76.4 grains (+/-) of Pyrodex RS , got there with 2 - 3.1 cc Lee dippers @ 38.2gr each , the bullets were the Hornady XTP 240gr JHP , the old style Hornady 250gr JHP and some 250gr cast RNFP , of the 3 , the cast shot the best group @ just under 1" at 50 yards while the 240s came in 2nd @ just over 1 1/4" and the 250 JHPs @ over 2"

Also found that i do not like the fiberoptic sights that came on the barrel , was not sure that i was going to like them so i took along a Bushnell Banner 3x9x40 , a set of Weaver rings and a Weaver 82 base that i had laying around . Kept the scope set to 3x for the 50 yard work .

I tried to keep my bullet seat as close as possable by marking the 3/8" dowl rod that i was using for a ram rod , also used the same sabots for all bullets .

Still not sure that i will like MLs but i an willing to give an shot ( or 2 ) 

stimpy

PS --- Also put 40 rounds of HOT 45/70 down range , got a feeling that i'll be a bit sore in the morning . 

[cattleskinner]

Sounds to me like you have a pretty good shooter there.  I would consider that really good for the first time out with that muzzleloader, or any muzzleloader period.  I have found that the huntsmans tend to shoot a little different between a clean barrel shot, and one that has some fouling in it.  Some guys like to run a spit patch(just what it sounds like) through their bore to make seating consecutive shots easier, I just use an old shotgun bore brush on a cleaning rod.  Run it up and down the barrel about 5 times between shots, and shake out the fouling.  It ends up making it shoot to the same poa/poi since the barrel thinks it's dirty, but it makes it easy to seat the projectiles where they are supposed to go.  When hunting, I don't bring the brush with me, because I can usually seat up to 3-4 shots between brushes if I push it, but when at the range, I do it between every shot, just because I tend to take my time more there.  Let me know if any of this doesn't make since.  Keep it up Rich.

~~Amos

[stimpylu32]

Amos

Ya i was very pleased with how the new to me barrel shot , it had been well taken care of and the scope made a world of diffrence . I think it will do even better once i get a proper ram rod and add a better recoil pad , the stock H&R pad just leaves something to be desired with more than a few shots .

I was pulling the breach plug after each shot and running a old 410 bore mop down the barrel just to make sure that there was no still burning powder in there .

As a rule how long do i need to wait between the time i shoot and the time i add powder for the next shot ? and has anyone ever tried the 405gr cast in .458 with a sabot ? I am thinking about them and maybe some round balls with a patch just for fun .

stimpy

[cattleskinner]

You don't need to take the breech plug out after each shot, when they say to loosen it after a few shots when using triple 7 powder it's because it will end up having so much crap in there so that you can't take the plug out at the end of the day.  If you loosen a half or whole turn every 5 shots or a bit more, and then at the end of the shooting session, just taking the plug out before you go home there shouldn't be any problems.  A good lube on the threads always helps too.  Some like tc thread lube, but I've always had pretty good luck with gorilla grease(a purple color lube, that comes in a half dollar sized container).  The powder should be all burned out just after you shoot, I think the whole thing about burning embers comes from the old field artillery pieces.  If it was me though, I would wait about half a minute- a minute after each shot.  Sometimes, I will blow air through the barrel too, just to be sure, but it's not really needed.  I have been looking lately at those .458 and .475(the ones for 480 ruger bullet) sabots.  I might end up trying some in the future, but the .452 ones work really good.  As a general rule, the closer to the size of the bore you can get your bullet, the more accurate you will be(i.e. 452 as opposed to .429, etc...), there are always exceptions though, as some people can drive tacks with .429 sabots.  Powerbelts are another option to try if you want.  I gave up on them because I like to shoot, and boy are they expensive!

~~Amos

[motordog80]

Sounds great, I hate the firesights too I was thinking of replacing them but found out I could shoot some more distance with this muzzleloader than I thought. So I stuck with a good scope. 

[quickdtoo]

Stimpy,

Save yourself some headaches with breech plug removal by using teflon tape on the plug before installing it. I've never used any kind of grease that works as well as the tape does, and I've tried a bunch from home brew and Bore Butter to Gorilla Grease and SuperLube. I've shot 25-30 120gr loads of T7 and the plug is just as easy to remove afterwards as it is after only one shot. The secret is it seals the fouling out of the threads, no fouling = easy removal. I use the TC stuff, but I've read that the yellow gas line tape works too.

Tim

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,39309.msg223146.html#msg223146

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,88214.msg532827.html#msg532827

http://www.tcarms.com/store/index.php/action/item/id/296/prevaction/category/previd/33/prevstart/54/

[db22]

Yup, what Quick said -- tape is the thing to use. Any Teflon tape works, but I have had best results with yellow gas line tape, one wrap is all it needs.

Sights -- the Williams aperture made my ML barrel a lot easier to shoot well. My eyesight is too far gone for open rear sights nowadays.

Some areas here in Wisconsin require non-magnifying sights for the special ML deer season. Red dots are okay, but no scopes. The little WGRS sight is the cheap answer, and a red dot is kinda outer-spacey to put on a muzzleloader anyhow. I get enough kidding as it is from the buckskinners at the range about my "dang in-line gun".