sight in

[JB]

You will save a lot of ammo if you have it bore sighted and likely if you bought your scope or mounts from a shop they will do it for free.
here is something you can try i have never done it but a guy i know told me he looks though the barrel with it scurred in his cleaning vice and lines it up with a target at 50 yrds then sets his scope to the target with out letting the barrel move. but i have been to the range with him after wards and saw him shoot it in. he was closer than if he just put the scope on but not like if he would have used a good bore sight.
i would try to get it bore sighted frist. cheaper in the long run.

good luck.
john

[Ullr]

That sounds about like the process I use.  After mounting the scope I clamp the gun into a gun vise and sight through the barrel at the light on top of a cell tower about a mile down the road and match the scope to it (at night of coarse).  Just take a little extra time here to make sure that when you look down the barrel you are centering your target in the bore and are looking straight down the barrel (have equal rifling showing around the opening).  I have never been more then 4 inches off at 25 yards on the last 6-8 scopes I’ve done on blot rifles, muzzleloader, and pistol barrels.

Another trick that works quit well is the one shot method of sighting in a scope.  After your chosen method of bore sighting.  If you feel comfortable that your first shot was good, use your vise again to hold the gun.  Adjust the gun and vise so that your cross hairs are on the bull.  Then without moving the gun turn your scope adjustments until the cross hairs are on the spot you hit.  You can also do this with a 2 or 3 shot group just using the center of the group if you feel more comfortable using groups.  I would say that about 80% of the time after this first shot I the only adjustments I have to make are for my zero at chosen yardage.

I have had good luck using this method and wasted very little ammo in the process.

[Bob_K]

You might consider breaking down and buying a bore sighter for your own use.  Most people only think about the first use of a bore sighter, for putting a newly mounted scope on paper for final zeroing.  A bore sighter does two other things for you.  You take a reading after you have zero'd and now you have a bench mark setting.  Did the scope get bumped in transit?  Check your bechmark reading and you'll know.  Another thing a bore sighter can do for you is when you want to swap to a different scope.  If the two scope powers are high enough, you can set the new scope to within 1 inch of zero without firing a shot.  I just did that on a Ruger .44 Deerslayer.  I swaped from a 2.5X Leupold to a 1X4 Leupold and my first shot was in the X ring (standard pistol target) at 50 yards.  Two more shots confirmed it and I went home with out having to make a sight adjustment.  Kind of surprised me since the powers were relatively low, and it was a bit of a eye strain to see the bore sight grid precisely.

[Underclocked]

kj, if you have a good piece of big antler you could make a palm saver by cutting about a 4" piece and then drill a 7/16 hole about halfway through in the center.  You can then set the saver on the end of the rod to give you more surface area to push, then just stick it in your pocket when done - no threads involved.

Or you could do the same with any number of other odds and ends.  Might pay to set an empty cartridge case in the hole with epoxy.

A friend sent me one made of Axis deer antler.  Really helps!

How did the scope and mounting work out?  Did you wind up getting the high rings?

[Bob_K]

I've left loads in for as long as a week, and, when tested on either deer or a target, the shot was right on.  I usually left the charged rifle in my cool garage, rather than bring it into a warm house and then into a cold morning.  I've done this with Cleanshot, Black Mag 3, and Pyrodex.  Have not tried it with real BP.

[helobill]

I only use black powder and patched round balls, I've loaded in the afternoon, hunted left it loaded overnight and fired it the next evening with no misfires. If it's dry and cold I'll leave it loaded and in the cold for about 36 hours max. Other than that, I fire it at the end of the day, do a quick clean and oil. Next moring, I run a couple dry patches through it, fire off two caps, wait a minute or two (or blow down the barrel if you're in a hurry) to make sure there are no smoldering embers and load it up. I know folks that pull the ball (and I've done that if it's too late to see what I'm shooting at) dump the powder then fire a cap. It still makes quite a boom and flame because some of the powder is bound to get stuck on the lube. Could you leave it loaded longer than that without worrying about a misfire? Maybe, but I haven't tried it, down side with a flintlock or any exposed nipple ignition is there is air getting to the powder in the barrel (granted it's a very small hole) and black powder is very corrosive when it gets wet. With an inline you might have less of a problem because you can isolate the air to the nipple a little better I would think (never owned an in-line so I can't say with any authority). Can't help you on the pyrodex pellets never tried them.
Helicopter Bill