Gibbs on the way! (Baby pictures added!)

[bagdadjoe]

I just used up all my brownie points I've accumulated the last 3 years and maybe the next 3 with my honee....bought a .40  Pedersoli Gibbs off'n gunbroker. I had been watching this one for a while but didn't mean to buy it...but it was there.  I had been dreaming of a .45 Gibbs, but what the heck...this one will work for me.  Now I gotta sell some of those whimpy cartridge guns I have laying around and pay for it.
What a woman...she says "get it for you for my birthday".  Ain't that a concept?
Anybody got a .40 cal mold laying around?
Oh...I won't be buying the 8 bore mentioned below....

[Semisane]

From an 8 Bore to a .40 caliber.  Your shoulder will thank you.      Not to mention you'll get a lot more shots from a pound of powder.

Of course, there's a downside.  You won't be able to say "mine is bigger than yours".     

[coyotejoe]

But he might be able to say "mine's accurate to 1,000 yards"!  Maybe.
I think Pedersoli would be your best prospect for a mold. Lyman and others do make molds for .40 caliber but they are for cartridge guns and cast bullets of around .408-.410". I don't know the specs on the Gibbs barrel but if it takes a true .400" bullet you may have a tough time finding one.
here's a link to the Pedersoli mold. Apparently it is a .400" diameter with a hollow base.
http://www.davide-pedersoli.com/scheda-accessorio.asp/l_en/idpr_200/pre_426/accessories-professional-bullet-moulds-block-with-1-cavity--minie-bullet.html

[bagdadjoe]

Hey CoyoteJoe....thanks! And you can say you told me so ...that Scout has spiderwebs on it wherever I saw it last time....   I kinda lost interest when the Lyman GPR started making holes real close together for me.  From what I gather the Gibbs is a true .40, but I still want to slug the barrel and then decide if I want to try paper patches.  I guess I will,  but it will probably be a little later on after I get familiar with it.  I'm not even sure which twist this one is, I don't really care too much, but hopefully it will be the faster twist. So, I'll have to wait til it gets here to check out the twist and then order a mold.  I'll be getting pretty antsy by the time I actually get to shoot it.

[keith44]

best description I can find comes from Dixie Gun works:

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_92_186_191&products_id=8296

looks like it'd be bored .400, or slighty tighter.  Have fun with it, it looks like a shooter!

[coyotejoe]

Personally I'd take the .40 caliber over the .45 because the later has a pretty good kick with 80-90 grains of powder and a bullet of 500+ grains. The  .45 is probably a better long range caliber but the .40 will be more pleasant to shoot and should do well out to 500 yards any how. I think you'll have fun with that one.

[keith44]

I agree coyotejoe with some exception. I am referring to current bullet selection.  The .45 with off the shelf projectiles intended for long range shooting will most likely shoot better long range (400+ yards) groups.  BUT, use the same weight conical with streamlined nose and the little .40 will fly better than the .45 for longer range groupings. A 500 grain .40 cal will be longer, and will (in the right twist barrel) shoot longer range groups better. It'd cost ya a custom built mold to prove it though, and even then the gibbs may not have the twist for such a long bullet.

[bagdadjoe]

My Gibbs man at the gunshop the rifle is coming from called me today and said he made a "monumental blunder"...says he thinks the gun is actually a .451 Gibbs instead of a .40.... Well...that didn't ruin my day    I'll love either one, but there's a lot more info for the .45.  So, it's kinda like having a kid the old fashioned way. You don't know what you have 'til it gets here.  Good thing I waited to slug the barrel before ordering a mold, huh?

[keith44]

yup, patience has paid off yet again

[bagdadjoe]

Hot durn!!  It's here and it's a .451!!  There's a fellow on another site who has some paper patched swaged bullets made up for it for sale that I may have to have while I'm waiting (impatiently) for a mold!  Rifle is in about 95% with a couple of small dings on the stock at the buttplate which keeps me from having to put them there.    Trigger is superb. 
Christmas in July for real. 
 
Did I mention I live about 3 miles from the bison farm???  Kidding..just kidding.

[Semisane]

Did I mention I live about 3 miles from the bison farm???

Three miles is too far to shoot a bison with that gun bagdadjoe.  You're going to have to creep to within a mile and a half of one of those suckers.   

[coyotejoe]

That is a beauty and I hear they are good shooters too. Be prepared to spend lots of time working out an accurate load, bullet diameters, bullet alloys, bullet lubes, powder granulation, powder weight,  tinkering with sights and so on. Also the heavy powder charges behind a heavy bullet runs up pressure and nipples seem to burn out pretty quickly, another thing to tinker with. I've heard you may get less than a dozen shots from a stainless steel nipple and maybe one hundred from an Ampco nipple. Most serious long range shooters go to a platinum lined nipple to resist burn out but they are not cheap.
Have fun and we won't expect to hear from you for a while because that new toy will keep you very busy.

[bagdadjoe]

I'll be slugging the barrel this weedend...but it's going to be slow going...trying to get the current house ready to sell .  I figure it will take a good while to gather up a mold, (probably a paper patch) order a quantity of powder, don't want to change batches in the middle of developing a load and so forth. Anyway it's too durn hot here now.  I did see the platinum lined nipples for $50..I'll have to check my notes.
Anyway, I'll post some targets whenever there's something worthwhile...with my marksmanship it might be a while.

[keith44]

That is a beauty and I hear they are good shooters too. Be prepared to spend lots of time working out an accurate load, bullet diameters, bullet alloys, bullet lubes, powder granulation, powder weight,  tinkering with sights and so on. Also the heavy powder charges behind a heavy bullet runs up pressure and nipples seem to burn out pretty quickly, another thing to tinker with. I've heard you may get less than a dozen shots from a stainless steel nipple and maybe one hundred from an Ampco nipple. Most serious long range shooters go to a platinum lined nipple to resist burn out but they are not cheap.
Have fun and we won't expect to hear from you for a while because that new toy will keep you very busy.

I went with the ampco on both of my .54 conical shooters.  Can't speak for stainless, but the stock nipples gave up around 50 - 60 shots, then started getting too much flash.
 
Have fun learnin' what that one likes.  They'll sure tell ya what they don't like.
 

[Higene]

Beautiful gun! They are on my bucket list - right behind the Mortimer 12 ga. Flintlock.


Not bein' picky but I'm surprised that it does not have a set trigger (or is it just real good?).

[keith44]

Well, Joe how does she shoot?

[bagdadjoe]

I don't know yet    I got the barrel slugged and measured.  I'm thinking I'll order some bullets from Buffalo Arms and try some out before getting a mold.  Problem is two-fold.  I'm trying to get my current abode ready to sell..about every spare minute and I have to recover from buying the rifle so I can make a substantial order of black powder.
I've put up 3 items to sell to cover this rifle, powder and mold, and normally I could have already sold them all twice...normally.  Things are tough all over.
 Anyway, I hope to have all my stuff together by cool weather, in a month if I'm lucky.  Then maybe I can bore you fellas with some results.
Oh, the trigger is superb! I couldn't believe it...