first shots

[William]

I was finally able to go out to the range to shoot my trade rifle with the new stock that Mongrel made for me. First off, I was using some .54 RB that Stormrider had given me along with the ones from my first casting session three weeks ago and started off with some .015 pre-cut & lubed patches. What I didn't realize at first is that the RB that he gave me were .535 so they were quite difficult to load. That might explain the 4 inch groups, or maybe I am just not used to using the new stock. Whichever the case may be, my usual load of 85 grains of 2f Goex gave me 4 inch groups at 50 yards shooting offhand. Then I switched over to using Jack's Black Powder, which is 3f and although made by Goex isn't graphite coated.  I was able to go down to 75 grains and get the same groups.  Usually my .54 doesn't shoot well with 3f Goex, but I just bought a couple pounds of Jack's and it only comes in 3f and at $11 per pound I can adjust, at least until it's used up.  It wasn't until afterwards that I got to wondering why loading was so hard that I measured the RB and found out why.  Next time I will use the swaged .530 ball that has given me such good accuracy in the past.
Then I loaded up my 50 cal and got nothing but misfires, and after twice having to remove the nipple and pour powder in I cleaned it and packed up.  Sorry Rocky, those maxi balls that you gave me will have to wait until next time to get tested.  What also made me give up for the day was the two guys next to me spraying brass all over the place.
Anyway, finally having a rifle with the right length of pull made quite a difference.  I can now shoulder it with my eyes closed and the sights are almost lined up perfectly.  Offhand shooting is much easier and comfortable too, what a difference it makes.  Here are some pics of my new rifle

[crazell]

That sure is a light looking rifle!Almost like it's not there.....LOL! William.

[William]

That sure is a light looking rifle!Almost like it's not there.....LOL! William.

It is resting on the rifle stand that Rocky made for me.  The discolored line on the stock is just the flash reflecting in strange ways.

[Red Badger]

Sweet!  take your time and get used to it, you will fine tune your groups

[crazell]

That is a beauty of a rifle!! Treat her well...

[Hanshi]

That rifle sure does look good.

[William]

Thanks!  The original Lyman stock was positively chunky compared to this new one.  Mongrel also put in a L&R lock which has a v-spring in place of the Lyman lock which has a coil spring, so it's a totally different feel and trigger pull as well.  I did have to pull the lock off and put a drop of oil on the sear and that seemed to loosen things up, plus there was some swelling of the  stock while it was in transit and I had to use a small pocket knife to cut away a sliver of wood that was pushing on the main spring, causing the hammer to kind of "drag" when cocking.  The color is spot on for what I wanted, more red than brown but still enhancing the grain patterns.

[Dogshirt]

Good looking rifle.

[Linc]

I would be happy as all get out with 4" groups shooting off hand. It sounds like a winning load to me.

[Rocky]

Hey William, sorry to hear about the misfires. Do you know the cause of them? The conicals will keep, and it will give you a good reason to go out again. 4" at 75 yards offhand is good!

[William]

Hey William, sorry to hear about the misfires. Do you know the cause of them? The conicals will keep, and it will give you a good reason to go out again. 4" at 75 yards offhand is good!

I think it was just some built up powder fouling that I didn't fully remove from the last time I used my 50 cal barrel.  I cleaned with soapy water and pumped it out when I got home and also pulled the nipple and soaked it as well.  I was shooting at 50 yards, BTW, but this barrel is accurate enough to have one inch groups at 50 yards from the bench so I know it can do better.  When this was just a stock Trade Rifle I was winning matches with it and cloverleaf groups at 40 yards shooting offhand, so I think it's just a matter of getting used to the new stock and going back to only using .530 RB.