doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com OT-1863 Springfield Civil War Musket

Hi Walt:

Five hundred yards with this gun and load is unbeliveable.


Good shooting,

Franchi

Hi All y'all,

I finally took the old musket out to the range, of course with cool weather finally here and deer season coming up the place was a zoo. Anyhow, finally got a place on the 100 yard range, took about 10 shots and only hit the target once and then not within the rings. I did manage to stink up the place pretty well. I think I'll go out again mid-week when everyones at work and try again at 50 yards, see where it's shooting anyhow.

I'm not sure if I posted pictures or not so here's a few. God forbid that I would've remembered to bring my camera to the range with me.





Steve

Bring it along when you come out, you can shoot one of my deer tags up....

I took my original M1861 Springfield deer hunting (on the fringe of the Antietam battlefield no less) and with 60gr. FFFg and the traditional Lyman mini� killed a deer way too close- at 25 yds. The bullet did a spectacular job. I never saw so much gore from a bullet. My first thought was "My God, they used to shoot people with these things."

Some couple of years back I had the pleasure of shooting an untouched 1864 Springfield. There was a goodly crack through the hand, so I only shot around a half standard powder load with a repro. Minie ball. The groups I shot at 100 yards were deeply satisfying.

Deadly accurate, lightweight and beautifully balanced for offhand shooting, I thought it a real soldiers weapon, a classic.

Lucky old you.

Eug

Just a quick update, I finally made it back out to the range with my musket. I was actually out sighting in another rifle, so I only took three 50 yard shots with the musket.



The shot closest to the center was my first shot, I should have quit while I was ahead LOL . Still, I'm satisfied that I can hit a feral hog at 50 yards with the gun as long as I don't go for a head shot.
Steve

Rockdoc, If the bullets were shot in the condition shown I think you could do a whole lot better with proper lubrication. The grooves need to be filled with lube-a good choice for starters would be SPG lubricant which is specifically designed for blackpowder cartridge rifles. It should work just as well in your muzzleloader. Something of an indicator that you have sufficient lube would be a multipoint star like deposit of lube on the end of the muzzle after shooting. Since your first shot went pretty close to point of aim, the performance of the others may indicate hard fouling building up. A good lube (and enough of it) softens the fouling. After a few shots you should still probably wipe the bore with a damp patch followed by a dry patch to maintain a consistent bore condition for best accuracy. Many shooters wipe between every shot if they are competing.

Jerry,
I know you're an authority on these matters so I'll be sure to pick up the lubricant and follow your advice concerning cleaning the bore. However, in this case I'm not going to blame the gun or the bullets. I've come to realize that my eye-sight ain't even close to what it was when I was younger. Looking down those fuzzy sights at that fuzzy target, I'm amazed I did as well as I did! I was at the range sighting in a Mosin Nagant I purchased recently and equipped with a 2.5X30E long eye relief scope, what a treat to be able to see the sights and target and not just a fuzzy blur. This aging business sucks!
Steve

Jerry is right. I have shot quite a lot with my musket and the proper minie fit and lubricant are very important. I found about 50 gr. of FFFG right for mine as I believe it expanded the minie better tha FFG.

Now Steve, you ain't near as old as the Springfield so you're the youngster. Agree with Jerry. If you are in a rush find some thick lube--non petroleum. I mix a Wonderlube type stuff half 'n half with beeswax. Thick enough to stay in the bullet bands but still works well. A good lube serves TWO important functions: (1) it helps to keep the fouling soft, and (2) since lube will not compress--it's a "liquid"--it transfers energy up from the base to help the entire bullet to obturate into the bore, thereby sealing it from gas blowby. I think this second function is most often overlooked. It is why the bands should be fully filled.

Also, are you shooting a hollow based Minie or solid base? If hollow based be sure not to load too heavily and that the bullet's skirt is fully formed and without defect. I prefer solid based.