Best group ever

Shot a single card at the range today, with only one change in the setup. Instead of the usual 9gns of Krank's FFFg, I used 9gns of Swiss No.1 powder. This powder is slightly higher weight/lower volume, is slightly more grey in colour, and has white flecks in it.

For the rest, I used the usual setup of Hornady .350 lead balls, Jeff Tanner 0.015 patches lubed with a 1:3 Ballistol:water mix. Swabbed out after each shot. Managed a couple of non-scoring flyers.

Best group

The low shot at 5 o/c scored out as a 6 under MLAGB rules [not 50% over the line]. Also got the results of round 5 of the Kent Black Powder Leagues. I am in division 2 and surprisingly in 2nd place, behind another Club member; Richard.

Stats

--------

Detail score: 77.1

PB: 90.1

Barrel count: 249

Cards: 19

Running average: 78.9

I also checked the 2:1 Tallow:Olive Oil lube I made last week. The mix has solidified, as have the lubed patches. I will change the mix to a 2:3 Tallow:Olive Oil to thin it up.

I will shoot the same setup on the next range visit, just to confirm if Swiss No.1 powder is giving me better grouping with my powder/ball/patch combination.

Range prep

Getting ready for the next range visit:

# Mixed up a batch of new patch lube - used tallow and olive oil in a 1:2 ratio. Melted the tallow over a low heat and then added the olive oil. The lube soaked in to the patches very easily, but after a few days, the patches have stiffened. Depending on the results, I might loosen up the mixture by adding some more olive oil.

# Loaded up 13 phials with 9gns of Swiss No.1 powder. Noticed that this powder is a lighter grey colour rather than the black of Kranks FFFg, and it also has white flecks in it. This powder is twice the price [~£65 kilo] of Kranks FFFg [~£17 1/2 kilo], so it would have to give a big improvement in the results obtained to justify itself.

# Cut up a flannelette sheet to provide hundreds of 4by2 cleaning patches. A lot cheaper than buying very expensive rolls of 2by4 on eBay.

New balls please!

Having run out of my supply of .354 Pedersoli lead balls, today's two cards were the start of testing new combinations based upon .350 Hornady lead balls. This means that I have had to increase my patch size from 0.010 to 0.015 to maintain the same overall size within 'one thou' [0.364 to 0.365].

First card - 79 x 0

The first thing I noticed with the group is that it's about two inches low in the 8 ring and slightly left. The set up used was the usual 9gns of Krank's FFFg and number 11 percussion caps, but with a .350 ball seated on a 0.015 patch lubed with Ox-Yoke [pre-lubed]. The initial seating of the ball was slightly easier, as the thicker patch compresses in to the rifling easier than when the thicker ball is used.

During the shooting of the card, I swabbed out after every shot. Below are the swabs after 3 shots, 8 shots, and at the end after 13 shots.

Swabs



Wrapped around a nylon bristle brush, you can see the amount of 'soot' that accumulates in the barrel after each shot.

For the second card, I used the same set-up but this time the patching was changed. The 0.015 plain patches were from Jeff Tanner and I lubed them with a mix of Ballistol and water in the ratio 1:3. When you add the water to the Ballistol you get a thin emulsion. Patches of dry patches were then dunked in the mix, turned 180 degrees, dunked again, and then squeezed to remove the excess. The patches were then stored in a sealable plastic bag.

Second card - 85 x 2

 

The second card gave a new personal best with 2 X-rings shots. Still slightly low but better centred. To confirm, the set up was 9gns of Kranks FFFg and number 11 percussion caps and a .350 ball seated on a 0.015 patch lubed with Ballistol/water mix.

Stats

 

Detail scores: 79.0 & 85.2

Average: 80.7

Personal best: 90.1

Barrel count: 235

Cards: 18

One thing that did become apparent is the the .36 calibre dry patches are slightly smaller than I'm used to. They need to be very accurately centred over the end of the barrel in order for the rifling to be properly engaged all around the ball. They are also a looser weave so tend to shed threads.

Next time I'll look to repeat the set up with different lubes. Currently I have lanolin, tallow, beeswax, Ballistol and aqueous cream to play with.