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Post by highplains on Apr 6, 2020 9:33:47 GMT -5
Nice job man !
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Post by tinkerpearce on Apr 6, 2020 10:09:10 GMT -5
Do you ever tinker on other peoples stuff? I've done a bit of work on percussion guns for friends. Modern firearms are just too much of a hassle with FFLs, transfer fees etc. I've also been trying to keep this a hobby; It gives me an outlet and keeps it fun. Mind you I'm not unwilling, just not willing to have it become tedious. |
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Post by seancass on Apr 6, 2020 12:51:02 GMT -5
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ericp
.327 Meteor
Posts: 522
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Post by ericp on Apr 9, 2020 5:18:46 GMT -5
Nice! Looks like a great little grouse getter.
Eric
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Post by seancass on Apr 9, 2020 7:59:27 GMT -5
Did your bullet actually go thru the board? Mine stopped in pine with the base of the bullet about 1/4 inch deep. I don't think mine would even kill a grouse! Would probably be good enough for a particularly ill mouse.
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Post by tinkerpearce on Apr 9, 2020 10:13:45 GMT -5
Did your bullet actually go thru the board? Mine stopped in pine with the base of the bullet about 1/4 inch deep. I don't think mine would even kill a grouse! Would probably be good enough for a particularly ill mouse. With Winchester factory ammo the bullet almost poked through the back of the 1-3/4" thick board, and factory ammo is very anemic. Also the bore of these guns is often oversized; mine slugged at .315, only a bit oversize, but yesterday I found hard-cast bullets will not stabilize out of this barrel. Jacketed bullets? Forget it. I had some 96gr. bullets and loaded them over 1.0gr of Red Dot, and when I fired them from this gun about half the bullet length protruded from the back of the board. That's a bit better than the factory ammo managed, with a much heavier flat-point bullet. I have no doubt a grouse or rabbit would fall to that; I've taken both with a Benjamin .22 air rifle, and the pellets from this weapon penetrate this sort of board about twice their own length. Reproduction cap-and-ball guns can be more variable than modern firearms. Some reproduction .31s that I have checked have bores as large as .320", and even bullets that bump up enough to engage the rifling don't achieve a good seal in the bore and lose even more velocity. With a load that is already lacking power you get pretty poor results in these cases. I'm going to be experimenting with more of the hollow-base bullets, do some chronograph testing on different loads. I can't get to a range right now, but even the factory ammo isn't loud enough to bother the neighbors when I fire it in my shop. |
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Post by tinkerpearce on Apr 9, 2020 23:31:46 GMT -5
I went ahead and chronographed two different gallery loads, a 58gr Hollow-base wadcutter and a very soft lead 64gr Wadcutter. Both have an identical slightly domed point. Results from this gun's 5-3/4" barrel were as follows: 58gr HBWC, 1.0gr Red Dot, Federal #100 Primer478 fps. 29 ft./lbs ES: 40 65gr. LWC, 1.2 gr. Red Dot, Federal #100 Primer412 fps. 24 ft./lbs ES: 38 The 58gr. HBWC are about BRN12, the 65gr. Wadcutters are super-soft. I experimented with making HBWCs out of the soft lead using the same swaging die as got the 58gr. HBWCs, and test fired them. 3 out of 5 blew apart in the barrel. I could make a shallower hollow-base, but since the regular wadcutters work fine and are easier to make I think I'll just stick with them. Accuracy at five yards was comparable with both bullet types. This group was fired using the 58gr HBWCs-  Moving forward the 64gr. LWCs will be my gallery load. I'm going to develop some higher velocity loads for the 58gr. HBWCs; I think these might have promise as a small-game bullet. |
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Post by ncrobb on Apr 11, 2020 8:47:30 GMT -5
Great project!
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