Shooting my new Traditions Tennessee flinter. First range session

[pacanis]

This was a long time coming. What with the weather and other things. I almost didn't get in my planned range session today.
But this rifle needed shot. Probably the longest I've waited without shooting a new gun.





It's a 24" barrel. And has a 1:32 twist, which had me doing a lot of reading on fast twist muzzleloaders. You might remember the thread asking for conical suggestions.


Good thing I brought my delrin hammer in case I needed to adjust the sights. It's how I had to start the Hornady Great Plains conicals. Those suckers are tight. Too tight. And the short starter would have messed up the nose.
This is a pic after a few shots. I flipped the lid closed on the range box that held the powder flask and primer before each shot. And you can see my alcohol swabs. One between each shot. A lot of fouling between shots.



Targets. All at 50yds.

Hornady 395gr Great Plains conicals. 60gr of 3F. Grafs.
1st shot. A bit of a hang fire



2nd shot. Barely a delay



3rd



Now we're settling in. But man that kick.
You know you are shootin' a heavy bullet. That's for sure.
Pretty happy with the group so far. Especially with a new gun.

Drop it down to 50gr of 3F to help with the heavy recoil.



Bullseye.
And just enough drop in recoil to be not much to think about. At least wearing a winter coat. But who notices recoil hunting? And better yet, the shot was right in there with the rest of them.
That surprised me a little with a 10gr powder drop. Even at 50yds.

And so did this:
I switched to a 490 patched ball with a .010 pre-lubed patch. The same load that the KY pistol I just built calls for. So I went with it. I kept with the same 50gr of 3F.
5th shot



That hit at 3:00 with two previous shots. And the recoil was very light. I didn't think fast twist barrels were supposed to like round balls, but at 50yds it shot just fine. At least with just 50 grains of powder. And it loaded dang easy. I could push the ball into the barrel with my thumb.

One more to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Time was getting short.
6th shot



That cut into the group by the bull. I'm liking the way this gun shoots. I'm not fond of the trigger guard and hand placement after setting the trigger. I have to adjust my ring finger over the curl or I'll cut it with the recoil. But the gun shoots good alright. Three different loads in a 2" group from an old man that only shoots on Sundays. Usually

I may just abandon my search for a conical mold if round balls are going to shoot this well. I only need this gun for shorter distances. I'll have to run a ball over the chrony and also do a gal jug penetration test. My guess is six jugs. That'll work.

It was a good, and much needed, range session.

Thanks for looking

 

[deermanok]

That's awesome. I have the same gun only percussion.
The Tennessee rifle is a lot of fun to shoot.

 

[pacanis]

It's a nifty little rifle alright. I'm impressed by how forgiving it is.

 

[drpatton]

Drop it down to 50gr of 3F to help with the heavy recoil.

I don't know Graf's powder, so this may or may not apply. But I do know if you went to
Swiss 2Fg or even 1.5 Fg, the recoil will drop. The powder burns slower down the barrel and it becomes more of a shove than a smacking hit. I learned this from shooters here on this forum.

 

[drpatton]

I didn't think fast twist barrels were supposed to like round balls, but at 50yds it shot just fine. At least with just 50 grains of powder.

The 1:32 twist rate was designed for conicals; However, if it shoots PRBs with 50gr of 3Fg, then have at it. It's your rifle, shoot what you want in it, as long as you have fun doing it. (The PRBs may not be as accurate as a conical at 50 yrds. If that is true, then just drop your charge a little.)

 

[drpatton]

It's a 24" barrel. And has a 1:32 twist,

For those who doubted. ;-)

 

[pacanis]

I don't know Graf's powder, so this may or may not apply. But I do know if you went to
Swiss 2Fg or even 1.5 Fg, the recoil will drop. The powder burns slower down the barrel and it becomes more of a shove than a smacking hit. I learned this from shooters here on this forum.

I agree. Although it usually takes more 2F to get the same performance as a lesser amount of 3F. At least in my fowler. Which prefers 2F.

I went with 3F because of the short barrel. And because it's what I shoot out of my KY pistol. Which is another reason I'm leaning towards balls. Same ammo both guns. One horn and one bag.

The 1:32 twist rate was designed for conicals; However, if it shoots PRBs with 50gr of 3Fg, then have at it. It's your rifle, shoot what you want in it, as long as you have fun doing it. (The PRBs may not be as accurate as a conical at 50 yrds. If that is true, then just drop your charge a little.)

The PRB's seemed as accurate as the conicals. But it was a small sample size.
I'll know more at a longer distance.

 

[deermanok]

My Tennessee has the round ball barrel, 1/66 twist. It seems to shoot best with the .495 ball and .010" patch. I have tried the Hornady PA conicals but only 2 or 3 shots, not as accurate as I thought it would be with them. Maybe if I experimented a bit more with different powder charges it would do better with them. With the round ball, it puts em all in the black at 50 yards.

 

[snapbang]

Beautiful rifle and nice shooting. looking forward to seeing a deer in the picture.

 

[pacanis]

Beautiful rifle and nice shooting. looking forward to seeing a deer in the picture.

Thanks.
Next season

 

[smokepolehall]

Nice shooting, the prb jug test i will say 2 jugs n stop in the 3rd. 395 gr GP bullet n thumps at 60 gr, sure will give your shoulder a hard workout. You can always drop down in weight for those conicals. After i got all broken up i can't stand heavy recoil on my shoulder

 

[pacanis]

Thanks

And yes, I didn't factor in the lightness of the gun. I just figured I shoot heavier bullets with more powder out of my fowler, so 60gr sounded good. And they were accurate. Probably a good hunting load. Also probably not necessary.

 

[smokepolehall]

Thanks

And yes, I didn't factor in the lightness of the gun. I just figured I shoot heavier bullets with more powder out of my fowler, so 60gr sounded good. And they were accurate. Probably a good hunting load. Also probably not necessary.

Yes sir the bigger the caliber with those heavy conicals hurt using more powder. Specially with a light weight rifle. I went down in caliber, my Scout .45 is light n will work on me with loads over 75 gr

 

[MeatMachine]

If you want to continue to shoot the great plains bullets and want them to load easier get a Hankins adjustable bullet sizer. I bought one and sizing a .458 bullet down to.453 give or take a few 10 thousands of an inch.

 

[MeatMachine]

After sizing. Disregard the powder I’m using because it’s for a sml.

 

[pacanis]

Thanks.
I ended up getting a maxi-ball mould, so I'll see how those load when I get around to casting some.
A sizer might be in my future.

 

[MeatMachine]

I put it off for several years because I had some bullets that shot excellent without out it but most where in sabots. But now I wished I bought the adjustable die years ago.

 

[pacanis]

I will certainly keep it in mind.
I've read about guys sizing lead bullets meant for modern firearms and never understood the need, but in this case it makes perfect sense. Especially if you want to get several shots off without swabbing.

 

[bronko220002]

Well I just posted on your previous thread about getting this rifle. I never had any luck with Traditions rifles but it looks like you got a winner there. That's some mighty fine shooting especially shooting conicals and PRBs into the same group. Congratulations.

 

[pacanis]

Thanks, @bronko220002

I'll be doing some more shooting with it after I get done with playing with a few others.