Pedersoli flintlock range trip

[markthenewf]

Overcast day and under 85 degrees here in SE Texas which means relatively comfortable shooting!

This is perhaps my 4th range trip with the gun, shooting maybe 25 each session.  I figure the bore should be decently 'broken in' at this point, so I've started the sight-in process.  Windage is ok (could be a bit to the right), but elevation was way off.  I calculated the amount to take off the sight and thought I would get it pretty close to zero at 50.  Turns out I'm about 2.5" low.  That's heaps better than the 14" I was originally!

That being said, the rifle is grouping ok for me.  I'm a 1.5 to 2 MOA shooter with any irons on any rifle that I own so this seems to be about right for me at this early stage as I'm sure I'll get better with a bit more practice.  I do know that 75gr of GoEx 2F groups the best so far (I've tried 5 different charges), but I've not tried anything but the 0.010" patch.  Perhaps I should look into 15 and 20 patches.

Anyways, it was a decent range day, things ran well with no misfires or fussing.  I need to pull a few more thousands off the front blade and I should be good.  I'm interested to see how this thing will run at 100 yards.

 

[Sparkitoff1]

Very nice start and decent results.  You seem to be on the right track and know where you're going. I don't know your rifle at all but I've not seen many that are best with a .10 patch. More often a little tighter fit will be a benefit, only you know for sure. If you ever want to come down to the Gulf Coast I am here all winter. Will be shooting flintlock and hunting with it too.

 

[markthenewf]

Yeah, the rifle kit I originally got came with a pack of .1 patches.  I've gone ahead and ordered some 15, 18, and 20 patches.  It can't hurt to try.

What area you holed up in?  I rarely go down to the coast.  I used to work marine heavy lift/move operations so going anywhere near Galveston gives me the piles!

 

[RonRC]

I like the way you have cafefully notated your shooting patterns and the changes in sighting. Most times, I am too lazy to mark the targets with all the information. The data is left to memory - not a great idea.  
Ron

 

[markthenewf]

Yeah, I'm a reloader for several calibers which have several sub-types of ammo/projectiles, so I try to record as much as I can.  As an engineer I'm kinda hooked on annotations and spreadsheets!  Marking up a target and filing a pic of that is heaps easier than keeping them all around.

 

[forrest-hunter1]

what shooting range?

 

[markthenewf]

what shooting range?

If you mean by distance, 50 yards.

If you mean by location, my preferred range is a private one about 5 minutes north of Bellville, Texas, which is about 20 minutes west of Houston.

 

[McClura]

Good shooting. Those rock locks are a hoot.
If I were you, I would get some .495 Roundballs and try them with a .010 patch. That is what I shoot in some of my .50 cal flintlocks.
Also, in all of the rifle I have built, my .50's shoot cleaner and better groups with Goex 3F.
I have one Bill Large XX 42" flintlock barrel that I shoot a .500 ball with .010 patch. I have to use small mallet to start bullets but this is the rifle I shoot competition with and that is not a problem.
I shoot 50 grn of 3F at 25 & 50 yds and 80 at 100 yds for targets and 90 grn of 3F for hunting deer here in Oklahoma.
Good luck with the flinter and on your hunt. Keep us informed.

Mike

 

[Buck Conner1]

I like the way you have carefully notated your shooting patterns and the changes in sighting. Most times, I am too lazy to mark the targets with all the information. The data is left to memory - not a great idea.  
Ron

I agree Ron, that's good information to fall back on. Guess I'm lazy too or to much in a hurry to do so.

 

[BigAl52]

I like the way you have carefully notated your shooting patterns and the changes in sighting. Most times, I am too lazy to mark the targets with all the information. The data is left to memory - not a great idea.  
Ron

I agree Ron, that's good information to fall back on. Guess I'm lazy too or to much in a hurry to do so.

Not me Im just trying to forget how bad it was and hoping for better the next time so I can keep notes.

 

[markthenewf]

Good shooting. Those rock locks are a hoot.
If I were you, I would get some .495 Roundballs and try them with a .010 patch. That is what I shoot in some of my .50 cal flintlocks.
Also, in all of the rifle I have built, my .50's shoot cleaner and better groups with Goex 3F.
I have one Bill Large XX 42" flintlock barrel that I shoot a .500 ball with .010 patch. I have to use small mallet to start bullets but this is the rifle I shoot competition with and that is not a problem.
I shoot 50 grn of 3F at 25 & 50 yds and 80 at 100 yds for targets and 90 grn of 3F for hunting deer here in Oklahoma.
Good luck with the flinter and on your hunt. Keep us informed.

Mike

I do have a pound of 3F, and I also have a bit of Swiss and Schuetzen.  I also have patches in 15 and 18 to try.  Right now I'm just trying to get it reasonably sighted in.  I am, in fact, getting decent groups at 50 yards.  Not so much at 100, but I can work on that.

 

[markthenewf]

Well, round 3.  I did my inital adjustments (file down front sight/drift/re-blue) and went back to see if I was on the right path.  Yup.  Still needed some final tweaking, so I filed it down a bit more and went back to check.  Again, same 75gr FFG GoEx/495 ball/10 patch.

Not bad.  The groups look fine and I'm right at about 2" above point-of-aim at 50 yards.  I had read and also calculated that I should be about 4" low at 100 yards using this set up.

4 shots later:  nope.  Not even close.  They're centered at least 3" below the target, which is 6" on to that, totalling around 9" low.  That's double what I estimated.  That means my 'hit box' is about a foot from point blank out to 100 yards.  Good lord...is that correct?  Seems like I'd have a helluva time getting on target with that big a change.

Do you all have offsets that large?  I'm coming from a centerfire background, so I'm not really sure if I'm in the ballpark with this or not.

On the up side, I do get all kinds of hoots and giggles from others while shooting it at the range.

 

[Sparkitoff1]

That looks a bit lower than I would expect.  With 1700 fps MV, 178 gr ball, .495, B.C. of .07, 87 degrees, zero elevation you should have 2.0" high at 50 yards and 0" high at 100 yards, 3" low at 125 yards. Are you sure you are at 50 and 100 yards?  Even if you drop the velocity down to 1200 fps it should only be around 3" low at 100 yds if its 2" high at 50 yards. This is based on a calculator of course. Your results prove different. The biggest variables to the formula are velocity and distance so if you are way off on one of those, it will skew the calculation.

 

[exMember]

Looks about right to me. Im not a math person but 3" low a 125 yards? That doesn't seem correct to me with all the range time I have with a .490 round ball and 80gr 2fg. At 150 yards ( sight dead on at 100 ) I am over 17 inches low!

I just recently put my .50cal flintlock dead on at 25 yards, took it out to 50 and was already 4" low.

 

[Sparkitoff1]

Agreed!  The calculators do not capture some important aspects when they compute ballistics. I can't figure out what else to plug in to the calculators to get the ballistics to look realistic. When you shoot and check the target, it is what it is!

 

[exMember]

Yes, along with sight height, its just to unpredictable. Best way, go out, sight it in and then double check where it hits at closer ranges.

 

[markthenewf]

So what is a typical or perhaps more practical sight in distance?  I normally set my centerfire rifles to 50 yard and that gets me close enough out to 100-ish.  Obviously this isn't the case for a 50 cal flintlock.  Assuming a roughly linear shift, I guess if I add another 4" at 50 (makes it +6" over point of aim), that would bring me to roughly 6" under point of aim at 100 yards.  I think what I may do is leave it as is and see if I can fuddle the hold-over at 100.  That'll give me a workable 25 to 50 yard under-hold.  And here I thought 45/70 had a lot of drop!

 

[Sparkitoff1]

6’oclock hold at 50 yds and 2.5” high on bull impact - dead on hold at 100 yds with -3.5 “. Not a great solution. Not sure what to do.

 

[Buck Conner1]

correct.....  :Red tup: