A smokin' blast. Went to my first BP shoot.

[JEBar]

PT ...

any comments on the post shoot cleaning of your pistol ..

[PT7]

Yeah, Jim, I do. The trademark of a wordy character.

This "first time" cleaning probably took longer that what it will in the future. I'm still learning how to handle the pistol, dis-assemble it, know what to watch out for when cleaning, etc. Stan gave me some cleaning pointers, too.

The pistol really cleaned up very well. The one comment on powder made by the LGS fellow who sold me the Triple 7 was that it burned pretty clean. I'm always for clean. After shooting only ten round balls, my pistol was not excessively dirty, and pretty easy to make it shine. What impressed me was how the barrel shined, and how clear the rifling and lands were. I used a focus-beam LED flashlight to inspect the bore. My final white patches came out close to snowy white. And that was by using very hot water and a squirt of Dawn dishwashing liquid to clean with. Yeah, one more "first" on a day of firsts.

Stan said it will be easier to clean a BP pistol than my revolvers. I'm here to verify that is very true!

Bob

PT ...

any comments on the post shoot cleaning of your pistol ..

[JEBar]

Yeah, Jim, I do..... And that was by using very hot water and a squirt of Dawn dishwashing liquid to clean with.

I never have been able to get over using water to clean a firearm .. .. while I know it works, it just don't seem right ..

[North Country Gal]

Little late, here, PT, but just had to make sure you know how much I've appreciated you sharing your adventure in BP shooting. From looking at your offhand target, one hand, I don't think you'll need to do a lot of sighting in. Looks good to me. Keep up the good work.

[PT7]

Not late at all, NCG. "Instantaneous" is not part of my vocabulary. That's the electronic communication age.
I much enjoy, and still like to get, hand-written letters in the mailbox.

Yeah, I know that you and any other Henry Forum members who shoot off hand, one hand share in that really cool part of the shooting experience. I definitely will keep at it.

And thanks for the encouragement that I'll not "need to do a lot of sighting in."
Sure like to keep the bench rest stored away and out of sight (a fun pun)!

PT7

Little late, here, PT, but just had to make sure you know how much I've appreciated you sharing your adventure in BP shooting. From looking at your offhand target, one hand, I don't think you'll need to do a lot of sighting in. Looks good to me. Keep up the good work.

[JEBar]

Someday I may set up the bench rest to see how well the pistol is sighted in. For now, the off hand, one-hand shooting is all I'll do.

a reality with firing lead round balls, once you get beyond a few feet, shooting them will not produce single hole groups .... one can make every possible effort to load and fire multiple shots in exactly the same manner and the impact points will vary ... as with all shooting, distance does play a part in just how widely .... with mine, I did bench fire it in an effort to fine tune the sights .... doing so helped remove some doubts that were bouncing around in my head and for me that was a good thing .... I can't help but think back to the old "minute of deer" definition for an acceptable group

[PT7]

Man, I'm crushed to hear that you can't get single hole groups with BP round balls.
Davy Crockett did with his flintlock, and Buddy Ebsen (George) was there and witnessed the shootin' match.
He saw the judge knife those two stacked round balls out of the target! Davy really "smoked" Bigfoot Mason.

[Mistered]

Man, I'm crushed to hear that you can't get single hole groups with BP round balls.

Well not exactly single hole but very good round ball accuracy can be had - depending on the gun, loading consistency, patch thickness and bore powder residue buildup.
When I was shooting BP regularly I shot with some guys who had very nice, hand built rifles, or higher end production guns and it was not unusual to see sub 3" , 100 yard groups with round balls.
This kind of accuracy is attainable but takes consistent loading and a lot of shooting !

[JEBar]

a 3" group with round balls at 100 yards would be very, very fine shooting indeed

[ESquared]

This has been a great thread to read and I'm sorry I missed the outing on Saturday, Bob, but the Lake of the Ozarks had first dibs on my weekend! Sounds like you've been bitten by a new bug and that's great to hear. Would love to accompany you on a future visit, just so I can take it all in. Sounds like a very cool place and some cool people as well.

Seems like you'll fit right in! Thanks for sharing all the excitement!