Not a frontier six-shooter for sure. My Pedersoli Bess barked today. 60 yards, 100 gr. 2F, .715 ball wrapped in a .015 ticking patch lubed with TOW mink oil. It was one of Elmer's classic "raking" shots. Entering behind the ribs and after blasting through the liver and lung it shattered the upper leg bone on the offside and exited. The scraggly buck hit the ground, got up and piled up again about a 100 feet away.

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OUTSTANDING!

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Nice looking rifle .

It is minute of deer accurate. out to 75 yards

glad you would have been on our side in the revolutionary war !

EXCELLENT

I don't know whether to be impressed or confess to being jealous!

Smoothbore muzzleloaders are among my favorites, I have five here, two percussion and three flintlock, ranging from 24ga on up to 12ga. You are an inspiration for me to get off my derriere and challenge Bambi!

Otony

Very nicely done, darn few are using traditional front-stuffers of any stripe during the black powder seasons. It is sort of a shame.

I have the short version.

If you've the time I'd like to hear/read some technical behind the scenes stuff. What size ball, patch, what powder(s), vent diameter, flint source.

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Sincerely,

Hobie

It's always fun to use something different

I've settled on 100 grains of 2f. The patching I use is the thinner brown or red striped .015 ticking from Wal-Mart. For some reason it seems to do better in this gun than the thicker blue striped.018 size, but I wouldn't swear to it. The wall mart ticking hasn't done well for me in my rifles but it is holding up good in this smoothbore.I've been lubing the patch with Track of the Wolf Mink Oil.

I also load the ball between two lubed fiber wads that I believe is just as accurate. This is the most accurate smoothbore I've owned. It will shoot grapefruit sized groups at 50 yards to the point of aim if I hold correctly.

I use a Lyman .715 ball. 7/8ths black English flint. I put a non removable touch hole liner in and right now it has a 5/64ths hole but I might open it up a smidgen. I didn't like the hole they had as it had a long fuse effect. The liner put the main charge much closer to the pan. Usually people just open up the touch hole on these Bess guns. My goal is to make this a 75 yard gun with more load testing and practice. Probably just more shooting practice with cheek weld consistency. I'll use it this next year at N.M.L.R.A smoothbore competition at the Territorial matches.

Bob

By looking at the damage to the deer's upper leg bone all the surgeon would have to do if a soldier got hit in the arm would be to use a knife to finish cutting it off. No saw needed

Bob

The Pedersoli Bess always has good reviews so I thought I'd go that route after selling my Jackie Brown Carolina smoothbore. I do miss the lightness of it though. This Bess weighs 9-1/2 pounds.

Bob

Have to admit it wasn't a wing shot but it was 25 yards sitting on a log. I used N0. 5 shot. I fried up the breast with seasoned flour and made some buckwheat Kasha to go along with it for lunch in the woods

The local muzzle loading group in Troy, Idaho all migrated to smooth bore flinters as they found percussion rifles too modernI was never that capable in the fine misty rains and 90 % humidity of an Idaho fall.

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

Here is the breast of the beast in the pan half eaten. I always take some seasoned flour and a meat mallet and a cutting board and butter. Usually I have a flattened and tenderized grouse breast sandwich with tomato for lunch if I'm successful. One grouse feeds two guys a nice sandwich each.

Here is my 50 yard accuracy from a rest of course.
MY goal is to put them in the black at 75 yards.
It may or may not be doable. I might have to increase the charge but I'll wait till warm weather to find out.

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