... and I hit everything but my target. I'm hoping for some tips here. Mostly I was shooting high, how high was always different, sometimes though it was low, sometime to the left and others to the right. basically I was shooting all over the place. After about 25 shots the only holes on my target were from my friend next to me, he shot 5 rounds into my target with a .22, just so their could be some holes in my target!

I'm shooting an ARMI SPORT 1853 3 band Enfeild. .577 Minie ball and am useing 65 grains of Pyrodex FFg. The minie's are Dixie Cast from Dixie Gun works. I am just guessing but I think I may need to play arround with powder loads. The reccomended is 60 - 70 grains. Are their any suggestions for how high or low, maybe I need to try a different brand ball?

Thanks for advice.

PS. My first time out and even though I faild to hit anything, it was a blast!

I'd try real black powder first, if it's available. Scan down this article until you see the red Goex can and start reading. As your minies should be softer than Marshall's, FFg should do. My experience with minies is limited, but there's a point where accuracy goes to pot as the load is increased, so I'd try a lighter load with the Pyrodex first.
http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/48

Bye
Jack

Big discussion on the 3 bander in another forum a few weeks back. Most bores vary greatly in actual diameter, you need to measure it then use a mini that is semi-snug going in. Another thing is mini's are more like Foster style shotgun slugs than bullets, they use the weight forward design. Using one of the right size with a more blunt nose will keep the weight concentrated in a smaller area and will usually improve accuracy.

The mini itself should have nice thin skirts and be very soft. I've seen them cast from hard alloy that won't obtrude enough on firing.

Have you checked the bore for obvious problems like roughness and such? Are you getting a lot of fouling? What lube are you using?

I'll also say to use real blackpowder too, the guns can tell the difference. :eek:

Got to go with Mark on the minnies. They have to be pretty close to bore size and be soft (pure lead) to work properly.

Try some other projectiles. Round balls, patched to the correct bore size. You might look at the tips and techniques here on the forum about fire lapping muzzle loaders. Type in firelapping muzzle loaders in the search function at the top of the page.

Well it looks like I will have to special order Black Powder. Big 5 is about 45 minutes away and is the only place that carries non smokeless and they only carry Pyrodex. Has anyone ever ordered powder through the mail before? Is it a good idea?

Mark, thank you for the advice. I will be inspecting my minies and seeing which ones fit looseer than others. They are pure lead cast, have nice soft thin skirtings. To be sure, am I wanting one's that when set into a clean barrel will slide down nice and smooth, not drop to the bottom, that would indicate it is too small, but a nice gental slide. Or do I want them where I will have to push them down home with the rod?

Oh and I am useing TC 1000 Natural Bore Butter. It doesn't seem to live up to the claims for shots before needing to clean by the way. After three shots I had to run a patch down to clean it out. I'll be trying something different. Just not sure what yet.

On a clean barrel, the mini's should have a slight bit of resistence going in. Not so loose as it drops down on it's own but not so tight as you have to pound it in. (How's that for description?) LOL

Very important you start them into the bore perfectly strait too. A little bit off square with the bore will bugger up the skirt and make it a flier.

Graf's brand powder is the best deal going. Not only is it the cheapest by the pound, personally I think it's better than all the others too. I had problems getting Goex years back then found a dealer who had what I wanted but insisted they were going to charge me the haz-mat shipping fee even if I picked the case up at their door in person. I got PO'ed and had a flier from Graf's advertising 10% off a 10# order so I got it. Even with the handling & haz-mat added, it still came out like $3.50/# cheaper. Since then, I've had numerous lots in different granulations and absolutely no differences from lot to lot, extremely consistent and I can't say that about Goex.

Sent you an email about the lube.

allright, sounds like half my minies are a little too small and half are the right size then. Looking them over pretty good their are a lot of flaws from bent in skirting to dents in the bullet. But I bought them cheep so I guess I can't complain much. Never heard of Grafs powder, I'll look into it. Its hard to get powder arround here for my rifle. I have 3 gun stores within about a 5 mile radius of my house and they all only carry smokeless. Maybe one can order it for me, possably save me some money in the fee's.

I doubt you'll save anything buying local. I try to support the little local folks as much as I can but most don't want to be bothered with BP anymore. Real stupid thing is, everyone makes such a fuss over BP yet you can walk into wally world and buy T7 right off the shelf which is a far better explosive than BP anyway..... idiots!

I was thinking about that the other day, standing in a gunshop looking at all the smokeless powders on the metal shelf 2 feet from the door. But they won't carry simple black powder because "people use it for illeagal explosives". How easy would it be to open the door, grab an armfull which could be 6 or 7 containers, walk out and blow something up! If it can go Boom! it should get the same treatment as anything ealse that goes Boom!

Ya and I can walk into any corner drug store, wally world, K-mart, target or what have you and without any question buy the stuff needed to mix up an explosive that far exceeds any gun powder you can buy anywhere and do it for far less cost at too!

It's just a clear sign of how ignorant people can enact laws & regulations on things they know nothing about based on myths and lies. Another example is the hype on banning lead now. The big argument that is working to shut down shooting ranges is the "corrosive properties of lead especially when exposed to acid rain".....hummmm sulfuric acid surrounding the LEAD plates in batteries & lead lined containers for storing the strongest acids ..... yup, that acid rain falling on lead bullets in a backstop is a real concern huh???? Totally false, totally lies and yet ignorant people buy into it and create problems for the rest of us.

How far were you from the target?

Well it looks like I will have to special order Black Powder. Big 5 is about 45 minutes away and is the only place that carries non smokeless and they only carry Pyrodex. Has anyone ever ordered powder through the mail before? Is it a good idea?

Mark, thank you for the advice. I will be inspecting my minies and seeing which ones fit looseer than others. They are pure lead cast, have nice soft thin skirtings. To be sure, am I wanting one's that when set into a clean barrel will slide down nice and smooth, not drop to the bottom, that would indicate it is too small, but a nice gental slide. Or do I want them where I will have to push them down home with the rod?

Oh and I am useing TC 1000 Natural Bore Butter. It doesn't seem to live up to the claims for shots before needing to clean by the way. After three shots I had to run a patch down to clean it out. I'll be trying something different. Just not sure what yet.
Try looking at powderinc.com for some powder.