[blackdragon]

Originally Posted by KAB

I will pressume you did not buy your Indian CARBINE Musket then if this thread is still going on ?
Or did you , and then send it back ?
Hopefull you will keep us posted when you find what you like .

no, I'm still contemplating my options, I'm not interested in buying a piece of garbage, but I'm also looking for the lowest price possible for a hunting gun.
on a side note, anyone know a good diameter for patches to be used in a .62 caliber/20 gauge musket?

[ofitg]

Blackdragon, I've been pressing my own wads out of crumpled-up aluminum foil. I imagine you could make a similar die using metal tubing - for instance, onlinemetals.com sells brass tubing which is 0.75 OD, 0.62 ID



Here's a close-up of the Lyman's muzzle. There's plenty of metal left in that octagonal barrel, it's still pretty heavy

[blackdragon]

Originally Posted by ofitg

Blackdragon, I've been pressing my own wads out of crumpled-up aluminum foil. I imagine you could make a similar die using metal tubing - for instance, onlinemetals.com sells brass tubing which is 0.75 OD, 0.62 ID



Here's a close-up of the Lyman's muzzle. There's plenty of metal left in that octagonal barrel, it's still pretty heavy

thanks for the post, I've been searching the web more and I finding that to load roundballs into a musket, you're looking for a more like 1"-1 1/2" round patches. the Lyman Deerrstalker does look like a good candidate for boring out to .62 caliber smoothbore and having a shorter barrel(24" long, perfect for my purposes)

[ofitg]

Oops, I misunderstood. I thought you were asking about wads for shot loads. Please excuse the brain fart.

I've never shot a round ball in this gun. I would probably look for a ball 0.600-0.605 in diameter, and then find some suitable cloth thickness to fit properly. When I have loaded round balls in other smoothbores, I draped the cloth over the muzzle, thumb-pressed the ball down into the barrel, and then cut off the cloth which was still hanging out of the muzzle.

[c3shooter]

That is the purpose of a patch knife. Thickness of patch is more critical than diameter.

[blackdragon]

Originally Posted by c3shooter

That is the purpose of a patch knife. Thickness of patch is more critical than diameter.

what I want are pre-made patches for quick reloading, no need for a patch knife. what would you say that you need for a patch? 1" round?

[blackdragon]

I'm going to revive this thread.
I'm still looking for a inexpensive smoothbore flintlock musket in the .62-.75 caliber range and of shooting quality so I can use it for hunting. I'd like it to have a short barrel(28" or less) for use in thick woodland and possibly some clay shooting, I want to be able to swing that barrel around quickly. also, the longer barrels on authentic muskets are a bit long and clumsy for my uses. anyone have any ideas for a supplier for such a gun for under $800? I don't mind if it's a little over that. but obviously, the lower the better without sacrificing it's reliability to shoot safely, I'm not interested in getting myself killed for a couple hundred dollars. also, would you mind to enlighten me on how wide in diameter I would have to make a pre-made patch for such a musket? would 1.5" be good enough?
and finally, I'm in Canada, hopefully someone can help me now.

[texaswoodworker]

I'd check out cabela's website, they usually have a good selection of muzzleloaders (The Brown Bess was one, but IIRC, they are expensive). Some of them are muskets, but most are rifles. You could have the rifles reamed if you want as previously stated.

Quick question, Why do you want a smoothbore for hunting? They are not known for their accuracy. Just curious.

[mountainman13]

Cabelas does offer some good sporterized bp guns. Thompson center and Dixie gun works would also be places to check. As far as your question on patches I recommend you do some research on handling bp guns. The size of the patch is much less important that the thickness. Typically you get roundball that's .005 under size and then use a .010-.015 patch. The truth of the matter though is your gun will tell you what it likes. You need to experiment.

And always remember powder patch ball and don't palm the ramrod that's how people lose hands. If you have any more questions feel free to contact me.

[blackdragon]

Originally Posted by texaswoodworker

You could have the rifles reamed if you want as previously stated.
Quick question, Why do you want a smoothbore for hunting? They are not known for their accuracy. Just curious.

as for reaming out the barrel? I live in a very rural area and I don't believe the local gunsmith has the tools to ream out the barrel, so I would go that route if I had the choice, I'll look into it more.
as for why I want it? I want to use it as the original muskets were made for, to shoot nearly anything you can find out of them. birdshot, buckshot, buck and ball and single ball loads. I've shot a musket before, but it was a friend's and he wasn't willing to sell it, so I'm looking for one myself.

Originally Posted by mountainman13

Cabelas does offer some good sporterized bp guns. Thompson center and Dixie gun works would also be places to check. As far as your question on patches I recommend you do some research on handling bp guns. The size of the patch is much less important that the thickness. Typically you get roundball that's .005 under size and then use a .010-.015 patch. The truth of the matter though is your gun will tell you what it likes. You need to experiment.

And always remember powder patch ball and don't palm the ramrod that's how people lose hands. If you have any more questions feel free to contact me.

thanks