Black powder scatter gun fun part 2

 

So the last post ended with my second shooting session and the mention that my cousin had given me some Pyrodex to shoot. During that second shooting session I decided to try loads with Pyrodex. In case you're not away Pyrodex is a "black powder replacement". The advantage, as I see it, is that Pyrodex is not classed as an explosive so its easier to ship than real black powder and thus is available from a lot of vendors who won't carry real black powder.

Pyrodex is more difficult to ignite than black powder but in a cap lock gun its not a real issue. I did notice a tiny amount more delay with the shot going off and it throws a little less smoke which smells a little less sulphery.

What I found that I really disliked is the cleanup. Of course black powder cleanup is never fun but its not terribly hard. I mix up a little hot water with dish soap and soak the barrel for a few minutes, that water comes out all black with the powder residue, then I run a couple patches with TC #13 cleaner, and a patch or two with denatured alcohol to dry things out, then a couple clean patches and an oiled patch to finish the job. Usually the second clean patch will be pretty clean.

I never did get clean patches with the Pyrodex and worse those stupid plastic shot cups left terrible fouling.

Thats a bore brush coated with plastic fouling, its bronze underneath I promise.

Lest you think that the problem was all caused by the plastic fouling I took the gun to shoot Trap last Friday. We fired a total of 8 shots, I fired 4, Angie 2 and one of the other guys at the range fired 2. Each of us managed to hit one bird but the machine was set strangely and was throwing very high. This machine also gets used for sporting clays and they move the aim around. The black powder shots were the first we fired, I got better at it after a couple rounds.

Anyhow I used all pyrodex for that excursion and it was nearly as bad to clean, the Pyrodex fouling doesn't seem to be particularly water soluble, I let it soak longer than I normally would, and with very hot water and the water didn't get particularly black, it took many patches before I finally just gave up and let it be a little dirty. I'm fairly confident that the corrosive elements have been removed though.

So would I use Pyrodex again? Sure, I've got a pound and a half of it and this gun burns through 82 grains (3 drams) for each shot, it'd be silly to not use it. I probably won't use it for hunting, that extra split second delay could be the difference between hitting a bird and not. One of the cans I was given is Pyrodex Select, as near as I can tell Select is just regular Pyrodex RS (Rifle/Shotgun) screened more carefully. Most folks seem to suggest its not any better than RS. At the very least it'll be interesting to test that out.

Oh, yeah I did mention hunting didn't I? That season is coming up soon. One goal I have this year is to take some birds with black powder. Recently I realized that there are a lot of pheasants stocked in my area. I actually saw one last fall while duck hunting but we'd just moved into a new area and I didn't want to spook the ducks. I ended up shooting a goose there so I'd say it was a good choice. I think this old gun will work well out to about 20 yards. That fits with what I've been reading for other folks suggestions on open choke guns.

I've mentioned my 16ga cap lock once or twice, that has a modified choke but its a much lighter gun than this, I don't want to use more than 1 1/8 oz of shot in that and probably I should only be using one ounce. Its been awhile since I shot it, I should probably put it back on the patterning board...

Time for a new rifle.

My parents gave me a CVA Buckhorn as a Christmas present a few years ago.

Dad and I were pretty impressed with how it shot right out of the box. It came with fiber optic "iron" sights that were actually made of plastic. The hunting season before last I was walking on snow covered ice when I slipped and fell and broke the front sight clean off. I already had the 3-9x scope for it but hadn't been able to make it shoot well. It turns out the mount I had was wrong, with the correct mount it shoots well. I use 80 grains of loose 777 powder with a 250gr TC sabot which will produce 1" groups easily at 50 yards. Thats not extreme accuracy but this is a really cheap gun. The fit and finish is nice but it does have a problem.

This is the closed bolt position. The thing is that this is quite a primitive system and in this position the primer will have been struck and the gun has been fired. That means you can't transport it like this.

In the open position you can see where the primer goes and this is the real problem.

The breech plug holds the primer in the center. The primer is retained by a spring clip around the hole. The breech plug itself is tightened with a slotted screwdriver. The problem is that any time water gets anywhere near the breech plug it can go through the slots, around the primer and in the touch hole and wet the powder. The time I fell snow packed into the breech and wetted the pellets I was using at the time.

Obviously those weren't going to go off. I figured that the problem was only because snow had really packed into the breech and I wouldn't have trouble if I took basic precautions. Well last December I spent two days in the field and didn't fall down once. I did however go through some heavy country. After the first day I pulled the charge and found it soaked.

That clump toward the top of the picture is all wet. Thats a duck sauce container from my local Chinese restaurant, they're super handy for this.

To ensure I didn't have an issue the second day I packed Bore Butter into the slots the screwdriver engages. With the breech plug installed I used a toothpick to ensure all the gaps were filled. I didn't get a chance to pull the charge until recently, when I did I found all the signs of a wet charge that had dried out. This one *might* have gone off but I wouldn't bet on it.

Contrast this to last spring when I was turkey hunting, I had my percussion cap 16ga and it was raining. It rained so much it pretty much ruined whatever crappy finish there was on the stock, that stuff just melted off. I pulled the charge every day, its super easy on a shotgun, and never found any sign of water intrusion. That was real black powder instead of 777, both are fairly hydroscopic but the percussion cap covers the only point of ingress on that 16ga, unlike the CVA.

The CVA is an "inline muzzleloader" which means the primer is inline with the barrel. Its the hot thing these days, the 209 shotgun primer gives powerful ignition and when the powder is dry I really can't complain with how the gun shoots. However that accuracy is no good if the gun won't go off...

I was thinking about another in-line. The newest models are break action which gives good coverage for the primer and prevents the ingress of water but then I was thinking that my 16ga works just fine why not get another percussion gun, a Hawken would work great. I'm thinking .54 cal, it'd be fun to play with a big bore gun for a change and "The Ancient Ones of Maine" gun show is coming at the end of the month...