[hillbilly]

I bought a Euroarms 1853 Enfield rifled musket off a gentleman I found at the North-South Skirmish Association website.

http://www.n-ssa.org

Yee-haw, indeed.

I've officially got a smokepole now.

Big, hollow BOOOOOM!

It does very, very, very bad things to gallon jugs full of water out of my pistol range.

I can't wait to put some paper up at the local gun club from 100 out to 300 yards and try to see how I can do.

What a hoot!

Cleaning is a pain, but a good kind of pain.

Definitely worth the thrill of touching this thing off.

hillbilly

[4v50 Gary]

Congratulations. What mold and how much FF? Curious. My mold is a Parker Hale (made by RCBS) and I use about 65 grains FF.

[hillbilly]

I don't have a mold yet. I'm shopping for one.

I use a 45-70 as a powder measure. So I'm using right at 70 grains of FF.

hillbilly

[Burt Blade]

Hot soapy water is the thing to use as bore cleaner.

[hillbilly]

Burt Blade, yes sir, I ran about a quart of hot soapy water through it, and then swabbed it dry and then hit it with a hair dryer on high.

I checked the bore again this morning with a light, just to make sure.

Looks fine.

This is a lot of fun.

I love that big hollow "BOOOM" and the cloud of smoke.

hillbilly

[Perfesser]

I love that big hollow "BOOOM" and the cloud of smoke

Ohhhh, yeah.
I bought (impulse purchase!) a T/C Hawken .45 years ago and let it sit for a long time before I finally decided it wasn't doing me any good in the closet...
After moving here I finally loaded up with about 65 gr of Pyrodex (the guy sold me EVERYTHING I needed: powder, balls, measure, patches and caps!)
and set up a target at the burn pit...pulled the trigger and the cap went BIP.
Oil in the nipple - the next try went BOOOM in a most satisfying way - and I even hit the target. Round balls work OK but the .451 hard cast lead I was using in 45ACP loads make some nice groups.
Only regret is that it isn't a .50 or .54; I passed up an Enfield .58 before I got the Hawken. .45 looks big in handguns but not on a muzzleloader.

[bakert]

I have 3 hawken type rifles that I get to shoot very little now for lack of a place to shoot but they are fun. I would love to shoot that Enfield musket. For cleaning the hot soapy water is fine but Hoppes No.9 Plus works very well too. Would also suggest about a week after the initial cleaning to check the bore again again.

[critter]

Hillbilly, if you need something to clean it with when you are out and away from home base and hot soapy water is not available, here is what I do. Go to WM and buy a gallon of the cheapest windshield washer fluid you can find (a couple of bucks). Get one of the little plastic squeeze bottles with a spout (kinda like honey comes in) and fill it and carry it with you. Makes a GOOD BP cleaner. Then you can do the hot water and soap deal when you get home.

Sounds like that would make a good firearm for the ML deer season we have here in AR. I use a .54 cal ML for that with great success. I use maxiballs but have used round balls with a patch and they work too. Have fun with that boomer!

[AirForceShooter]

He's hooked!!!
It's the Boom and the smoke.
Now it's more rifles and Old Army's and possibly a Colt, dare I say Walker?
Wait til you get around people at a range. when you pull the smoke pole out they laugh but one shot and they all want to try it. It's amazing.
Have fun

AFS

[hillbilly]

AirForceShooter....it's worse than you think.

I'm already jonesing for a flintlock pistol...........

Stop me before I boooom again!

hillbilly

[Tinker2]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jonesing

[Mr. Tettnanger]

Yeah, we got him. Nothing beats shooting black powder!

Airforceshooter is right on. When I pull the Lyman GReat Plains out, and flip open the rendezvous box of tricks, the snickers and stares begin. Pull out the antler handled patch knifeand the hoots and gaffs are almost unbearable. But once old painless throws her red hot shower of sparks and coughs her billowy white smoke...they all want to touch and carress her. Oh yeah..black powder rules!!!

Can't wait to touch of a flint pistol that I bought on this site last week. I feel like a kid watching the clock and staring out the window at Christmas! I hate waiting!

Mr. Tettnanger

[armedandsafe]

Grandpa Combs taught me something to which I adhere to this day:

Clean it once a day for a week.
Clean it once a week for a month.
Clean it once a month forever.

This was before the days of radical chemical cleaners such as we have today, but I still do it that way. Soap and HOT water the first time. Ballistol the rest of the time.

Fun? They don't call it "shootin' dirty" just because it smokes a lot. :evil:

Pops

[hillbilly]

Hey bakert, if you want to shoot the Enfield, how close to Arkansas are you?

hillbilly