Muzzle Loader Pics as promised. Le Page

[Duncaninfrance]

Well, as promised in an earlier post, I have taken some shots of my friends muzzle loaders.
They are both by Pedersoli and have been ‘tuned’ by Alain so they look and feel better than when he got them.

These 4 pics are a Standard Target ‘Le Page’ .45 smooth bore, circa 1810.

The Mang is in the next post.
Duncan

 

[BigG]

Those two are beautiful (Mang and LePage). Thanks for posting them!

 

[Beartracker]

Beautiful Duncan! That thing looks like it would leave a whole in you big enough to see threw

 

[Derek]

Love Pedersoli's!

Duncan, thank you for the beautiful photo's!When I win the lottery, I want to buy the fully engraved Martin Mang, in the mean time, I have to make do with my home-made version, a .40 that shoots well but has a bad case of the galloping uglies.My next project may well be a smooth bore flinter.I,m having a bit of difficulty buying a smooth bore barrel, [I'd like a .45 or smaller], can you offer any advice as to loads? What size groups are smoothies capable of?In Canada, a Mang costs over $2,000 so they are a long way over my head, but if you don't get closer than 30 ft, the pieces I make are'nt bad.Do you know of any sources of Circassian walnut?I'd love to try working with a little piece of that stuff!

 

[taralon]

Ok, that's it, I'm buying a pair. Now the question is, doesn't anyone know a site that has a full lenght holster for such?

Derrek: http://www.gmriflebarrel.com/catalog.aspx?catid=SmoothboreBarrels
I'm not sure if you can order from them while in Canada but if you can find a dealer I'm sure you could get him to special order a few.

 

[Duncaninfrance]

Ok, that's it, I'm buying a pair. Now the question is, doesn't anyone know a site that has a full lenght holster for such?

Derrek: http://www.gmriflebarrel.com/catalog.aspx?catid=SmoothboreBarrels
I'm not sure if you can order from them while in Canada but if you can find a dealer I'm sure you could get him to special order a few.

Stick em in your belt like anyone else!!

I am sorry but I can't offer any tech info as I don't own the guns I only photographed them. I will ask Alain who owns them if he can give me some info but I won't see him till next Sunday earliest.

Cheers
Duncan

 

[Duncaninfrance]

Duncan, thank you for the beautiful photo's!When I win the lottery, I want to buy the fully engraved Martin Mang, in the mean time, I have to make do with my home-made version, a .40 that shoots well but has a bad case of the galloping uglies.My next project may well be a smooth bore flinter.I,m having a bit of difficulty buying a smooth bore barrel, [I'd like a .45 or smaller], can you offer any advice as to loads? What size groups are smoothies capable of?In Canada, a Mang costs over $2,000 so they are a long way over my head, but if you don't get closer than 30 ft, the pieces I make are'nt bad.Do you know of any sources of Circassian walnut?I'd love to try working with a little piece of that stuff!

OK Derek, I had a talk with Alain today because he came rond for me to do some computer work for him.

The short answer to your question about smooth bore pistols like the Le Page is that providing you use a good, lubricated patch ( spit is ok! ), about 0.12mm thick with the ball and a charge of about 1.2 grammes ( I think ) you should be getting a good grouping of about 10cm x 10cm at 25 mtrs.

Regarding the .38 Mang, I have a bit more detail from Alain.
He uses:- ± 0.90 grammes of Hunting Black Powder ( SNPE in France ) plus the same amount of Polenta on top of the powder. The ball is .357 from a Pedersoli mold and is loaded using a patch of 0.12mm thickness. This will produce a grouping of 2.5 / 3 cm dia at 25 meters firing from a fixed, supported position.
He says that for a modestly capable shooter you should expect a score of 90 out of 100 with the 10 best shots of 13 at 25 meters.

As for the wallnut - can't help you there my friend, sorry!

I hope this helps you make some decisions!
Best regards
Duncan

 

[Derek]

Good info!

Hi Duncan,thank you for going to the trouble of getting those specs for me,I've been shooting since Arthur Welsely was a corporal but know very little about smoothies.I came to Canada from Scotland in '52, joined the RCAF in '54, and spent some time in beautiful downtown Deutchland, and visited France regularly.Germany seems to be a real hotbed of blackpowder activity, some years ago I got hold of a catalog from one of the big suppliers, [auf Deutch!]long since fingered and drooled to pieces, but full of good stuff.[Siber, HEGE, etc]Have you seen any of those?I had to convert your figures into ones I could get my antique head around, I came up with 1"X1 1/4"
group with about 13.8 grains of powder and a patch less than 5thou thick!Wow! Thin patch!

 

[Derek]

Good info!

Hi Duncan,thank you for going to the trouble of getting those specs for me,I've been shooting since Arthur Welsely was a corporal but know very little about smoothies.I came to Canada from Scotland in '52, joined the RCAF in '54, and spent some time in beautiful downtown Deutchland, and visited France regularly.Germany seems to be a real hotbed of blackpowder activity, some years ago I got hold of a catalog from one of the big suppliers, [auf Deutch!]long since fingered and drooled to pieces, but full of good stuff.[Siber, HEGE, etc]Have you seen any of those?I had to convert your figures into ones I could get my antique head around, I came up with 1"X1 1/4"
group with about 13.8 grains of powder and a patch less than 5thou thick!Wow! Thin patch!

 

[Duncaninfrance]

Hi Duncan,thank you for going to the trouble of getting those specs for me,I've been shooting since Arthur Welsely was a corporal but know very little about smoothies.I came to Canada from Scotland in '52, joined the RCAF in '54, and spent some time in beautiful downtown Deutchland, and visited France regularly.Germany seems to be a real hotbed of blackpowder activity, some years ago I got hold of a catalog from one of the big suppliers, [auf Deutch!]long since fingered and drooled to pieces, but full of good stuff.[Siber, HEGE, etc]Have you seen any of those?I had to convert your figures into ones I could get my antique head around, I came up with 1"X1 1/4"
group with about 13.8 grains of powder and a patch less than 5thou thick!Wow! Thin patch!

Looks like you are posting with a stutter Derek!!
I have to say I am a bit younger than you then - when I served in 3DWR ( TA ) in the early 90's, thats' 1990's!! - we did have a few with rifles barrels!.
I am only just getting into BP here and have visited one arms fair that was held in the old German built submarine pens in Bordeaux. They certainly know how to charge!!
Anyway, enjoy your shooting
Duncan