.38 Special
Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2006
- Messages
- 7,285
Glad to hear we have another good cap&ball gunsmith.
I dislike lube over the ball so much that I'll do just about anything to avoid it. I have found that .36 caliber cartridges with a bullet (rather than a ball) dip lubed in tallow and beeswax will usually go at least a hundred rounds, depending on the weather.
For my money, assuming a reliable gun, the single most effective modification is decent sights. Trying to figure out which pebble to hold on with a tiny little brass cone reflecting light into your eyes is not conducive to accuracy! I now install a dovetail front blade on any gun I really want to hit with, and file a square notch in the hammer as well. Then I file and drift the front sight until it hits where I want. The majority of the time this results in a gun with accuracy to match a typical modern centerfire revolver - which seems to surprise the daylights out of the average range officer!
I dislike lube over the ball so much that I'll do just about anything to avoid it. I have found that .36 caliber cartridges with a bullet (rather than a ball) dip lubed in tallow and beeswax will usually go at least a hundred rounds, depending on the weather.
For my money, assuming a reliable gun, the single most effective modification is decent sights. Trying to figure out which pebble to hold on with a tiny little brass cone reflecting light into your eyes is not conducive to accuracy! I now install a dovetail front blade on any gun I really want to hit with, and file a square notch in the hammer as well. Then I file and drift the front sight until it hits where I want. The majority of the time this results in a gun with accuracy to match a typical modern centerfire revolver - which seems to surprise the daylights out of the average range officer!