Range Report, .58 cal smooth bore TC Trapper.

[Appalachiannative]

From everything I know about chewed ball, they just don't seem to work in a rifle. How well they work, or don't work in a smoothbore will always be an open debate. In my experience, with my smoothbores, my loads/patching/ball sizes, and in my limited testing, I think there is some truth to a chewed ball flying a little straighter. But there are so many variables that it is a hard thing to prove or dis-prove. I'm on the side of "it can" produce a tighter group. Depending on a million different variables.

I would not spend (waste?) the powder and lead to try it in a rifle. The only reason I can think of to do so would be with a very undersized ball, if that's all one had. Chewing (rasping) the ball does increase it's diameter a little, it will almost take it to the next size up. (.570" to .575" for instance) (it takes my .570's to exactly .575")

I ment the double ball thing in a rifle.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I ment the double ball thing in a rifle.

Oops...ha ha. As you didn't seem to be familiar with chewed ball, I assumed that is what you meant. Okay, same as a smooth bore. You just load two patched balls, one on top of the other. I put a couple wads between them, otherwise both will deform, and that will hurt accuracy.

Something to be careful of, is to not seat the first ball on the powder, and then load the second ball. That can compress enough air so that the compressed air will raise the second ball up in the bore. I actually saw this happen. So you load your first patched ball, but only put it down the barrel about an inch, just enough to seat the second ball on top of it, then ram them both down to the powder at once.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Great snakes Ugly, is that a trail 90 motor pickle?

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Yeah, an old one. Just won't die. Had a flat tire...once.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Haven't seen one of those in years! Looks to be in good shape.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Oh yeah, runs great, reliable and always starts easy, smokes a little. Has the high and low range gear box. Easy to load up. Usually take the 350XL, but I like that Trail 90.

But if you want really nice shape, I picked this 1976 up with less than 1000 miles on it. It was a "collector bike" for the previous three owners. Been tearing up the mountain roads with it ever since. It came out of the first or one of the first dealerships to sell Japanese bikes in the U.S. It is pretty "capable", but nothing like the TT500 I had for quite a while. That was a beast. Then my son decided he wanted it more. But for my riding style these days the 350 is fine.

 

[Appalachiannative]

Well, you are surrounded by some of the very best motorcycling roads on the planet…

Yea "the dragons tail" ain't far away. The Mrs and I actually took "the snake" home from our trip to Bristol over the summer. Weren't on a motorcycle were in a truck but it was still fun. A lot of guys on rice burner sports bikes blew on around us

 

[Ugly Sauce]

A lot of guys on rice burner sports bikes blew on around us

From what I've seen (watch all the you-tube MC videos) the Dragon's tail is really crash city for all the boy racers. As much as I like winding roads and carving corners, sure wouldn't want to do it with all the cars on the road, plus all the riders pushing their skills past their limits. Mullholland Drive in Southern Cal has really turned into a circus, in that respect.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Let those idiots remove themselves from the gene pool! I like winding mountain roads too, just don't need some show off adrenaline junkie ruining the experience. They are bad enough in this area.

 

[hawg]

When I was trucking I saw two dudes acting a fool on bikes and got what was coming to them. There was a wreck on the twin span between New Orleans and Slidell LA. Traffic was backed up and this dude on a crotch rocket comes riding between the bridge railing and the cars. I don't know if he did it deliberately or if it was an accident but this lifted 4x4 moved over towards the railing and shoved him into the railing. He was busted up real bad. I don't know if he lived but it didn't look good. Another time I was running 80 down the interstate and this dude popped a wheelie next to me and had to have been going over 100 before he was done. He was riding the rear wheel and coming up on a bridge. There was a ridge between where the bridge started and the highway. I could feel it in my 18 wheeler. When his rear tire hit it that was all she wrote. The rear of the bike popped up and got sideways and over the bridge he went. It was at least a 60 foot drop.