Goex Update

Yesterday I got an email from Maine Powder House stating the following:

Yes, in case you have not heard, GOEX production date was pushed back again.

GOEX dealers were informed the new projected production date is end of June. If they are able to make this happen, this means they will not start shipping product out to dealers until earliest August. GOEX has also informed us prices will be going up, but they have yet to give us a new price list.

Schuetzen and Swiss containers are here in the US, however their prices have gone up 17% and 22% respectively. This price increase was a surprise to all of us...including the distributor. Current prices listed as of the date of this email DO NOT reflect the 17% & 22% increases.

Maine Powder House current inventory on black powder is very low. I will be working with the Schuetzen/Swiss distributor on a new order, however it will be a limited order due to the anticipation of GOEX getting back in business sometime this fall.

Check the website for details as I will keep that up-to-date for everyone.

Sigh.

My $0.02:

With Goex availability pushed back yet again, if you need black powder I recommend buying Scheutzen, Swiss, or Graf's house brand (made by Scheutzen) from MPH, Powder Inc., Grafs, or whoever else might have it in stock. If you shoot a gun that works reliably with it, don't turn your nose up at Pyrodex or Triple 7, either.

Weird Stuck Ball

Today I had an weird experience with a stuck ball in my plains rifle.

I went to one of my clubs to shoot their woods walk course. I used my normal target load: 55 grains of Goex FFFg black powder, .490 round balls wrapped in .020" patches lubed with Mr. Flintlock, and a CCI No.11 cap. Normally this would allow me to shoot at least 25 rounds with no bore swabbing.

But after about 12 - 15 shots I went to reload and could not get the ball to go more than about 8" down the bore no matter how hard I tried. It simply would not go any further down.

If I didn't have the correct tools to pull the ball that would've been the end of my day. However, I had a ball screw and a T-handle that screws into the other end of my ramrod.

I recommend the collared ball pullers sold by Track of the Wolf. They are sharp and will easily screw into the soft lead of the projectiles used in muzzleloaders. The brass collar around the screw keeps it centered in the bore. See here: https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/574/1

The other accessory that makes it possible to more easily pull a ball by yourself is a T-handle that screws into the other end of your ramrod. Of course, this requires your ramrod to have threaded fittings on both ends.

Once again, Track has what you need: https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/586/1

I keep one of the aluminum T-handles in the back part of my shooting pouch.

To pull the ball today I attached the screw and handle, screwed into the ball, then inverted the rifle and held the T-handle down with my feet. I then gave the rifle a tug upwards and it popped the ball free.

If the bore is really crusty you may want to swab it before trying to pull the ball. Also, if it is really stuck, pouring some oil down on top of it may ease extracting it.

This is another reason to make sure that the threaded ferrules on the end of your ramrod are pinned in place. Without a cross pin there's a high likelihood you'll pull it right off the rod.

Anyway, I got back to shooting after I ran a couple cleaning patches wet with Mr. Flintlock down the barrel, followed by a dry patch. Since swabbing can force wet fouling into the flash channel, I popped a cap before loading, to ensure it was clear.

Made a Couple of Brass Drifts

This afternoon I went out to the shop and made a couple drifts from some square brass stock, for use with Colt-style percussion revolvers and also rifles on which the barrel is held on with a key or keys.

Naturally, I could have made these with a file but a milling machine, even a small one like my Grizzly G8689 makes it a lot easier. Don't ever let anyone tell you the table top machines are useless.

 

Pietta 1860 Army Sheriff Range Report, and Two Useful Accessories

Last night I took a new Pietta 1860 Army Sheriff's Model percussion revolver to the range. Overall, I am quite pleased with the gun. Timing and lockup are tight, wood-to-metal fit is excellent, and overall it's a fine looking and shooting piece.

The session was not without it's difficulties, however. A couple years ago I'd made up 50 paper cartridges loaded with a Hornady .454 ball on top of 25 grains of 3Fg Hodgdon Triple 7 black powder substitute, and had half of them left. The T7 came from a bottle that I bought several years ago. I've read that once you break the seal it begins to deteriorate, but up until now I haven't noticed any problems with it.

I loaded the first cylinder with the paper cartridges and I could only get two to go off, even with recapping. So, I pulled the cylinder out, removed the cones on the unfired chambers, and put about three grains of black powder in each using the flintlock pan primer I keep in my BP revolver shooting box in case I dry ball.

Previously, none of the paper cartridges I've made have had ignition problems, no matter if they were loaded with Triple 7 or black powder.

After reassembling the gun and recapping the chambers, all of them went off.

I have 19 of those cartridges left along with a flask full of the remaining Triple 7. The next time I shoot the gun I'll try them with a black powder initiator charge in the bottom of the chambers. I hate to waste powder.

After I switched over to loose ball and Scheutzen 3Fg black powder and a felt wad lubed with pure neatsfoot oil, the gun gave me no more issues. I fired 5 or 6 cylinders full, with all my shots going into one hole at 7 yards. Elevation was dead on but I was shooting a little to the right, which was probably me pushing the trigger a little.

The cylinder arbor was lubed with Lucas white lithium grease. I've found this to be an excellent lubricant for that purpose. After 30 to 36 shots the cylinder was still turning freely.

The other accessory worth mentioning was a slip-on handle for the loading lever that I made from a short section of PVC pipe a little longer than the lever. The short levers on the "sherriff's model" percussion revolvers make seating the required oversized ball somewhat difficult. The short section of PVC made it a lot easier.

Like my 1851 Navy Sheriff, the 1860 Army Sheriff is a fantasy gun. Colt never made such a piece although it's possible that guns could have been so modified by users or gunsmiths. Porter Rockwell, the Mormon Avenger was known to carry a Colt cut down to snubbie length with the loading lever removed and a new front sight fitted.

Regardless of whether short percussion revolvers are historically correct, they are fun to shoot and easier to carry afield than their full length cousins.