Glad I Shot a Woodswalk Today

I shot the Boulder Valley woods walk course today with my .54 caplock and I'm really glad I did. I opened a new batch of CCI #11s and half of them were really snug on the nipple. About half my shots required multiple strikes to set off the cap. I even tried changing the nipple (I keep a spare in the cap box) but it was about as bad.

On the last target I hit the cap 4 times and it didn't go off. I replaced it and that one went off.

The rifle is a Cabela's (Investarm) Hawken that was originally a .50. I took a huge doe with it three years ago but even though the shot was good and did a massive amount of damage to both lungs, there was no exit wound and the blood trail was poor. So, last year I bought a replacement barrel in .54 in the hopes that the heavier ball will be more likely to completely pass through the deer and give a better blood trail if it runs.

After I got home I chucked both nipples in my drill and filed them down to accept RWS No.1075+ caps. I want to make sure I'm using known-good caps when I go hunting later this week. It's Pennsylvania's early muzzleloader, antlerless-only season.

My loads today were a .530 home cast ball in a pillow ticking patch lubed with Mr. Flintlock, over 70 grains of 2Fg Goex black powder. My hunting load for the rifle is 80 grains of powder but I wanted to save the steel targets a little wear and tear.

Anyway, even with the cap frustrations I shot an 18/20, one better than the match last weekend in which I took first place. (I shot my Slotter rifle replica in the match, as usual.)

LED Upgrade for Surefire G2, and Why Lithium Batteries Rock

Why lithium batteries rock:

Tonight I replaced the old halogen bulb in a Surefire G2 flashlight with an LED conversion unit. The output is much brighter with a great throw. I checked the batteries in the flashlight and they are the original Surefire CR123A batteries, with a 2015 expiration date, which was 10 years from when they were manufactured. Yes, this thing is still functioning with 20 year old batteries.

This particular light lives on a nightstand and gets used very infrequently, which is why I haven't used up the batteries. But for them to last 20 years and still be useful is impressive, to say the least.

This is the LED conversion I used: https://amzn.to/4oaiHzv

To fit the G2 I had to remove the outer coil spring, after that it just dropped in. 

Casting Sessions

Today I did some bullet casting. The temp was around 70F so I was able to do so out in my shop without sweating like a pig.

I cast up a bunch of .530" round balls for use in my .54 caliber rifles, and a few Lee 578-478M Minie balls to try in my Zouave. I'd forgotten about the Minie ball mould. I think I picked it up used last year at Dixon's.

After I culled the bad ones, I wound up with 106 of the .530 balls and 16 of the Minies.

The Minie mould is a little challenging to cast with. I think it would work better if Lee had used larger blocks to retain the heat better once it's up to temp.

The Lee round ball mould works fine, although I wish it was a 6 cavity instead of the 2 cavity mould I have. In my experience, the 6 bangers maintain temp better and you can cast a large quantity of bullets in a relatively short time.

Zouave Rifle Range Report

Yesterday I shot my Euroarms Remington 1863 "Zouave" rifle with replicas of the Williams cleaner bullet and some Lyman 575213 Minie balls.

My rifle was made in 1986 and I traded into it two years ago.

The original nipple took musket caps as you'd expect on a military rifle, but I found that as a left handed shooter, my right forearm and hand got peppered with debris. That was extremely unpleasant. I put a nipple that takes No.11 caps on it, which still gives reliable ignition but without the annoying spray on my arm.

The Williams cleaner bullets I have came from Gimcrack & Bunkum, a one man shop located in Pennsylvania. They are replicas of those issued during the Civil War. Unlike the Minie balls, they have a disc on a post that's attached to the base of the bullet. The disc expands into the rifling and scrapes out the fouling. These are 487 grains and .574" in diameter. I found them to shoot to about the same point of impact as the Lyman 575213 Minies, which weigh 510 grains, when both were fired over 60 grains of 2Fg Goex. I got the Minies from Track of the Wolf.

Some of my shots showed that the base separated from the body of the bullet and impacted elsewhere on the target. At 50 yards they broke the paper but not the plastic target backer.

When I bought the Williams bullets I chose to get them pre-lubed. The gap between the bottom disc and the base of the bullet has to be lube-free for it to work properly. The Minie was lubed by me a couple years ago with something, I forget what.

Offhand accuracy with this rifle is challenging due to a heavy trigger, probably around 10 lbs. I've considered taking the Zouave out for Pennsylvania's early antlerless-only season in October. I'll be hunting from a blind and will be able to shoot from a rest. But I'll probably use just a .54 caliber Investarm Bridger Hawken which has a nice trigger and is easier to shoot well.

Aside from the conicals I brought some .562" round balls, which shoot well in the rifle. However, I forgot my short starter so I stuck with the Williams and Minie bullets.