muzzleloader help

[pistolp71]

I won a .58 caliber H&R muzzleloader a couple of weeks ago. I hunt with rifle,pistol,bow,shotgun but never tried muzzleloaders. Now that I have one I figured I would give it a shot. Anyone have any recommendations for me. Powder, load, bullets, caps, even cleaning. Thanks.

[bubba]

a little more information would be helpful.  Brand ignition barrel twist etc.

[pistolp71]

Sorry Bubba, I don't know much about the gun. The model is a Huntsman. I'll have to research the twist or run a rod down it myself. Ignition brand? Don't know what you mean. I has a nipple on it for a cap. Not a 209. I could post a pic of it if that helps.

[bubba]

ok you have a 58 cal huntsman with #11 caps. The twist is a slower twist, so conicals (solid lead bullets) will work well it it. I would suggest pyrodex loose powder and start around.  And it is 58 caliber?  those are older and have a press in breech plug.  A couple pics of the gun would help me tremendously.  I am a huntsman fan from way back. 

[pistolp71]

Yup .58 caliber. Here's a few pics. How many grains of pyrodex? What grain bullet? When do you think it was made? It's nothing real fancy but I like it.

[bubba]

that is an olde rmodel 58 caliber with a press in breech plug.  They were made until mid 80's I believe.  I would shoot about 80 an dno more than 90 grains if pyrodex rs.  as far as bullets Hornady makes 58 cal roundballs to shoot with a patch which are I believe around 450 grains and buffalo makes a minnie that is 500 grains,  which is about right.  .  The gun is not capable of handlingmore that 100 grains, but as stated I would stay in the 80 grain range with 90 graisn max.  The big kicker with them is the press in breech plug.  It is held in with an o ring.  The breech keeps it in place while firing.  So for no reason never open the acion if you have a isfire until you are sure it will not go off.  I am thinking a good 3 to 4 minutes.  If you open the action and it goes off,  the breech plug will come out of the back of the gun and act like a missile usually at the shooter.  They are very safe to shoot if you follow that rule.  The other concern is the collapsible ram rod. Get a good range rod an only use the original if reloading when hunting. Always start the bulllet in the barrel as far as it will go with the rod collapsed, then open the rod and seat the bullet.  This will makw the rod last a lot longer.  They are a 50 to 75 range gun and fun to shoot and make a giant hole.  I would have a smith look it over to make sure the oring is in place and the plug is good.  Otherwise have a good time. 

[pistolp71]

Thanks Bubba, I appreciate it. That's helpful. I'll try 80grs and a minnie and see how it shoots.

[bubba]

keep us posted

[pistolp71]

Will do. I was looking at those minnies and they dont come lubed. Do I need to lube them? Thanks again.

[bubba]

yes they wok better with a small amount of lube such as bore butter

[sbuff]

Times two on what bubba said. Just be safe with the pressed O ring breach plug

[bubba]

Have you shot it yet?

[pistolp71]

Not yet Bubba. Too busy. I'm going to be driving by the PA cabelas and will buy powder and caps and minnies there. I'll let you know. I shoot rifle,pistol,shotgun and archery on a regular basis, so I'd don't know if I'll have time to really get into muzzloading too. I am looking foward to shooting it though.

[bubba]

once you do, you will be hooked.

[pistolp71]

Ok, I finally got out to shoot the gun. I was pretty impressed how accurate it was but I had 2 misfires out of the 6 times I shot it. I think the cap fired because I saw a little smoke come from the breech area but no bang. Both times I put another cap on and it went off. Takes a little getting used to with the delay. I loaded 75grs of pyrodex rs and the minnie, quite a bit of recoil. Any idea what caused the misfires?

[pistolp71]

Bubba, Any idea why the misfires?

[bubba]

check to be sure the flame channel is cleaned out. What were you using for caps? did you hear a pop or just a clunk. My other thought is that the nipple has been worn down a bit and not allowing the cap to go all the way on the nipple. The first time pushes it down the second fires it. what do the caps look like when you take them off? The easy fix may be to file the edge of the nipple a bit to sharpen it up causing it to go off. Let me know if anyof this helps.

[pistolp71]

Thanks Bubba. I was using #11 caps, I think CCI. I didn't hear much when the hammer fell, just a little fizzle and little smoke. When I opened the breech the cap was mangled. It fired when I put a new cap on the nipple and tried the second time. I remember what you said when it didn't fire. I placed it down and didn't go near it for like 5 minutes, LOL.

[bubba]

Try some different camp cci are very loose on the nipple usually. I always have had great results with rws.

[pistolp71]

Ok, I'll try that, the caps did fit a bit loose. I was cleaning the breach plug yesterday and I used a pipe cleaner for the hole through the nipple. Shouldn't the pipe cleaner go all the way through? It wouldnt. Sorry for all the questions, thanks again for the help.

[bubba]

no problem on he questions. This is how we learn. No the pipe cleaners should not go through. At the end where the powder is, the hle is cinsiderably smaller. If the caps are loose, then they are going on all the way. I usually take a drill bit and clean out the small end hole. Not to make it bigger just clean it. If the caps are going off but not the powder, it has to be in that channel. Tae it out and spray it with windex into the channel, then a pipe cleaner. The first cap blows the junk out the second fires. Are you swabbibg between shots? Does it do this cnsistently or after a few shots? I know now I am asking the questions lol

[pistolp71]

Thanks. No, I didn't swab between shots. Should I be? It did it the very first time I tried to shoot it and maybe the 3rd or 4th time. I only shot it 6-7 times. I gave it a good cleaning last night. I'll try it out again next time I go up to my camp.

[bubba]

for the best accuracy, it should be swabbed after every shot. A little windex n a patch then a dry patch and reload.