Just bought my first so now what?

[grubbylabs]

I just bought a Investarm Trade Rifle in .54 and have yet to buy ball and powder and all that.

So tell me what I need to know before I go shoot for the first time.

 

[Doc Hoy]

As Ronald Reagan always said, "Well...."

GL,

I am not a long arm shooter, so I will start off the list with safety equipment.
Hearing protection and eye protection.

Now the experts can jump in.

 

[Doc Hoy]

Oh...and by the way

Welcome!

 

[grubbylabs]

Thanks for the welcome, I do follow all the safety rules.

 

[Springfield Kid]

If you plan to use Pyrodex you might invest in a good gas mask also .


I have owned several of the Investarms 54 cal. Hawkens with 1 in 48 twist .
They both would shoot patched round balls or lead bullets very well .
The 54 cal is a very good choice as a hunting arm .

If you have a faster twist barrel 1 in 24 inch twist . You would do better with a saboted bullet .

 

[Hawg]

If you're going to shoot round balls you need .530 balls and .010 patches. Black powder or substitute. Patch or bullet lube. Do not use petroleum based lube in the bore. You'll need a nipple wrench, a powder flask and an adjustable powder measure. Do not load directly from the flask even if it has a spout that delivers the right amount of powder. A short starter is a good idea, a must have for lead conicals. Cleanup is with hot soapy water.

NEXT.

 

[grubbylabs]

Does any one make a starter kit or do I just need to go and get the stuff individually?

Also what about powder? What do I need to know? I have to use loose powder to hunt with.

I plan on using round balls, what do I need to know about them? Can I cast my own or is it better to buy them?

 

[Smokin_Gun]

Try here for starters ... I'm sure other's will post more sites for you and your Possibles needs...
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(o5gfqw55qc451dimcn2emnmi))/Index.aspx
Grab a Possibles bag for over the shoulder...Powder horn also.

 

[shortwave]

Welcome! A good range rod and pulling jag(for when you push that bullet home and remember your powders still in the flask). Thats what your face will look like the first time you do it but it will more than likely happen sooner or later. P.S. Make sure the ends on range rod are pinned and not just pressed/glued on. Neeeext.

 

[Hawg]

Loose powder is best, either real black which can be hard to find or Pyrodex. Triple 7 is an option but it's finicky about how it's loaded. I cast my own round balls out of a Lee mold. Round balls can be harder to find a load/patch combo for but once you find it it will be worth it. I'd start with a .530 ball and a .010 patch lubed with bore butter or crisco. I make my own lube but you can get into that later. The BB or Crisco works fine they just get runny in summer heat. 90 grs. of FF or RS to start with and you can go up or down from there. If changing powder charges doesn't get you where you want to be try different patch thicknesses and don't let the patch overlap the front of the ball. I'd buy my accessories separately. Round ball range is going to be 100 yds. or less for most shooters.

 

[simonkenton]

Don't mess with a bullet mold, just buy a box of 100, or 50, round balls.

 

[Doc Hoy]

Molds

Simon says, DOn't buy a bullet mold."

I agree with that strategy. Buy the balls, experiment with size, then if you are so moved, get into molding your own with the size mold you decide upon. I went about it backwards and now I have molds I don't use because the ball size isn't quite right.

 

[grubbylabs]

Hay thanks for all the input so far, is there any brand of powder that is better than the others? The .530 and the .010 is what the manufacturer suggests so I thought I would buy those, did not know I could get different size balls for the same caliber gun.

 

[Hawg]

Real bp is most likely going to be Goex or maybe Swiss if you can find it. You can buy it online but it carries a 20.00 hazmat fee per shipment. You can get .530 balls or .535 but the .535's you will most likely have to buy online. .535's will also require a thinner patch. FWIW I use a .530 and a .015 patch in my .54 and it does require a short starter to load. I have used a .490 ball with two .020 patches and got decent results but YMMV.

 

[grubbylabs]

So if I can't find real BP then what do I use? I have seen one or two brands advertised but not sure which ones are good to go with. I am guessing that most are substitutes for the real thing, but which ones are good to use, or are they all pretty much the same?

 

[shortwave]

Most substitutes are the same BUT a few aren`t. As Hawg mentioned prior Triple Seven(777) is hotter and has to be measured according. Its a good powder. I`ve used American Pioneer, Clean Shot and Shockeys Gold with good results. I`ve heard Blackhorn is really good but make sure your rifle is safe to shoot it. There are many to choose from. Again, make sure your rifle can shoot them and follow measuring instructions on can. Also, when buying your possible`s,its a good idea(as mentioned earlier) to buy a powder flask and fill flask with amount of powder you think you`ll use in a range session. That just keeps you from opening your main jug of powder everytime you load. Moisture is powders enemy. Another point: if hunting in rainy condtition, after your loaded(WITH PRIMER OFF NIPPLE) put a piece of electrical tape over muzzle. Keeps rain out and won`t affect shot.

 

[grubbylabs]

The rifle in brand new, never been fired, so do I have to worry about how it will handle the powder if I stay within the recommended loads for the gun?

 

[Hawg]

I use Pyrodex. Blackhorn is for inlines and requires a 209 primer to set it off.

 

[darkgael]

loads

The basics are pretty well covered. One detail that I didn't see is about measuring the powder charge itself.
90 grains as a start is a good suggestion. "Real" BP and the substitutes come in grades based on the fineness of the granulation of the powder grains. This is the "F" designation that you will see on the container. The higher the F number is, the smaller the grains of powder are. The common selection for a .54 caliber rifle is 2F or FFg.
Important: You load both BP and its substitutes by using a volume measure. You do NOT weigh the charges. Set the measure to 90 grains, fill it, pour it down the bore. You do this for BP and you do it for the substitutes. Use only volume loading. If some one says that they use 90 grains of Pyrodex, they are most properly referring to the volume measure setting, not to how much the charge actually weighs (it would weigh less than 90 because it is bulkier than BP but it will have the same volume and the same amount of power).
Pete

 

[Hawg]

You can weigh real bp but it's easier to use a volumetric measure. Subs must be measured by volume as darkgael said. Pyrodex is lighter so a pound of powder goes further than real bp. Triple 7 is hotter so loads are reduced by 20% so a pound goes further. Triple 7 does not like to be compressed. It needs to be loaded with the ball touching the powder but if it's compressed it's inconsistent. Loads should always be loaded with as close to the same amount of pressure as possible no matter what powder you use. I started out with Pyrodex because it was the first substitute. Nothing else was available. I stuck with it because it performs close to bp, has a lot of smoke and it's cheaper than all the rest.