Oops. That was a .575 minnie ball. I was using FFFg Triple 7. Next time out I will start increasing my load and see if my groups will improve. I am going to cut some trees down so I can do a full 100 yards. I need to pile some more dirt up on my backstop also. I didn't realize how much that .58 with the minnies would kick. Almost felt like I had my 30-06 in my hands. This thing will easily take anything that walks down here in northern Florida. How much does the type of lube used affect the accuracy on minnie balls?
Miroku .58 Zouave
- Thread starter Hdonly
- Start date
- NO patch (that's why the Minieball was invented.)
- Get hold of some Lyman's Old Style Minies (pure lead)
- Lube: 2/3:1 Crisco: Beeswax/dip-lubed/shoot as is/nothing in base
- Service load 60 gr of either 2Fg or 3Fg GoEx
Don't try to magnum-ize the load beyond that.
It will perform far beyond your expectations:
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6105524&postcount=3
- Get hold of some Lyman's Old Style Minies (pure lead)
- Lube: 2/3:1 Crisco: Beeswax/dip-lubed/shoot as is/nothing in base
- Service load 60 gr of either 2Fg or 3Fg GoEx
Don't try to magnum-ize the load beyond that.
It will perform far beyond your expectations:
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6105524&postcount=3
.577 minies will likely do better. Dip lubing with mehavy's recipe is good. Some people like to fill the base with lube and it works I just like to lube the grooves. Much over 70 grains of powder with a traditional minie isn't going to be very accurate and 60 grains with a 500 grain minie will surprise you with it's devastation of inanimate objects.
I didn't use patches with the minnie balls. Just lubed the grooves with bore butter lube. I had to push the minnies down with a ram rod, so they seem to fit tight enough though not real hard to push. The sights are not real good on this rifle and neither are my eyes. Thinking about a peep sight on the rear. I know Williams makes some low profile peep sights that look like they would directly replace the present sight fixture. The barrel tapers where the sight mounts from 1" to 1 1/8".
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Must be an odd sized bore. My .577's slide down the bore of my P53 Enfield by the weight of the ramrod, at least down to the last three inches or so and then I have to give it a little push to seat it. Accuracy should be a lot better than that. T7 is a little hotter than black. Try dropping down to 50 grains.
I will give that a try at 50 grains. The heat and all the sweat in my eyes probably didn't help matters. I know every gun is different in exactly what it likes. I have done a lot of shooting, just not much muzzle loading. I might get out earlier in the day when it is a little cooler. I was surprised how easy the Triple 7 cleaned up. A bucket of really hot water and just a few full length swabs with a cleaning patch and I was pumping clean water. Washed it down with alcohol and a shotgun swab and the bore was shiny as a new barrel. Will see what happens on my next shoot with a lower charge. Thanks you all for all the tips and information here.
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The main reason I have Triple 7 is that was the only thing I could find locally besides Blackhorn 209. I ordered a Williams peep sight that I am going to fit to this gun. I normally don't mind a "V" sight, but this one I just don't like. If you leave the screw loose enough to move all three leaves, they flop around. Tighten it up a little and nothing moves. Plus I am noticing that as my eyes get worse, the peep sight just seems to work better for me.
I would like to be able to tell you what sight fits. I e-mailed a few sites with the barrel diameter where the sight would mount. Didn't get any replies though. I went ahead and ordered a WGRS-54 Peep Receiver Sight for $29.97 cause it was the cheapest one I found from CheaperThanDirt. I have a milling milling machine and can mill it to fit. Williams has so many, surely one would fit, but they only classify them by what they fit. Can't find info on the actually shape of the mount.
Still have not heard back from anyone on a Williams sight ti fit my Zouave. I got the WGRS-54 in the mail. Looks like all I need to do to mount it is to mill a relief in the existing hole to put a Fillister head screw level with the sight base, drill the threads out of the base and screw it down in the existing threaded hole in the barrel. Won't have to do anything to the barrel. Looks like it will take a #6 x 48 3/8 " long screw to mount it. The sight base will self align with the round barrel as I screw it down tight. Looks like it will work best by taking the aperture out and just using the hole. Going to the hardware store tomorrow to pick up some screws. I will post some pictures as soon as I get it mounted.
Well, the Williams WGRS-15 peep sight is on the Zoauve. It actually fits pretty darn good with no millwork done. The sight is designed to fit a dovetail style mount. I driiled out the threads for the tension screw and drilled just enough relief to let a 6-48 x 5/16 Weaver style oval head screw sit down flush with the mount to allow the peep assembly to slide the full distance of adjustment. I haven't shot it yet, but I think it is going to be just about perfect. Sorry for the poor webcam pictures. I need a new battery pack for my good camera.
