FedericoFCavada
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2015
- Location
- San Antonio, Texas
Howdy from Texas! Mighty nice rifle musket! Thanks for the great pictures.
I think tar heel PoorJack pretty much nailed it in his responses... But I'll offer my .02 with the caveat that I'm not a 2-m.o.a. shooter.
"-Is it better to make my own Minie balls or purchase, if so where?
You want to make sure you know the diameter of your barrel. The Minie/Burton ball will be a pretty tight fit. A few thousandths undersized from the bore. For example, in my .69 re-lined by B. Hoyt, I'm using a .685" In my .58 I'm using a .575". Measure your barrel carefully, and start looking out for a smelter furnace, a mould, and basic bullet casting equipment. In the meantime, you can get the precise Minie/Burton ball you want to try from Pat Kaboskey up in Wisconsin through lodgewood at http://www.lodgewood.com/
He'll help you out. I got quite a few round balls and Minies from him before I got my casting set up.
-Black powder,What is ok to use in this reproduction?
For Minies use FFFg. You can get fairly good results with FFg, but Minies do better with FFFg. You can tailor the charge to create a very accurate load, and for hunting, your CS 1862 Richmond can take any game animal on the continent. Be sure to clean it thoroughly as soon as you are done firing it. In a humid climate, the powder fouling will pull moisture straight out of the air. You can get some plastic cartridge tubes like skirmishers use. These are handy for keeping the powder charge dry, and the lubricated bullet goes in nose first and seals the re-usable cartridge. You could always make your own paper cartridges too, of course. Once you have a firm idea of the powder charge that is best for accuracy with your particular gun, you can always have a powder charge made up that size and load from a horn or flask if that's what you'd prefer to do.
-Best place to find a bayonet
The bayonet can be prohibitively expensive! You can go to re-enactments, sutlers, events, skirmishes directly and see if you can find one that fits. Shop around! Every now and then a reenactor sells his/her gear and that can save a lot of money. I'd be inclined to think one or another sutler might have a bargain every now and then.
-any other tips and tricks for the novice?
Lube recipes. There are many! I use beeswax and mutton tallow and a bit of olive oil. I started out making lube like the U.S. Army used late in the War of the Rebellion when the fighting was all in the Southern states and it is really hot and humid. I found it was way too thick a lube, so I thinned it down by adding more tallow and oil and less wax. You need lube to keep the fouling soft. Basically a 50/50 mix might be a good place to start, with more wax when it is hotter and less when it is colder weather. There are any number of lubricant recipes, and some folks have good results with simple Crisco. I have been told by seasoned skirmishers that Crisco appears to be a factor in some "cook offs" where a powder charge introduced down the barrel has ignited... I heed the advice.
Get yourself a nice range box with trays to hold your Minies. The skirts are very fragile, and prone to denting or being damaged by impact or compression. In my case, I use a couple 20-gauge shot-shell boxes, which hold either the complete cartridge tube or paper cartridge or the Minie ball itself securely and prevent damaged skirts.
If you haven't contemplated doing skirmishing, give it some thought. I think it is a heck of a lot of fun, and it allows for ample practice and familiarization. Skirmishers and re-enactors do not see eye to eye on any number of subjects, but consider what each brings to the table on shooting these old pieces.
Have fun with your rifle musket! Good luck and good shooting to ya!
I think tar heel PoorJack pretty much nailed it in his responses... But I'll offer my .02 with the caveat that I'm not a 2-m.o.a. shooter.
"-Is it better to make my own Minie balls or purchase, if so where?
You want to make sure you know the diameter of your barrel. The Minie/Burton ball will be a pretty tight fit. A few thousandths undersized from the bore. For example, in my .69 re-lined by B. Hoyt, I'm using a .685" In my .58 I'm using a .575". Measure your barrel carefully, and start looking out for a smelter furnace, a mould, and basic bullet casting equipment. In the meantime, you can get the precise Minie/Burton ball you want to try from Pat Kaboskey up in Wisconsin through lodgewood at http://www.lodgewood.com/
He'll help you out. I got quite a few round balls and Minies from him before I got my casting set up.
-Black powder,What is ok to use in this reproduction?
For Minies use FFFg. You can get fairly good results with FFg, but Minies do better with FFFg. You can tailor the charge to create a very accurate load, and for hunting, your CS 1862 Richmond can take any game animal on the continent. Be sure to clean it thoroughly as soon as you are done firing it. In a humid climate, the powder fouling will pull moisture straight out of the air. You can get some plastic cartridge tubes like skirmishers use. These are handy for keeping the powder charge dry, and the lubricated bullet goes in nose first and seals the re-usable cartridge. You could always make your own paper cartridges too, of course. Once you have a firm idea of the powder charge that is best for accuracy with your particular gun, you can always have a powder charge made up that size and load from a horn or flask if that's what you'd prefer to do.
-Best place to find a bayonet
The bayonet can be prohibitively expensive! You can go to re-enactments, sutlers, events, skirmishes directly and see if you can find one that fits. Shop around! Every now and then a reenactor sells his/her gear and that can save a lot of money. I'd be inclined to think one or another sutler might have a bargain every now and then.
-any other tips and tricks for the novice?
Lube recipes. There are many! I use beeswax and mutton tallow and a bit of olive oil. I started out making lube like the U.S. Army used late in the War of the Rebellion when the fighting was all in the Southern states and it is really hot and humid. I found it was way too thick a lube, so I thinned it down by adding more tallow and oil and less wax. You need lube to keep the fouling soft. Basically a 50/50 mix might be a good place to start, with more wax when it is hotter and less when it is colder weather. There are any number of lubricant recipes, and some folks have good results with simple Crisco. I have been told by seasoned skirmishers that Crisco appears to be a factor in some "cook offs" where a powder charge introduced down the barrel has ignited... I heed the advice.
Get yourself a nice range box with trays to hold your Minies. The skirts are very fragile, and prone to denting or being damaged by impact or compression. In my case, I use a couple 20-gauge shot-shell boxes, which hold either the complete cartridge tube or paper cartridge or the Minie ball itself securely and prevent damaged skirts.
If you haven't contemplated doing skirmishing, give it some thought. I think it is a heck of a lot of fun, and it allows for ample practice and familiarization. Skirmishers and re-enactors do not see eye to eye on any number of subjects, but consider what each brings to the table on shooting these old pieces.
Have fun with your rifle musket! Good luck and good shooting to ya!
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