I shot it....

[snuffy19608]

Took the Euroarms 2 band Enfield out Monday , had some fun. Now for the questions

The Minie balls were less than stellar in the accuracy department. Anybody have a recommendation for my 1:66 twist barrel?

The PRB were EXTREMELY tight, especially mid bore . After Minie balls and 3 PRB's, should I need to put a towel on the concrete and "bounce" the rifle to get the ball down? I was using .010 patches, are there any thinner?

What distance is the sight set for when it is folded down? I was shooting at 50 yards and wasn't sure if I should aim high or low or center.

I read in another thread about fragmenting caps being a sign of a worn nipple. My caps were splitting up the sides but staying whole, had some grime on the cone/nipple area that wiped off with a towel. Is this considered worn or not?


All in all, had a good time. Lots of smoke, and felt great to shoot something that matched my love of ACW history. Already looking forward to the next time.

 

[Tin cup]

Took the Euroarms 2 band Enfield out Monday , had some fun. Now for the questions

The Minie balls were less than stellar in the accuracy department. Anybody have a recommendation for my 1:66 twist barrel?

The PRB were EXTREMELY tight, especially mid bore . After Minie balls and 3 PRB's, should I need to put a towel on the concrete and "bounce" the rifle to get the ball down? I was using .010 patches, are there any thinner?

What distance is the sight set for when it is folded down? I was shooting at 50 yards and wasn't sure if I should aim high or low or center.

I read in another thread about fragmenting caps being a sign of a worn nipple. My caps were splitting up the sides but staying whole, had some grime on the cone/nipple area that wiped off with a towel. Is this considered worn or not?



All in all, had a good time. Lots of smoke, and felt great to shoot something that matched my love of ACW history. Already looking forward to the next time.

Were the bullets real easy to load, or real hard to ram down? We don't know what your bore diameter is. I remember you said you had .575" Minnies, if your bore is (lets say for example) .581", you will not get much in the accuracy department with a too small diameter bullet. Your rifling is not progressive depth like originals.
I hope your bore is a clean one, and not rusted out by misuse. What black powder load were you using?

I have no experience in loading round balls in anything of Civil War period, except cap and ball pistols, and .69 cal smooth-bores, can't help you there.

Unfortunately, these repro's are not always sighted in at point of aim, to point of impact! I have had experience with several being way off on the point of impact, department. A friend had a repro 2-band Cook and Brother rifle, with non-adjustable sights, it shot dead center windage wise, but the group was one foot below the target at 50 yards! My ArmySport 61 Springfield was way off to the left, and way high at 100 yards, thought it grouped quite well. I had to do some things to both front and back sights to get it dead on at that distance.

Kevin Dally

 

[snuffy19608]

LGS said they didn't have the kit to slug the bore on Saturday, Minie balls were just a bit snug but very easy to ram down the barrel. Didn't need to force them at all. Load was 50 grains FFFg, reduced 10% due to one to many F's.

Minie balls did not group, first 1 was low center, then number 2 went somewhere else (lost), number three was high and right,number 4 was high and a bit left.... Some of this may be due to my not having shot in some months, and a muzzleloader never. That's why I asked about the sight.

 

[proud texan]

Took the Euroarms 2 band Enfield out Monday , had some fun. Now for the questions

The Minie balls were less than stellar in the accuracy department. Anybody have a recommendation for my 1:66 twist barrel?

The PRB were EXTREMELY tight, especially mid bore . After Minie balls and 3 PRB's, should I need to put a towel on the concrete and "bounce" the rifle to get the ball down? I was using .010 patches, are there any thinner?

What distance is the sight set for when it is folded down? I was shooting at 50 yards and wasn't sure if I should aim high or low or center.

I read in another thread about fragmenting caps being a sign of a worn nipple. My caps were splitting up the sides but staying whole, had some grime on the cone/nipple area that wiped off with a towel. Is this considered worn or not?


All in all, had a good time. Lots of smoke, and felt great to shoot something that matched my love of ACW history. Already looking forward to the next time.

My expierence is with longrifles and PRB's;(shot match in the Levi Garrett Territorial Matches) but if your barrel is gunking, up you may be using too much powder. The excess is not burning off and leaving an awful lot of residue. If PRB's are accurate and your minies are producing flyers means you may not be getting an equal gas seal around the minie. If you have a micrometer, go to a fabric store and get different compressed thickness cotton patch material. Work a good load and patch thickness combination. If you can find a patch after your shot you can look at the powder stainson the fired patch and you can tell exactly whats happening. I hope this has been a help.

 

[johan_steele]

First drop the PRB's altogether. Concentrate on the Minnie's as that's what the original design called for.

What are you using for lube? I favor bore butter on the rings & white lithium grease in the cavity.
The Minnies may be too hard of lead. I make my own or buy from CWbulletman... I avoid Dixie like the plague due to a bad experiance.

My Armisport P53 shot 6" high & to the right IIRC, the only way to correct it would have been to adjust the sights. Similar stories come from many other Italian manufacture. The Italians know most will just be used for smoke poles by re-enactors so they apparently don't put a lot of effort into the sights. They can be made to shoot well, operative term being 'made to shoot.'

Good luck & welcome to the hobby.

 

[Craig L Barry]

First drop the PRB's altogether. Concentrate on the Minnie's as that's what the original design called for.

What are you using for lube? I favor bore butter on the rings & white lithium grease in the cavity.
The Minnies may be too hard of lead. I make my own or buy from CWbulletman... I avoid Dixie like the plague due to a bad experiance.

My Armisport P53 shot 6" high & to the right IIRC, the only way to correct it would have been to adjust the sights. Similar stories come from many other Italian manufacture. The Italians know most will just be used for smoke poles by re-enactors so they apparently don't put a lot of effort into the sights. They can be made to shoot well, operative term being 'made to shoot.'

Good luck & welcome to the hobby.

The Italians are famous for not putting the sights on straight. Once you get the projectile and BP load straightened out, work on getting the sights corrected.

 

[Tin cup]

LGS said they didn't have the kit to slug the bore on Saturday, Minie balls were just a bit snug but very easy to ram down the barrel. Didn't need to force them at all. Load was 50 grains FFFg, reduced 10% due to one to many F's.

Minie balls did not group, first 1 was low center, then number 2 went somewhere else (lost), number three was high and right,number 4 was high and a bit left.... Some of this may be due to my not having shot in some months, and a muzzleloader never. That's why I asked about the sight.

Who was the supplier of the Minnie balls? What was the weight of those minnies?
johan is right about the Minnies needing to be soft, cast too hard, they won't expand properly. I KNOW!

Skip the patched round balls, why shoot a period weapon with non-period correct ammo? And don't give up! These replica's CAN be accurate. We will continue to help out, folk helped US out when we first started!

Send me a PM, I can be of more help to ya.

Kevin Dally

 

[Haversack62]

When I first shot my Enfield I bench rest with a sand bag, I notice my rear sight had to be adjusted, bullets I used where .575 but were a little tight so I trim them down. I use 60 grain 2F and I was able to hit center mass at 75 yards. I clean barrel after I shoot 5 rounds. I am going to try .577. Enjoy have fun and be safe!

 

[Bob Owen]

Bounce the rifle and prepare to bust the stock! Split caps are normal.

 

[snuffy19608]

OK, first of all, I should have said bounce the rifle GENTLY.

Next, lube was Lee ALOX, read somewhere that it would work, will get some Bore Butter.

Minie balls are very soft, just went upstairs and shaved lead off one with my thumbnail. They are .575 diameter, 475gr,hollow base,probably from a local manufacturer that supplies the LGS. Information is hand written on box, LGS label says "BILL improved minie hollow base"

 

[Tin cup]

The Lee Liquid Alox (made for smokeless powder loads) is very sticky, and if slathered onto a bullet, left to dry, and the bullet is not sized, could make it harder to start down the barrel, than a bullet with period correct lube, and then properly sized.
Got your PM.

Kevin Dally

 

[dbrad]

Don't forget the Armi Sports look a bit like a Enfield but the barrels bare little resemblence so patched round balls are worth a shot.