New Guy with a New gun, HELP!

Howdy from Texas! Mighty nice rifle musket! Thanks for the great pictures. :cool:

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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If you are looking to reenact and are looking for a Maryland CS unit PM me. There is a great event coming in October, that you do not want to miss and registration is limited. "Shenandoah 1864" October 4-6 https://rearrankproductions.com/

And welcome from Maryland!

There's another interesting event going on that weekend in Winchester called NSSA Nationals where we don't shoot no blanks :D
 
Howdy from Texas! Mighty nice rifle musket! Thanks for the great pictures. :cool:

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!
Thank you so much for your insight and the tips I'm sure I'll put alot of it to use! Now I just have to find black powder is the big issue no one near me carries it so I'll have to travel to get some thank you again!
 
I like using Balistol, it's light and non-petroleum which I think works a little better with black powder. If you do get a little rust I just use a scrubby pad with a little Balistol and cleans it right up.
Thank ya I've seen that alot on here so I just ordered a pack of the wipes to get me by for now thanks!
 

You really need to think about CASTING your own Minies! It's not as difficult as one would think. Ordering them already cast is costly. The two bullet designs I listed would be a great place to start. DO NOT buy a Lee Precision .575 500 grain Minie, and expect it to work in YOUR bore!

Find out your bore size, cast bigger, size DOWN 1-2 THOUSANDTH's of an inch below that diameter.

If you want, I can send you Minie's sized .580", .578", .577", and .575", see which ones will start in your bore, and which ones don't...that would give you some idea. I have a friend who has an ArmiSport Richmond Musket much like yours, and a .575" Minie will not fit! Most ArmiSport rifle muskets I have encountered tend to be in the .580" bore diameter, but there are exceptions.

PM me, I'll see about setting you up...find out your bore size, and I may send you a few properly sized minie's to try out before you take a serious plunge!

One other issue...many times on these repro's, the point of impact, is NOT to the point of aim. I have handled a friends Pedersoli Enfield, that had a bore that a .577" Minie would fit fine, and it was dead on target at 100 yards.
Find out how well your rifle groups, then (if there is a problem) see what can be done with the sights. I'm betting it's good.
Properly loaded, these repro's can be seriously accurate!

We are here to help!

Kevin Dally
 
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Welcome from the Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing Forum and North Mississippi! Be sure and visit the Forum soon
Regards
David
 
Since you identified yourself as living in Western Maryland you are really quite close to the N-SSA's home range in Winchester, VA. If I were you, I would go visit their National Matches which will be held Oct. 2-6 this Fall. They are free and open to the public from 9-5, not much free today! I would suggest going on either Friday or Saturday, because that is when the whole thing is in full swing. The last time I was there I found that the dealers begin to pack up and leave on Saturday afternoon, which was a bit disappointing when I went back on Sunday. You will find the N-SSA members themselves to be quite friendly, and their sutler's row sales area is nothing short of overwhelming, with just about every type of ACW rifle, musket, carbine, etc. that you could imagine for sale, along with a multitude of shooting supplies. You can find out more about them at their website, www.n-ssa.org. Believe me, it is a real experience you won't regret!
J.
 
I guess I can sneak some high humps in here, believe it or not the bottom one, cadet, is my favorite.
IMG_0339 (2).JPG
 
my advice would be is to have one gun for shooting and other for reenactments, cause i know some places that i reenact at will actually test your barrel for lead and plus you dont want your good shooting gun to get messed up while reenacting. for the bayonet, i would go to show or event w/ your gun to make sure you have one that is proper fits it. you may get lucky on ebay, or some other listing that is selling it online.
 
Since you identified yourself as living in Western Maryland you are really quite close to the N-SSA's home range in Winchester, VA. If I were you, I would go visit their National Matches which will be held Oct. 2-6 this Fall. They are free and open to the public from 9-5, not much free today! I would suggest going on either Friday or Saturday, because that is when the whole thing is in full swing. The last time I was there I found that the dealers begin to pack up and leave on Saturday afternoon, which was a bit disappointing when I went back on Sunday. You will find the N-SSA members themselves to be quite friendly, and their sutler's row sales area is nothing short of overwhelming, with just about every type of ACW rifle, musket, carbine, etc. that you could imagine for sale, along with a multitude of shooting supplies. You can find out more about them at their website, www.n-ssa.org. Believe me, it is a real experience you won't regret!
J.
I do believe I will attend this show I need alot of equipment as long as an Enfield for my close friend as he wants to join me! Thanks for the info!
 
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