Shooting Bag

Here are some pictures of my shooting bag and what I carry with me when I'm at the range. (different outfit for hunting will post about it later). Also included are my powder horn and ball bag.

Here is a picture of my possible bag with everything spread out a over the table.

You can see my loading blocks, patch material, some pre-lube patches ( hand every now and then) my little bag I carry my nipple wrench and vent pick in, then the leather sheath that I carry my patch knife in.

Here you can see my short started, powder measure, and capper, they are attached by leather strips its harder to loose them, normally return them to my bag or pocket between shoots because they get in the way dangling.

 The little small powder horn in my 4F, use if you have an oops and forget powder, it happens to everyone. Or if I shoot a flint lock which I don't have right now.

 This is my powder horn and ball bag.

Range Box

This is my range box. At most shoots it stays in the car unless I need something out of it. I always end up dragging it out whenever I clean my guns. I really like this box it keeps everything organized and in order. I find that sometime I try to carry more than I will ever need. This box is just for my long rifles. I am going to put together another box for my pistols because it all wont fit in one box.

 Here is the outside Picture of my Box

 This is under the first list.  I keep my powder measures, anti-sieze for nipples, the red thing is a knife sharpener, cleaning bushes brass and regular, a brass brush, powder funnel, Allen wrenches, some flints, and then I have a bunch of different sizes of round balls and minie ball I can show people.

 This is the tray in my box, I carry a brass hammer and punch for adjusting sights, also is a snap punch for making marks if needed. Some pliers are always handy, bore butter to lube patches, number 11 caps in a bigger tin, gun oil and some gun grease by hoppie's number 9.  

 The bottom of the box, Boxes of round balls, then some patch material in one of the bullet box( its somewhat airtight to keep them lubed, then my gunsmiths screw drives and my little clear box of goodies, then in the two containers with black lids one has clean patches and the other has .490 round balls I hand cast. And some small files.

 Here are the patches, hand cast balls, and files.

 On the  bottom are swaged .490 round balls and minie balls.

Up top is the box I keep my pillow ticking patch material in. 

 Here is a picture of it all.

 This shows everything that is in the bottom drawer.

 This is my goodie box i have assorted jags, nipple wrenches, funnels nipples, nipple pick, brass punch, different eye pieces for my tang sight, small screw driver some screws and nock-lights. Some thread and needles.

 Close up of the nock lights

 A brass drift punch for adjusting sights

Targets-Load Expermenting Underhammer

Here are some targets I shot while trying to find the right load with my underhammer.

 Off hand shots with 50grs 3in bull 10shots

 45grs 2in bull 5shots

 30grs 3in bull 6shots

 Top 35grs 3in bull 6shots
Bottom 40grs 4shots 3in bull

Rifle Training

Gun Training how the author Ned Roberts states in his book

The Muzzle-Loading Cap Lock Rifle Classic Gun Book by Ned H. Roberts.

Here is how it goes. 

55 Yards 

110Yards

Use a 2in bull and shoot five shoots 

4shoots have to hit the bull 

 Bench, Sitting, Standing

Then work your way up. 

165 Yard 

Use a 4in bull and shoot five shoots

Bench, Sitting, Standing 

220 Yards 

Use a 6in bull and shoot five shots 

Bench, Sitting, Standing

The idea behind it is to get your confidence built up so you can shoot farther and farther way and get more comfortable shooting that far.Am going to give this training a go when i can get out to the range and spend some time no reason to try and take a 200 or 300 yard shot till you are comfortably shooting at closer ranges.

Targets

Here are some targets i have shot with my underhammer.  All of these were shot of a bench at 25yards.

50 grs of FFF 25 yards 4shots

 50grs FFF 5Shot 25yards

 30grs of FFF 5 Shots 25 Yards 

80Grs FFF 5 Shots 25 Yards Using peep sight

Underhammer Rifle 50cal.

Here are some pictures of my Blue Grouse Underhammer rifle I have. 

 Here is the picture of the action showing the Lyman 57 Sight stock.

 The stock and forarm are different makes of wood I am either going to try and stain the stock darker to match the forarm or I will make a new forarm, haven't decided yet because it doesn't affect the way it shoots.

 Laying next to the the Gun is a Rang rod I made out of 3/8 Brass rod. I drilled and taped the end of it so i could switch jags out. I have made two of these rods, this one is made specifically for my underhammer as i cut it down shorter than my other on to just fit it.

 This is the Lyman 57 peep sight. adjustable for wind-age and elevation. I might add that you can remove the peep sight by pushing a button on the side of it. The base stays but it out of the way of your other iron sights.

 The Marbles full buckhorn sight. Next week I hope to get my new front sight in the mail it is going to be a white bead.

Powder Measure

I use an adjustable powder measure until I find the most accurate load for my rifle, then I make a "fixed" measure out or deer or elf antler by drill a whole in the end till I get the desired amount. Here are some pictures of them.

 They are all different sizes on is for 80grs 40grs 50grs 60grs, and my adjustable measure I use.

Patch Materal, Bore Butter, Loading Blocks

I use 100% cotton pillow ticking from walmart for my patch material. They say that you should wash it before you shoot it to remove all the starch and other "chemicals". Also I get quite a bit at a time because it varies in thickness from bolt to bolt. After its washed I tear them into strips and put them in a box till I lube them and put them in an air tight container. I sight my gun in from bolt to bolt because the thickness will cause it to shoot different. I use TC bore butter to lube them, after i have the strips I lube about 4 to 5 rolls at a time and seal them in a air tight container until Im ready to shoot them so they don't dry out. Also I will mention now that you want to get your lube spread as evenly as you can, as it will affect accuracy in small amounts unless you are shooting 300 plus yards. I cut my own patches either at the barrel or when I'm pre-loading my loading blocks the night before. The loading blocks are made out of hard wood with a hole drilled in them the size or you barrel. ( these are for .50cal so 1/2 drill bit) They speed up shooting quite a bit, they are also handing in remembering how many shots you have shot at the target.
Here are some Pictures.

 Here is all my patch material, bore butter, short starter, and loading blocks.

 The one on the left is not Lubes yet and the one on the right is lubed with Bore Butter.

Powder Charge Black Powder

When it comes to shooting black powder everybody has a way they think you should come up with your powder charge: how many grains, what granulation, even what type of powder. Everyone has their own ideas but this is how I come up with my powder loads.
I use Goex Place Powder because its what I can get and like to use. Have shot elephant, 777, pyrodex, KIK, ect.
I like Goex so its what I use.
Everyone has a formula or saying for how many grains you need to use, here are a few.
50 grs for .50 cal or 40gr for .40cal ect
3 grains of powder for 7 grains of ball weight
Use 1.5 calibres of powder under .40cal and 2 calibres of powder over .40cal

My method I use for my .50 cal is go ahead and start at 30grs and go to 60grs and see where the best group is. Shoot from a bench and shoot five shoots the exact same why ( point of aim, don't change the sights, ect) and see which one gives you the best group. Then go from 60grs to 100grs ( you can shoot more if you want to but I don't like to hurt myself more that the target, also look at who made the barrel you are shooting and see what the maxim load is and don't cross that load) and see what gives you the best group in that range. Most guns will have a "high" velocity load and a "low" velocity load so to speak.
The moral of the story is shoot your gun with all the different loads and figure out what works best for your gun they are all different. Also I would recommend trying different powders sizes fff and ff and see if it likes one or the other better. 
Also wanted to mention like I did before do this from a rest don't change the sights and from a close rang of 25 yards so that you eliminate most of the human error and can see how the rifle is actually performing. 

Underhammer Rifle

I have an under hammer rifle that is a Blue Grouse Lock with a Green Mountain Barrel.
Here on the Specs on it:
15/16 .50 cal 36" long 1-70 Twist
Blue Grouse Lock
57 SML Receiver Sight for Lyman Deerstalker orTrad
.260" High X .340" Wide 1/16" Ivory Bead Sight
Marbles Full Buckhorn Rear Sight 1 7/8" Long

 These are going to be the Final sights that end up on this rifle in as soon as I get them in the mail.
my load right now that seems to work the best is
.490 round ball
.015 patch material with bore butter
50grs Goex FFF  or for far shots 80Grs FFF
 
I have been experimenting with this rifle a lot lately. I started with different sights on it. In the back it had a semi buckhorn and just I flat blade on the front. I had to file the front sight down to get on paper once I did that I removed that and measured it so I could order a white bead the same height. The new front sight is on order and will have it sometime next week.

Now I'm on to experimenting with powder charges
I started with 3f
30grs and the away up to 50grs in 5gr increments
So far the best load for it I have found is 50grs of 3F
I also tried to find a high powder charge for it and I found that 80grs of 3F will put them in the same hole. So 50 for light load and 80 for high load.
Next week when I get my new sight going to try 2f and see if I get any better accuracy out of it.
I will do the same thing with it start with 30gr and work my way up to 50grs

For patch material I use pillow ticking from Walmart i buy a bunch of it at a time and then sight my rifle in for that bunch because the thickness varies with different bolts a little bit. I cut my own patches at the barrel or use my loading blocks and cut the patches when I load them the night before. I use TC Bore Butter as a lube for my patches. Some people like it some people don't to each their own. 

My goal with this rifle is to be able to shoot groups at 400 yards with it, this isn't going to happen overnight i am starting at 25 yards and working my way up to my goal. When I get to 100 yards am going to start using the lyman peep sight. I am also practicing shooting off hand. am going to start at 25 yards with that and work my way up to 100 with it as well because that how far they have use shoot at the target shoots i go to.

As far as loading the rifle goes i shoot it as long as i can without cleaning it some people swab between shoots i don't. With what I am shooting now I can shoot 40 rounds before I need to clean my rifle because it gets to hard to load. I seem to have very good accuracy doing it this way. Some people think you need to swab your barrel between every shot to make it uniform and the same every shot. But my feeling is if you are using a good lube and you ball and patch fit tightly they should be doing a good job keeping the barrel clean and not fouling the barrel. But sometime I am going to experiment and see if it does make a difference but right now going to shoot how I have been because its been working good for me.

Hope to post some pictures of my rifle and some of the targets I've been shooting am going to try and make some post about going to the rang and keep giving range reports as I shoot. Will also try and get some pictures of all my gear and how I load and ect. A picture is worth a thousand words so will try and get some of them up and going.