Hints and Tips
Check
your bore size BEFORE buying a new bullet mold
Coat
the inside of your loading tubes
Have
your sizing dies fit your reloading press
Watchacallit (MM)
is one of those all purpose cleansers with as much flexibility in cleaning as
Duct Tape has in repairing. MM can be used on locks, stocks, and barrels
(inside and out). When your hands are covered with powder stains, nothing
cleans them as fast as MM.
The most common formula for MM that I've found is 1 part hydrogen peroxide, 1
part Murphy's Oil Soap, and 1 part rubbing alcohol. Some have said a dash of
liquid hand cleaner gives it another little oomph.
Make yourself some at the beginning of the season and then bring some along in
a little container, (reuse a plastic pop container for example), to each shoot..
Pop-ups and Baby Wipes: In addition to the watchacallit above, several people have mentioned the
convenience of pop-ups and baby wipes. It was pointed out that if they
don't hurt a baby's bumm, they probably won't hurt
yours!
Pre-soaked cleaning patches speeds up the bore
cleaning process, especially between targets. Find a sealable container,
(plastic butter tub with cover for example), and fill with cleaning patches.
Pour cleaning solution onto the patches and let them soak it up. Now when
you're on the range, you need only take out a couple of patches and you don't
have to fumble for your cleaning solution.
(The pre-soaked cleaning patches are great for those who still want a wet
cleaning between targets. I've learned that a dry brush down the bore between
targets is sufficient and I don't have any misfires when starting up again.)
Check your bore size BEFORE buying a new bullet mold. Your finished bullet
should be .001inch smaller than your muzzleloader bore and ..001inch
larger than your breechloader bore. This is because you want the bullet to
slide down a muzzle and then expand when firing for muzzleloaders but for
breechloaders, you want the bullet to be swaged into the grooves when firing
and there's no need to worry about hand pushing it down a barrel.
Cold water on a hot day: Fill a plastic pop container 3/4 full of water and freeze it
overnight (with the cap loose). Place this frozen container in the bottom of
your shooting box along with your preloaded rounds. This keeps the bullet lube
more solid in the heat of a summer day and as the ice melts, you have something
cold to drink!
Coat the inside of your loading tubes. Place your plastic, reloadable, powder tubes in a baggie along with some baby
powder, and shake well. Then measure and fill your tubes with your powder
charge. What this does is to ensure all your powder smoothly comes out while
loading your rifles. No powder will stick to the tube on those hot and humid
days and a more consistent charge is achieved.
Black Stuff First! Although Steve Jencso of
Have your sizing dies fit your reloading press: For those skirmishers who
also reload metallic cartridges, you have a sizing press right there on your
reloading bench. Persuade your friendly local ordnance sergeant to thread the
small end of your sizing dies to fit the standard 7/8 x 14 reloading press
threads. Fill an empty '06 case with molten lead, then
cut it off square just below the shoulder to use as a "pusher"
against the flat nosed minie balls. Screw your
threaded die into the underside of the proper press orifice,
put your sawed-off pusher in the shell holder and -- presto! You might want to
roll a small cardboard tube chimney to protect the remaining exposed press
threads and the soft lead minies from each other, but
you now have a sizing machine that will swedge those
rough-moulded balls down to spec as fast as your
fingers can feed them into the die and your arm can work the lever. I just
wonder why nobody sells sizing dies already threaded for reloading presses...
Jim Strang Gen. Wm. T. Sherman's Bodyguard
Sight Paint: After placing a new
coat of sight paint on your front sight blade and giving it time to thoroughly
dry, cover it with a thin coat of clear epoxy (nail polish?). This will
keep your sight bright and will help prevent it from rubbing off.
Nipple Threads: Protect your nipple
threads by coating them with beeswax. This also helps to prevent gas blowby and keeps the creeping cruds to the minimum.
Tony Bagdon of the 56th PVI wants to remind everyone not to forget the
breechplug either!
Buy the Best: It's a good idea to
buy the best you can afford. Wait until you've saved enough for that
special firearm! You probably won't be buying more than one of that type - so
make it count!
Simple Green (TM): Has been
recommended as the best brass cleaner around - if you know of another good one,
let me know.
Practice, Practice, Practice: Dry firing is a
good technique. Make sure you follow all safety procedures and don't hit an
unprotected nipple. Hitting an unprotected nipple could result in damaging or
warping it. When you dry fire, no movement should occur at all in the muzzle
position.
To
decide how far to move the sight, here's a good formula - be sure to get a good
caliper to make your measurements.
Desired correction (in inches) times the distance between your front and rear
sight (in inches) all divided by the distance to
the target (in inches).
Example: to move your hit 1 inch at 50 yards with a Springfield which has
a 35.5" sight radius, you'd move your sight (1 x 35.5) / (50 x
36) = .0197 inches.
A good
caliper would be essential in accomplishing this but you can do it!