Second time shooting-problems big time

5700 Views 27 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Talonracer, Dec 31, 2009

Talonracer

Discussion Starter · Dec 27, 2009

First off yes I read the ignition problems thread on the 2nd page, mine seem to be different. Ok first shot went off no problem, but hit about a foot low and 8 inches to the right. Figured I might have flinched. So I reloaded for a second shot, and thus started the fun. Misfire after misfire . Most times all the pan powder would light, a couple times there was no spark. Cleaning the pan, frizzen and flint seemed to not help. Every shot was at least 2 or 3 misfires. Before every shot I made sure the flash hole was clear and the pan was wiped. Worse yet the accuracy was horrible until I had 3 or 4 shots under my belt. I wanted to experiment with different loads but couldnt get the gun to fire reliably enough. I tried everything, a little pan powder, pan half fill. Nothing seemed to work. Most misfires were the pan powder going off with no firing of the gun. I ran a patch down the barrel a couple of times and it seemed to help slightly, a quick follow up shot wasnt possible. Is it normal for a gun to shoot better dirty? I'm using .490 roundballs with .015 patches. Also I ran an oiled patch down the barrel last time I cleaned it, then before I shot I ran some clean patches down the barrel- I assume the accuracy problems were due to too much oil in the barrel. Might head up to Dixons today to talk to them

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308Havoc

· #2 · Dec 27, 2009

it seems as if you did put too much oil and didnt get it all out. it has to be COMPLETELY dry to perform right. the powder soaks up moisture like crazy. as for the accuracy, its probably do to frustration and a number of other things, flinching,flinching from a delayed shot, too much oil, too dirty, etc. +plus what was the weather like? everytime you shoot the gun will soak up moisture from the air.

i would just take a breather, clean the gun, make sure it is dry, make sure it is dry again, and then go give it another try.

410-er

· #3 · Dec 27, 2009

Need more info.Gun,flint,etc.Possible crud pushed in breech area.

Talonracer

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 27, 2009

Well I assume the first few bad shots were due to too much oil in the barrel, I was using Hoppe's gun oil. Well when i got home I gave it a good cleaning but didnt oil the barrel down at all. I'm also gonna spin the flint around too its dull and chipped. However the biggest problem was the pan powder going off and not igniting the main charge. The gun did seem to fire more reliably when I ran a patch down the barrel after every shot. I dunno. Gonna shoot it again tomorrow.

BTW gun is a T/C Hawken 50 cal
Flint is from Dixons, they claim its the best for my gun
I clean the flash hole after every shot

Any other tips?

Big Redneck

· #5 · Dec 28, 2009

After you load but before you charge the pan try taking a pic and run it through the touch hole. This makes a slight cavity in the barrel powder and insures the touch hole is clear. I use a piece of copper wire.

As has be said, run 1 wet/damp (t/c 17 or #13) patch then 1 dry between shots.

Talonracer

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 28, 2009

Big Redneck I have a large paper clip that I run thru the touch hole after I load the main charge, tried just clearing the hole-then I tried pushing it into the main charge to make a little hole. Nothing seemed to work. I tried very little powder in the pan, pan quarter full, half full. The fuller I made the pan the better it seemed to fire. Tomorrow I'm gonna shoot a bit after work, try shooting 60gr and 80gr charges. What also weird is the gun shoot about 3 inches right and I've moved the front site quite a bit right also, it actually looks kinda comical now with the site that far right. I think next year I'm gonna get a peep, I cant really focus too well on the rear site.
Yea Well every gun has a personality, and mine seems to be menstrual female lol. If the gun shoots better with no oil in the barrel I'll only oil it when its gonna sit for awhile.

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410-er

· #7 · Dec 28, 2009

When you clean make sure you do it in a bucket of water and swirel the water in that breech area to clean it out.Often guys just use other stuff that gets pushed into the breech area and never gets removed.I don't put ANY oils of any kink in mine till after the season.When I do its olive oil.Any petrolium products make a tar in the rifling when burned.You can use petrolium based oils just be sure to clean before you fire.
Your TC is capable of 1 1/2" at 50yds so keep at it till you find the recipe.

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Talonracer

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 28, 2009

410 I used soapy water and I really worked it good trust me. I shined a light in the flash hole and it shines good with no debris.

Big Redneck

· #9 · Dec 28, 2009

Had a guy who had a similar problem years ago, he removed lock and tried shining a light through the touch hole into the barrel, when he looked down the barrel the light was barely visible,found he had a built up of crud in the bottom of the barrel. He used a scraper on the end of the his ramrod to root out the crud.
When he dropped a light into the barrel the riflings looked fine.
Hope that helps, sounds like the oils are what caused the ignition problems.

burk313

· #10 · Dec 28, 2009

Get yourself a good bore light..

10der222

· #11 · Dec 28, 2009

I bought this little keyring type deal with 3 tools on it.It has a small flat scraper for the frizzen,a touch hole pick and the best is a very small stiff bristled brush that snugly goes into the touch hole and keeps it shiny and shootin'..BTW,I got it at RMC.

Irishman

· #12 · Dec 28, 2009

What kind of powder are you using?

410-er

· #13 · Dec 28, 2009

You can also clean it out with your rifle cleaning rod and a 30cal brush.
I gotta agree,sounds like an oil problem.Wipe the frizzen and flint with alcohol then fingers off!

SpiritNugent

· #14 · Dec 28, 2009

410-er said:
I gotta agree,sounds like an oil problem.Wipe the frizzen and flint with alcohol then fingers off!

That's what I think the problem is too...

Talonracer

Discussion Starter · #15 · Dec 28, 2009

Yea I have a small bottle of alcohol in my possibles bag and I was wiping everything down after the shot. We will see how it shoots today with a good cleaning and no oil.

Talonracer

Discussion Starter · #16 · Dec 29, 2009

Ok just got back from shooting, or attempting to shoot. No oil in the barrel, ran a couple of patches and got only light rust. Primed the pan, no spark. On the third attempt the pan powder ignited. Well 8 misfires later I gave up and pulled the charge. The flash hole was clear , there is no goop at the end of the barrel. For some reason the pan powder ignites and will not ignite the main charge no matter how full or empty the priming pan is. So I may shelve hunting with the muzzleloader this year unless Dixon's finds something wrong with this gun.

Big Redneck

· #17 · Dec 29, 2009

When they find the problem please post, I would like to know what the problem is in case I or any of my friends run into the same deal. Hope it works out so you get out and "make meat" this year.

VWOOD

· #18 · Dec 29, 2009

Make sure the hinge pin isn't stiff on the frizzen.It needs to snap open.If it is you can try a drop of oil on it but it might be best to take apart and clean first. I set my flint to strike about half way down on the frizzen also. It seemed to help with misfires and I think it's quicker going off.

Talonracer

Discussion Starter · #19 · Dec 29, 2009

Ah the board is back up. Anyway took the gun to Dixons, really cool guys. They really saw nothing wrong, we we turned my flint around and they drilled out the flash hole much larger. They said if you are using 2G it can be larger. Will let you know tomorrow if it shoots. Thanks guys for all your help BTW

Pointing Lab

· #20 · Dec 29, 2009

Talonracer,

Did you see a guy with a kid at Dixons who bought a peep sight tonight? If so it was Pointing Lab (me). I saw that you also replied to my post on peep sights. I will let you know tomorrow waht I think of my investment.

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