question on a .32 percussion rifle

[WadePatton]

Before I shoot the rifle again... I will work of the breach first before I will do anything with the crown but does anyone have a source for that crowning tool that uses sand paper? I am not sure of the name of that tool.
Thanks,
Rob

The tool is a thumb and the paper is 320 or thereabouts, if you do it the DS (Daryl Sapergia) way.   It has been posted many times, but it's rather simple and very little material is removed.  Basically: stuff a bit of rag in the bore to catch grit from the process, then use your thumb--or a finger for smaller bores, to give the paper several good twists--keep count.  Then rotate the bbl 90 degrees, repeat and  repeat until you've done it four times (all way round) and is all even and smooth.  Why? It's just to break the sharp edge left between the tooling cuts of the bore/rifling and the cutting of the crown.   

The point of doing such is to best allow a snugger combination of patch and ball, such that there is no accumulation of crud from shot to shot.  If you load tightly enough each time you load the previous shot's waste is pushed down to the breech, this allows long strings of shots without any wiping beyond that patch which is pushed down under the ball (with plenty of lube).  If you load less tightly some very small amounts of residue remain and will cause a cumulative effect of choking the bore, making loading increasingly difficult and you'll have to wipe out the bore every X amount of shots.   

Be forewarned that there are fans and detractors of every concept, and this one is no exception.

[Daryl]

Well put, Wade.

[MuskratMike]

...and that is the correct way to "finish" crowning a barrel. For ease of loading would anybody recommend coneing the barrel on a .32? Easy to get patched round ball started and friendly on those thin ramrods. Is there a down side to doing this?

[borderdogs]

good question Mike. When I get home I will try to get a picture of the muzzle on the .32 like I said there is a very slight crown.
Rob

[borderdogs]

Here the crown of the .32

[borderdogs]

Here is a picture of the rifle and the lock
Rob

[borderdogs]

Here is the nipple hole I cant get the image of the bottom. But it looks like a shelf.
Rob



post picture

[borderdogs]

And here is another shot I tried but still can't get enough like to get the bottom,
Rob

[Daryl]

Shorter threads on the "commercial" nipple will allow more 'space' under the nipple.
The rifle's crown has sharp edges/corners.  They need to be smoothed.
A radiused crown, like I showed on my .32, is the proper 'angle' for drawing metal(lead).
A coned muzzle is not the proper angle and actually increases friction making it harder - yes- harder to load tight combinations.
Use the short starter to start,t hen punch the patched ball down into the bore. Once the ball and patch are into the bore, they
are now the size of the groove to groove measurement. If the patch is substantial enough & wet with oil or liquid, there will be
zero fouling buildup, shot to shot.
My .32's muzzle, 2 pictures with different lighting. I was able to load .311" RB's with .022" patches, along with .320" RB's with the
same patches, and seat them into the muzzle just by pushing on the starter (with the nubben on the patched ball), no smacking
needed, however giving the starter a smack is easier on the rifle's wrist. My rifle had a 5/16" rod, tapered to slightly less then 1/4".






 

[borderdogs]

Thanks Daryl,
So a radius at the top of the crown and use your method with the finger and 320 sand paper is enough to achieve that right? Last night I spent some time clearing that "shelf" and the vent hole is more centered. Its hard to see but there appears to be more of that shelf left but not much. I will see if I can clean that up a little more. The original nipple that came with the rifle has shorter threads and the bottom of it looks like it has been ground down a little. I can re-install that one before I shoot it again.

I am thinking I will work on the crown before I shoot it but with a .32 there isn't much finger to go into the barrel. But I am keen to see how well it shoots with a corrected crown, tighter ball/patch combo, and the bottom of the nipple hole cleaned.
Thanks,
Rob

[hanshi]

On the tiny bores I had good luck using a carpenter's "plumb bob" with the proper grit wrapped around it.  Gives a bit of relief to the thumb and fingers though I finish up using fingers.

[Daryl]

Even with the .32 and .36, I still used my thumb. Pushing straight down - hard - it will conform to the muzzle.  The use of a tapered stone like those to fit electric drills, will give a wider crown, but
work just fine, finishing with the thumb, which is soft and gives the more rounded finish.

[hanshi]

Due to arthritis in my hands I'm pretty limited with thumb/finger pressure nowadays.  If I can get it started with a "device" it's fairly easy to finish it with the thumb although it takes me a good bit longer.  And it is a very easy, simple process.

[borderdogs]

Hi Guys,
Just an update on the rifle. I havent done the crown yet but I did clean up the nipple hole base which centered the vent hole. There seemed to be a shelf of material that partially covered the vent hole. After I cleaned it up I took it out and shot it and was able to shoot 10+ rounds out of it. At 50 yards it is keeping a group of about 1 1/2". But now I don't have a problem getting it to shoot which is great! Now I have to figure out a ball/patch combo and a load too. I am going to try shooting a group again as a baseline then crown the muzzle and see what happens. I can get .015" patch down with no problem but I cant get .020" I think I will try a .018" patch but I will have to order them.

Anyway, thanks for all the help I very much appreciate it!
Rob

[Daryl]

Good luck, Rob and keep us apprised of how it goes.

[borderdogs]

Thanks Daryl I appreciate your insight.
Rob

[kudu]

If your getting 1 -1/2" inch groups at 50 yards your doing great!

I think your patch ball combo is real close.
 
I really like the Sandpaper / Radius or smooth crown also.

You might get smaller groups but your going to have to shoot with Zero wind with a 32 cal. and real good eyesight, with good " bench shooter's" form.

Sounds like you have the little "shelf- Burr" whatever cleaned up, if not just use a little file just be Mindful of the nipple threads.

If you know your threads/ and measurements of your nipple "Track of Wolf " has quite a assortment to match most thread lengths, and "over all lengths" giving you just the right "pre load" of the hammer.

sounds Like a good little rifle!

[hanshi]

IMHO groups of 1-1/2" at 50 yards is excellent.  I very rarely do that kind of shooting these days due to serious eye problems.  You have very good accuracy.

[Bob McBride]

Yep. I’d be calling that load development done.

[Bassdog1]

Sounds like you have that little gun doing what it should. Your combo sounds good also. Most people use these for small game so next time you shoot try a group at about 30 yards and I am willing to bet you can just about half the size of that group and end up with a solid hole in the target after a few rounds.

[borderdogs]

Thanks guys I appreciate all the comments. I plan to shoot it again this weekend after I crown it. I really like this rifle and I might pull out the chronograph to see what they are flying at. When I shoot it this weekend I will take a few pictures of the rifle and target. I will try the 50 yards because that is the extent of what I have off the porch but I might try at half that and see what the group is like. If its good the next target will be a squirrel!
Rob