Shooting my new rifle (.54 flint)

[WadePatton]

hold thru!!! is my "squeeze thought" usually.

So many years of "relaxing" the controlled relaxation of target shooting moderns just after the trigger broke.  It's no flinch.  It's just a natural letting up from the sight-picture and hold (state of being that precedes hammer fall) which has so many muscles involved in counter tensions and respiration inhibited. 

Now i focus on holding through the full report.  And it's not hard, just a re-learning thing where i have to add a fraction of a second to otherwise established shooting habits. 

Iron sights.  Have two lever-actions (CF/RF) with open sights but don't shoot them a lot at targets, mostly plinking and game.  Haven't shot pistols much in the last few years either...AND my eyes have done the 40-something thing and gotten a little less dynamic with focus.    I created a bead on top of my brass blade with a blob of solder.  I center this in the slightly crude (i filed it into production sight) English wide vee rear, then correct for range with bead position vertically of course.  Love the bead/Vee combo.  Usually been E.E. Patridge type or bead over notch in previous long-gun shooting.

19 shots through it.  Been busy/nasty weather/hunting...no time to shoot a lot yet.  Oh and i ran low of my only patching material.  I've since located some .0175 denim that is working with .530 ball.  Anything "fatter" must be beaten flat to get it home, yes I've tried.  Patches looked good at first, reshot 3 of them.  I tried 3 charges in FF, then to FFF.  Thinking the FFF may be the better option, but found some nicks in some later patches.  So i thumbed the crown again and haven't had a chance to check more patches.  Twisted wet out there right now.

I'm wiping now- as the point is to make sure i can hit with that first hunting shot. 

Yes i realize the bbl needs many more shots to settle down/smooth out.  My rate of fire and opportunities just have been too slow/few.

How do i measure to .0005"? with the cloth doubled of course!  Double your patch cloth pull taught, clamp in caliper, use moderate force with caliper hand-and also supply a little pressure to the jaws with your off hand.  This is the most repeatable method i've found so far.  THEN or course, halve your measurement.  I'm working with Vernier scales 

[HardBall]

I don't suppose you can post a picture of you new .54 flinter?

[WadePatton]

She's not really pic-worthy yet.  I have some fixin' to do.  There are pics in the mile-long thread "wade's first one" in gun-building.

SO i've been getting off a few shots here and a few there.  Had settled on 80FFF/yadda yadda for now.  Made an opportunity to fire a few more shots today. 

50 yards, first shot (many days loaded), fine and dandy. couple inches low and a little right.  Reloaded-remembering to use NFO as that's what the first patch was lubed with.  Patches...that's what i wanted to look at.  SO i touched off the second shot and noticed a little more recoil than normal (wait there's more), but shrugged it off as a bad hold.

Then went patch hunting (POI was close enough for short-range deer work) and i found a shredded patch, two pieces, mangled and twisted.  Yeah

The light bulb went on...better check the measure.  And I did.  Turns out that I had an un-intentional-yet-near-perfect-fitting extension tube on my measure.  It was part of a another two-piece measure that had "merged" with the one i had used. 

I checked the charge...155 or so.  So it _did_ whomp me a little. 

And that's what ate the denim.

So i loaded again, properly, and put the third ball into target almost touching the first.  and hardly any recoil atall!   Couldn't find the good patches, need some neon denim.

cheers.