Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders A great sidelock shooting day

So with beautiful 60* weather, I decided to take the ol ardesa Mountain Rifle out to the 50 yard range.

90gr Volume American Pioneer 3fg compressed heavily.
Eastern Maine oiled .020 patched with home cast .530 round balls.

No swabbing between shots.

First shot on a clean bore hit high right. Never count that clean bore shot as American Pioneer Powder wants a fouled bore.

Every shot loaded nice and firm. Never felt the patch catch up on crud.

I did polish the bore last weekend and it made a huge difference.

A few recovered patches look perfect. No burn through, no holes, just absolutely perfect.

I threw one shot #5, which hit directly center in the bullseye. I Blame the sun glare on the sight. #6 however, went right back into the cluster.

Yes, I know the can says Jim Shockeys gold, but it's the same darn thing, processed by American Pioneer Powder.  

American Pioneer Powder MUST be compacted heavily for best accuracy.  If it loads loose, it better be a heavy projectile.  A very temperamental Powder!

Overall, I am super happy.

I miss the smell of that Powder! Open the can, take a whiff and it smells like sweet brown sugar.

I plan on fire lapping the bore later on when the weather permits.

In total, 7 shots taken.




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Nicely done!

Cool!!

Very nice!