Sighting In The 1851

Went to the Range this morning to sight in the 1851 Navy. I had put a new front sight on it and needed to get it hitting close to point of aim. It was overcast and sprinkling but I braved the elements and got it mostly done.

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The front sight was quite high and I ended up doing a lot of filing to get the shots elevated where I needed them. I got it hitting just above POA with the heaviest loads.

I shot 5 different powder charges with 3 different powders. All were fairly predictable except the light charge of Pyrodex P. It sorta went FLOOPBANG and hit 5" low and to the right. Consistently. Not sure why but I won't be loading any more of those so it really don't matter.

I cleaned the unburned paper out of the chambers after each firing. John Taffin has told me to buy a can of DUST OFF. Compressed air. Just use it to puff the paper out!
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The front sight was taken down a long ways. I had to open the notch in the hammer but now I have a sight I can see!

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--
Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

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IIRC, Pyrodex requires a certain amount of compression. Perhaps your light loads didn't compress enough? I've not shot any Pyrodex P (or any other grade) since sometime in the 20th Century, but that's what I recall.

I like the look of that sight, must be nice being able to see it clear like. I've been messing around with a Cometa air rifle with opens on it and find myself frustrated with fuzzy sights even with the long barrel.

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I seated them as deep as the rammer would go. Needed to go deeper. But it would have been a light load either way .. just would have gotten better ignition and velocity.

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Sighting In The 1851

Yes .. I am sure compression was the problem.

Great use for a double ball load...

HA! I will have to try that. (nt)