Source
r/blackpowder•
Sen4_

Making my own black powder musket suggestions

Making my own percussion cap musket. I slugged the barrel to .385 caliber. I have made and am making everything but the barrel, springs, and pins (cut down nails or bolts). Everything else is hand forged or made from bar stock. The barrel is about 3.5 ft long with 0.5 in outer diameter and previously slugged inner diameter. Chamber cap is a 7/16 bolt tapped about 3/4 in. in. I plan to make the black powder myself along with the percussion caps. I'll be testing them with paper towel slugs, to begin with. The bullets I'm planning are conical .375 cal. (maybe slightly less) with handmade mold from aluminum bar stock with weight not yet known. I am worried about squibs but I really just want a starting place to push it out the barrel. Not looking for a solid answer, just want some people's two cents. Yes,yes... Inb4 pipe bomb. also posted on r/castboolits

Posted Oct 21, 2017, 4:30 AM UTC

36
TheCorvus303•

That sounds cool, got any pictures?

2
Sen4_OP•

Not currently. If I have time I'll post some. It isn't pretty. More functional proof of concept than a planned out perfect model. Mostly seeing how well I can put an idea into reality using only my brain and hands.

1
Dittybopper•

It does not take much powder to push a ball out a barrel. I use 20gr of FFFg Goex for my .36 caliber squirrel gun. Are you sure the twist of your barrel is suitable for conicals? 1:48 will handle both round and conicals but for accuracy is not at all optimal for the conical, 1:24 is where conicals like to be.

Be safe with that gun, do wear eye and ear protection and test it at a distance before shouldering it.

2
Sen4_OP•

Smooth bore so twist irrelevant. Conical is only because rather hard to make a spherical mold with current equipment. Probably going to be closer wadcutter in all reality. Not looking for accuracy in this build. More a minimalist build. I could make a rifling tool for barrels in the future. I am definitely going to be safe. I'll plan for a gun looking pipe bomb until at least 10 shots without barrel warp, bend, or bulging.

1
dittybopper_05HRocklocks Rule!•

Unless you make your conicals essentially like a shotgun Foster slug, with a heavy nose and a long-ish skirt, they're going to "key hole".

I've seen undersized Minie' balls (conical bullets with a smaller skirt than a Foster slug) keyhole out of rifles, so I'm sure they'd do it out of your "musket".

Just something to be aware of.

1
takeel88•

I doubt you’ll get on too well with conicals, smoothbore American guns were invariably shot with ball, the lack of spin on the projectile will make it yaw. Patched ball is your friend. I would also say test it with a known powder first, perhaps that’s me being english and putting a great deal of faith in our historic proofing laws, but I wouldn’t want to test an unknown with an unknown, if it fucks up you don’t know where the error lies.

That said, best of luck and post pictures.

1