what the heck

[Dirty Mike]

so i took my hawken to the range, i started out at 50yards, im shooting a 54cal hawken with prb i was getting great groups at 50 yards, so i took it out to yards, groups were high about 5 inches apart, this was just two shots, after this i couldnt hit anthing so i went back to 50 couldnt hit anything, so i adj my sites, and was able to get about a two inch group at 50, so then moved to 100 and again i couldnt hit anything, any idea on what it could be? maybe thicker patch?

[Whitelightning]

Could be patch also could be the barrel is moving around in the stock. Are you sure everything is fitting correctly and tight?

[shoot-em-dead]

Something I learned the other day from a guy that claimed to shoot muzzle loader competition. He says with a new muzzy you have to take it out to the range and Shoot the crap out of it (50 shots or so) till the barrel gets soo hot you cant touch it. Load and just shoot down range and forget about sighting it in. Do run a patch down after every 3rd or 4th shot. Then let it cool just enough so you can hold onto the barrel and get it hot a second time. Then your supposed to let it cool off completely. After this is done then you can sight it in and it will stay consistant and accurate.

 His theory behind all the shooting is to semi-temper the barrel. I don't know if this so called break in period works or not and neither can I verify if he really did shoot competition. Anyone ever heard of this kind of thing?

[CastleRocker]

That's a lot of shooting and sounds like too much smoke to me... I mean I think he was smoking too much of something!

Nah, I'm kidding.  I've never heard of such a thing.  I think you would go through a lot of loading components before you could get a front stuffer hot enough to make any metallurgical changes to the barrel.

[bobcat]

Yeah sounds like more of that crazy talk that you hear, like "seasoning" a barrel with bore butter, kind of like you would season a cast iron pan.   

[Whitelightning]

I would think if you have to Temper your barrel maybe you should look at a better gun, I mean heck if the metal is not tempered you might stand the chance of blowing the thing up before you could get it that hot.

Seriously check all the mounting points and look for signs of movement.

[Dirty Mike]

oh trust me the gun is well seasoned, ive been shooting muzzy for about 6 yrs now so its not like i dont know what im doing, just never had this happen before

[bobcat]

Muzzleoaders don't need to be "seasoned." That's what I was trying to say. The T/C manual still tells people they need to season their guns by using bore butter. At least the last manual I looked at was still spewing that garbage.

[dawhunt]

I clean my barrel every shot when sighting in,I just run a DAMP !!!!! patch down it a couple times then a dry patch a couple times,wait a few seconds then load it and shoot again never adjust my sights untill I've fired three shots doing the same cleaning then make my adjustment sounds to me like your shooting a dirty barrel??.I also use a rest when sighting in to take as many of my mistakes out as I can.

I had a 54 cal. hawkins with 100 grs. of pyrodex select and a 348 gr. power belt and if i remember correctly was getting a 5" group at 100 yds.
Bob

[CP]

Lots of variables with prb.  Maybe too much powder (blowing by the patch), maybe something’s nicking the patch in the barrel.  Sites loose? 

Are you using pre-cut patches or cutting at loading?  Maybe the patch isn’t centered or you are nicking the ball during loading.

The list goes on.

[Dirty Mike]

Everything is tight by the book

[chuck270]

I was told by an "old timer" that when shooting round ball, scuffing up the surface of the ball with a file will improve accuracy.  I don't know if this be true or bs, I have't tried it my self.  This particular "old timer" has shot a hole bunch of black powder and and a lot of cowboy action shooting.

I was reluctant to post this with out personal verifying it my self so next time out I will give it a test and get back to you. 

[KLRKeith]

Loose sights?