Ugh. What have I done? Apparently I’m in the club now.

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Sooo, I did something incredibly stupid and started wandering around gunbroker. And then I did not listen to my daughter who told me that, while the muzzleloader I was looking at was, in fact, very pretty, I already have too many guns. So, I have to learn how to use this gorgeous machine (once I get it in my hot little hands):

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/845912760

I’ve shot a muzzleloader - once. It was a boring knight inline. This one is someone’s custom gun. I have no idea how to figure out how much powder, whether it takes a ball or sabots, etc. I’ve never even seen the “mule ear” lock before yesterday (although I did google it). Please Help! :newhere:

Re: Ugh. What have I done? Apparently I’m in the club now.

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That’s interesting. I wonder if there’s a video of that on YouTube. I’ll work on shooting it from the ground before I terrorize the neighborhood on my horse. I’m hoping that there is something etched in the barrel etc to give me a clue who made it. I looked up friendship Indiana because that’s what is on the listing and got sucked into joining the NMLRA muzzleloader group. I’m looking at the back issues of their magazine to see if I can get a clue where some of the parts came from. I see that there are a number of muzzleloader clubs around so I might take the rifle around to see what I can find out that way. And they do have competitions at Friendship which isn’t too far so I wonder if I took it there whether someone would recognize it. I sent the money order today so maybe in a week or two I’ll have more pictures and info

Re: Ugh. What have I done? Apparently I’m in the club now.

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The only company I'm aware of that makes a mule ear lock is L&R. I'll bet the barrel is Green River and the trigger is REDavis. A gun made from a set of parts will have the barrel logo on the bottom flat

hidden from view. A mass produced gun will have logos stamped out proudly on top. The iron hardware is available from Track of the Wolf, as are the stocks.

Both the underhammer and mule ear lock have the nipple mounted directly to the barrel giving the flame a nice short straight path to the charge. Theoretically a shorter ignition time and definitely more reliable.

Re: Ugh. What have I done? Apparently I’m in the club now.

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eelj wrote: Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:40 am the nipple mounted directly to the barrel giving the flame a nice short straight path to the charge. Theoretically a shorter ignition time and definitely more reliable.
i could go on at this point about the main difference between the function of the '53 enfield and the '61 springfield, and the federal's belated recognition of same as exemplified by the '63 springfield, but that would be tedious and pedantic so i won't bore you with it... :oops2:
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

Re: Ugh. What have I done? Apparently I’m in the club now.

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So I’ve been reading the NMLA magazines and it looks like they raffle off guns made by a group of gunsmiths (one person makes the barrel, someone else does the lock, etc.) in Frienship Indiana every year to raise money. I wonder if this one is like that. I looked at the mule ear lock by L&R and this one is different. None of the track of the wolf trigger guards looks like it either. It’s going to be really interesting to try to figure this out. I may have to haul it to one of their matches and see if anyone recognizes it. There are a couple of the NMLRA affiliate groups in MI, including one at MSU. The seller should get my money order tomorrow so maybe I’ll see it by the end of the week. Pictures will, of course, be forthcoming.

Re: Ugh. What have I done? Apparently I’m in the club now.

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Ok, so it arrived and I unpacked it. The seller went WAY overboard packing it up. Which paid off because it arrived intact (including with the tang sight intact which I was a little worried about. It’s just as pretty as in the guy’s pictures if not more so. The wood/metal ft is amazing! I haven’t done much with it yet but I’ve already learned a few things. First, the barrel is thick. I mean really thick. It’s like an octagon bar with a hole in it. Far thicker than my Henry big boy octagon. And the stock is really narrow, or at least more than I expected. It does fit my shoulder nicely though, but I’m guessing this is not a lug around the woods shooting at things gun. Although I can actually shoulder it, I’m going to need to sit at a bench. The lock does not have a half cock. I’m not sure if that’s bad. I’ve read about people making a piece of wood with a chain to use as a stop that falls away when you cock it all the way so, either way, I can probably figure it out. The set trigger is nice. The actual trigger is a bit of a reach. And it is the lightest trigger I’ve seen. As in barely touch it and off it goes. The barrel is close to a .45. I tried to use my calipers and apparently I suck at it because when I put it in the barrel, it gave me different readings. I stopped because mine are metal and I didn’t want to hurt anything. But being inspired I went and got a loaded 44 round. The case goes in a little way and then hits. I measured that at .45. So I guess that’s the diameter of the lands? The barrel has really nice rifling but it’s lighter right near the muzzle. (Maybe a couple of mm) (Which may be why the case went in a little?? ). I’ll try to take pictures. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. The crown looks really good. I’ll try the “measure the twist rate” thing tomorrow. But I’m pretty happy so far.

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