first day at the range with a trapdoor

[107ch]

Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2003 5:39 pm    Post subject: First day at the range with a trapdoor    

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Hi,
I went to the range today to shoot a trapdoor cutdown carbine I got a while back. Starline brass, 65 gr. of goex ffg, and 530 gr Postels from cheycast and spg lube. I fired about 30 rounds, I was planning on 40. OUCH!! That military buttplate hurts!. I had one very good group of five shots at 50 yds, all touching. But after 15 or so the group opened up considerably. I don't know if the lube was giving out or what. I was not using a blow tube. Should I ?? I have one , but I thought with that short carbine length barrel I would not need it. Any insight on shooting these old firearms would be appreciated. It sure was fun!
Dennis

[tommy4toes]

Dennis -
congrats on the trap - I have a similar one. 1884 rifle cut down to 28" and recrowned.  The Postells will always kick your shoulder to pieces and are actually too heavy for the slow twist, assuming you have an original barrel. Your best bet would be a 500gr bullet or less, say the 405gr carbine load. I myself shoot the 500gr bullets  over 68grs 2F. OUCH !!!!!
The two things I can recommend are 1) a PAST recoil shield and 2) an add-on pistol grip from Pedersoli; the latter will really help you tuck it in to your shoulder.
good luck
t4t

[tommy4toes]

oh ...and definitely use a blowtube !!!!!!!! 6 good slow blows through the barrel and you will not lose any accuracy. Either that or a quick wipe between shots
t4t

[Ray Newman]

Some of this you may already know. What is the bore dia. vis-à-vis the bullet dia.? Many of the trapdoors can be found w/ what today would be classified as oversized bore. A “quick & dirty” way to check is to place a bullet into the muzzle. There should be some resistance @ the shoulder.

Since you’re utilizing “store-bought”  bullets, do you have any idea of the alloy? You’ll need a soft bullet so it would upset upon firing & thoroughly seal the bullet form gas blow by, which will cause leading.

Check on the condition of the crown. Many crowns are usually not the best & since you have a cut down carbine, there still may be some burrs in the lands & grooves. Observe the condition of the rifling @ the crown.

I would thoroughly clean & scrub out the bore. You may have some leading by now.

The carbine load was a 405-grn bullet w/ a 55 grn powder charge. Stacked card wads took up the resulting space.

After shooting a few shots, look @ the end of the muzzle, if your lube is working properly, there should be a “wet” looking & soft ring of lube around the crown.

If you use a blow tube, make sure that it properly fits, you don’t want any moisture in the chamber.