snider on the range

[brownbess]

hi all,
took my 2 bander out last weekend for the first time, won't be the last time either!!
shooting at 200 yrds the first 5 shots were within the blue circle on the fig 11 target
what surprised me the most was that i was using bullets (shallow cavity) cast from the parkerhale moulds which are supposed to be under sized for most sniders, the cases were loaded with 70grns of the finest chinese firework powder (not swiss or expensive) with a 1/4 sheet of bogroll as filler.
the bullets were lubed with a 50/50 beeswax and lard mix.
after 10 shots there was a noticeable deterioration in the grouping with the increased fouling- mental note to brush through after every 10 rounds,
hoping to get the jacobs out this weekend at 200 yrds for its maiden flight
bb

[Ovenpaa]

'morning Brownbess and welcome to the forum. Nice to see another on in here, your load data was interesting Is Chinese firework powder just an alternative to black powder?

[brownbess]

hi ovenpaa,
the chinese firework powder comment was down to that apparently the black powder that is made these days is not up to the quality that are fore fathers used, unless its swiss powder.
did'nt shoot black powder today, bit wet down in these parts! so i settled for the g98 mauser, bit topical being rememberence sunday, anyway had a good shoot, a great chat, thats what its all about in my book
bb

[Ovenpaa]

hi ovenpaa,
the chinese firework powder comment was down to that apparently the black powder that is made these days is not up to the quality that are fore fathers used, unless its swiss powder.
did'nt shoot black powder today, bit wet down in these parts! so i settled for the g98 mauser, bit topical being rememberence sunday, anyway had a good shoot, a great chat, thats what its all about in my book
bb

Heh! You had me all confused for a moment, especially as the first Brown Bess i shot belonged to a mate who told me 'Put about that much powder in' and poured some into the palm of his hand, picked some bits of fluff and grass seed out, tutted to himself and poured it back into the flask. He then advised me to stuff a couple of squares of toilet paper down on top and followed by the ball.

He use to grind his own powder down for the pan.

Where do you shoot?

[brownbess]

i shoot at the south hants r&pc at the tipner range portsmouth, also at havant r&pc -good for 50 &100yrd blackpowder shooting but a bit overrun with serious .22 shooters :roll:
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[Ovenpaa]

Can you post a picture of the Snider, I am always interested in old things and/or looking for inspiration. I still have some Black Powder locked away and would love an excuse to finish it off.

[brownbess]

i've got 4 sniders, 3 band, 2 band, artillery carbine and cavalry carbine, their still quite reasonable prices but as with most of the antique stuff their values are going up. 3 banders are a good buy, just under a £1000 for a good one with lots of history and character behind them its an interesting gun to have, reloading is'nt to bad if you know the basics but the cases are not cheap-£4.50 each
i'll try and sus out the picture posting thing and get some piccys up, theres some other bits i've got that could be quite interesting to get on show to.
bb

[Ovenpaa]

I would be interested to see pictures and hear a bit about the reloading side of things.

[3bravo]

just been reading the post about the snider, i shoot a p53 artillery carbine and martini henry, i'm bidding at an online auction for a snider, but it's very difficult to judge what to place as a maximum bid just on the evidence of a photograph and the auctioneers description. could brownbess or any snider shooter advise me of any specific question to put to the auction house before bidding is completed :?:

[brownbess]

hi 3b,
sorry not to answer quickly but being self employed when the works there you have to do it!
i've been to a few auctions and would say that unless you can see the gun in the flesh don't bid on it.
there are alot of sniders on the market, if your not to worried about models and marks eg a rare mk1 1# but would be happy with a good clean shootable snider i would bide my time and try to get to some arms fairs to look at the quality available and prices, at a shop a very good, clean 3 bander should be around £900//£1000, some may be dearer, depending on model, some may be cheaper depending on rifling/pitting- you get what you pay for!!
some may disagree, but this is only my take on things, just hope it helps,
good luck,
bb
p.s try to buy for pleasure, not investment- its that thats making it expensive for genuine collectors