Hooligan Traditions Kentucky Rifle DIY Project

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  • j8064

    Garrett Co Hooligan #1
    Feb 23, 2008
    11,635
    Deep Creek
    Getting Ready For The First Firing

    Just because the rifle is fully assembled doesn't mean it's ready to shoot... :nono:

    The barrel has never been loaded or tasted black powder and the bore needs to be cleaned before its first firing. I ran some patches wrapped around a 50 cal brush and sprayed with CLP down the bore. Lots of nasty shit is in there. That's gotta come out before the first shot is taken.

    Like I said before - Details!

    ;)
     

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    j8064

    Garrett Co Hooligan #1
    Feb 23, 2008
    11,635
    Deep Creek
    Range Report Follow Up

    The Kentucky Rifle made its range debut this morning at our Hooligan shoot posted here: https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=224024

    For folks who cannot view the Water Cooler section, here's a link to the YouTube video posted on that thread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MszmTgcsGBM&t=3s

    Full Range Report:

    • The Kentucky rifle is a solid shooter and it’s fun as hell.
    • The muzzle crown is beveled slightly so the balls were easy to start and rammed in smoothly.
    • For the first few loads we used 65 grains of FFg. They were stout. I had some vials with 60 grains of FFg that I use in an 1861 Springfield with me so we tried that load. Not as shoulder bruising and those shots were in the 8” target as you see.
    • The three shots off to the right in the pic were the first three in the video – all with 65 grains and all offhand. Elevation was fine. Before I drift the sights to move the POI to the left, I want to experiment with different loads in the rifle.
    • The Kentucky Rifle has the same (but smaller) nipple into a bolster/drum ignition system as the 1861 Springfield I shoot. It uses #11 caps and the Springfield uses musket caps. Both like a 60 grain BP load. Unlike the Springfield (which I've had ignition issues with), every load fired perfectly in the Kentucky on the first try.
    • It’s not a precision rifle – heck – it’s shooting patched balls. But all in all I got a keeper and I’m very happy with it. And it was pretty easy to clean when I got it home.

    There are still a few more tweaks I want to make on this project rifle. But it passed its range proofing tests beyond expectations.

    If you've never fired a rifle like this or built one from a kit, try it! It's a learning experience you won't regret!

    :thumbsup:
     

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    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,156
    All of those shots would take care of the bad guy but I doubt he would hang around while you reloaded.

    Nice Gun! Now you need to make a flintlock.
     

    j8064

    Garrett Co Hooligan #1
    Feb 23, 2008
    11,635
    Deep Creek
    Here's a footnote to the Traditions Kentucky range report:

    While cleaning the rifle after our shoot Sunday I discovered a “watch out” to be aware of moving forward. It seems #11 caps can get stuck in the hammer. Not just one – there were two nested together. All the shots we took ignited fine. But a buildup of spent caps in the hammer would cause issues sooner or later. ;)

    We deal with spent caps getting where they don't belong in BP revolvers. Not much different in long guns...

    The solution? Always account for spent caps before recapping and firing again.

    Just another learning experience in the world we call Black Powder!

    :)
     

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    noddaz

    bonehead
    Jan 9, 2014
    529
    Arnold
    Interesting... Can you polish the pocket of the hammer to make it slightly bigger to prevent this? And it is still a beautiful rifle.

    Noddaz
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,817
    Interesting... Can you polish the pocket of the hammer to make it slightly bigger to prevent this? And it is still a beautiful rifle.

    Noddaz

    I think that's why there is a notch in the top of the hammer cup. So that you can visually check for and remove stuck primer caps.
     

    j8064

    Garrett Co Hooligan #1
    Feb 23, 2008
    11,635
    Deep Creek
    Interesting... Can you polish the pocket of the hammer to make it slightly bigger to prevent this? And it is still a beautiful rifle.

    Noddaz

    I think that's why there is a notch in the top of the hammer cup. So that you can visually check for and remove stuck primer caps.

    This ^^^

    The notch in the hammer pocket is there to allow access to pick out a spent cap if necessary.

    The Kentucky and us Hooligans had more fun together today. Now that we know what to watch for we accounted for all spent caps and had zero issues. :thumbsup:

    The bigger question is: When are y'all who have been hesitating gonna build one? It ain't all that hard and it's a lot of fun!

    :shrug:
     

    noddaz

    bonehead
    Jan 9, 2014
    529
    Arnold
    well...

    The bigger question is: When are y'all who have been hesitating gonna build one? It ain't all that hard and it's a lot of fun!

    :shrug:

    The building and firing of that type of rifle does look like fun. But I have enough trouble finding time to fire my cartridge rifles that are ready to shoot.
    Maybe if there was a Rolling Block kit.....

    noddaz
     

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