legal?

[wildhoghunter]

I have applied for a double barrel muzzle loader shotgun, This would be my second gun. Is it is legal to buy powder measures, ball starter, ball mould and ram rod nose fittings from outside on line shops? If it is possible, what is the procedure?
Thanks.

[aadhaulya]

I have applied for a double barrel muzzle loader shotgun, This would be my second gun. Is it is legal to buy powder measures, ball starter, ball mould and ram rod nose fittings from outside on line shops? If it is possible, what is the procedure?
Thanks.

Check this out http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php ... 6&start=15
Also I have come to know that in Uttrakhand the muzzle loaders are supplied to the land owners for crop protection and the government shops provide the gun powder and other stuff at very low rates. Besides, there are no licenses for these weapons and one member of each family can request the police to allow him to purchase the weapon. The serial number is noted by the authorities and he can own the gun.
This is what I came to know from some of my staff who belong to that area. Therefore, I do not know the authenticity of the information but I have no reason, not to believe them.

Regards

[goodboy_mentor]

Don't buy online any stuff that might come under Arms Act. You might have to go through all this http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22991

[Mark]

I do not know about the legality of the ball mould, but for a shotgun you do not need a ball starter or a special tip for your ramrod. Additionally, you do not need to purchase a powder measure all you need to do is figure out the volume of the charge you need and make a measure out of some tubing with one end sealed up. Typically a 12 gauge will have a charge from 70-90 grains of black powder. I suspect your gun will be old and not new so personally I'd be happy shooting 70 or 75 grains. Here is a chart:

http://www.curtrich.com/BPConversionSheet.htm

It happens that 5 cc's will be a proper charge, so you can just get a plastic syringe - here is the USA the 6cc syringe is a common size and just cut it off at 5cc's. Now all you need to do is fill that measure to get your proper powder charge. If you want something pretty looking, as I mentioned just find a tube or wooden thimble, fill it with 5cc of powder and trim to size. If you smoke, now would be a good time to take a break from it.

Anyway, on to the ball starters and fancy ramrod tips- these are designed for rifles where the sides of the bullet has to get deformed by the rifling in the barrel, your round ball in a patch will only need a reasonable push to get started down the barrel. Those tips are a new invention to separate a shooter from his money but are needed for the new types of extra pointy or hollow pointed muzzle loading bullets.

Lastly, a double barrel will most likely only be accurate with one barrel and not the other so as long as you can shoot one barrel accurately do not worry about the other.

[wildhoghunter]

I do not know about the legality of the ball mould, but for a shotgun you do not need a ball starter or a special tip for your ramrod. Additionally, you do not need to purchase a powder measure all you need to do is figure out the volume of the charge you need and make a measure out of some tubing with one end sealed up. Typically a 12 gauge will have a charge from 70-90 grains of black powder. I suspect your gun will be old and not new so personally I'd be happy shooting 70 or 75 grains. Here is a chart:

http://www.curtrich.com/BPConversionSheet.htm

It happens that 5 cc's will be a proper charge, so you can just get a plastic syringe - here is the USA the 6cc syringe is a common size and just cut it off at 5cc's. Now all you need to do is fill that measure to get your proper powder charge. If you want something pretty looking, as I mentioned just find a tube or wooden thimble, fill it with 5cc of powder and trim to size. If you smoke, now would be a good time to take a break from it.

Anyway, on to the ball starters and fancy ramrod tips- these are designed for rifles where the sides of the bullet has to get deformed by the rifling in the barrel, your round ball in a patch will only need a reasonable push to get started down the barrel. Those tips are a new invention to separate a shooter from his money but are needed for the new types of extra pointy or hollow pointed muzzle loading bullets.

Lastly, a double barrel will most likely only be accurate with one barrel and not the other so as long as you can shoot one barrel accurately do not worry about the other.

Thank you mark
Got some good information, I am going to a SBML.by the way what is the ideal powder charge for a 16 gauge ball load(new gun)?.how to pull a ball out of the barrel and how to cast a 16 gauge ball without a ready made ball mold?

[Mark]

A 16 gauge would use a charge generally between 50 and 80 grains.

The traditional way that I was taught by my father for developing a load for a black powder gun was to put the ball in the palm of your hand and pour the powder over it until the ball was just covered by the pile of powder, so you can always do that in a pinch but again that is for new guns, so some conservativeness is in order.

[Mark]

To remove a ball, the "best" way is to get a section of thin steel tubing and braze a wood screw in the end of it. Then you just screw it into the ball and pull it out. You get the steel tubing from an auto parts store, it is called "brake line" here. Just get a long wood screw (drywall screws work great) and cut the head off and braze or weld it in.

[wildhoghunter]

To remove a ball, the "best" way is to get a section of thin steel tubing and braze a wood screw in the end of it. Then you just screw it into the ball and pull it out. You get the steel tubing from an auto parts store, it is called "brake line" here. Just get a long wood screw (drywall screws work great) and cut the head off and braze or weld it in.

Thank you mark
I am really happy now. Just one more question, what about casting a 16 gauge lead ball?
Thanks again.

[Mark]

There is a wonderful 2 book set titled "Modern Gunsmith" by James V Howe that has an entire chapter on the making of bullet moulds. The books are easily in the top 5 of gunsmithing books so I recommend anyone purchase copies, and you can also find them in PDF form on the internet.

[Mark]

In regards to casting balls, here's an old post of mine that shows how to cast 58 caliber balls over a campfire:

http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=4437

This is a .580" ball, and 16 gauge proper should use a .660" ball.

[dr.jayakumar]

most of the licence for muzzle loaders in chennai has been cancelled and no gun powder is available,except in madurai legally.
i do not know the reason.getting a license for a muzzle loader is not possible at present in tamilnadu.
regards
dr.jk