Long-range muzzleloading champion!

[Bill in Oregon]

So I received my copy of the Summer 2014 issue of SPG's Blackpowder Cartridge News, and I am checking the match scores for the Spring Long Range Muzzleloading Championship at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and whose name do I see in the top spot? None other than that of our own Professor Brent Danielson!



Brent, congratulations. I didn't even know you were an ML guy. If you'd care to share a photo or two of your Don Brown Alexander Henry rifle, I for one would not object.

[Blaine]

So I received my copy of the Summer 2014 issue of SPG's Blackpowder Cartridge News, and I am checking the match scores for the Spring Long Range Muzzleloading Championship at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and whose name do I see in the top spot? None other than that of our own Professor Brent Danielson!



Brent, congratulations. I didn't even know you were an ML guy. If you'd care to share a photo or two of your Don Brown Alexander Henry rifle, I for one would not object.

+1

[Griff]

+2! Well done Sir..

[Nath]

+3......that makes it mandatory!

N.

[Bill in Oregon]

Boys, we're talking an iron-sighted muzzleloader at 200, 300, 600 and 1,000 yards.

[Nath]

Boys, we're talking an iron-sighted muzzleloader at 200, 300, 600 and 1,000 yards.

Easy

[Ysabel Kid]

Congrats!

[BrentD]

Thanks guys. I just pulled into Big Timber Montana on my way to Missoula for a BPCR match. 1040+ miles today.

So, because I'm stuck in this Super 8 I don't have access to many pictures. I do have one on this laptop that I uploaded

The rifle has been about 7 or 8 years in the making. I'm slow (yes, in many ways ).

in fact, it still looks much like it does in this picture. It is in the white even now and was when I shot it. I have about 3 coats of finish on the wood and that's it. Eventually, it will get done, but I had to race to get it to a shootable condition last winter and in time for the March Match at Oak Ridge, TN. It was my first ever long range muzzleloader match and I didn't have any time for load development. I just used the same bullets that I use in my cartridge rifles and the same 82 grs of Swiss 1.5 for a charge. I was just hoping to "stay above the fold" as they say. But after the first day I was in the lead and realized that I might just pull off a win, so Sunday I was a bit tense and I really bore down at 600 and 1000 and I managed to pull it off. No one was more surprised than me. It was really really fun. I love the long range part in particular, but the first event - just 200 yds, was interesting. My first 9 shots for score were 4 tens and 5Xs. I really wanted that 100 and 100 5x would have been a world record I was told. But I shot a 9 I do that a lot. Joe Hill also had 4 tens and 5Xs and he too shot a 9 on his last shot at that distance. We were jinxed.



Tomorrow I will set up a tent on the prettiest rifle range in America and then spend three day shooting a regional BPCR match. I hope to get as lucky. So far I'm 2 and 1 on the season, match-wise.

I think it is beer time now though.

Brent

[Marvin S]

Good job. Something to be proud of.

[Nath]

[cshold]

Boys, we're talking an iron-sighted muzzleloader at 200, 300, 600 and 1,000 yards.

You're talking about one of these right?

[Bill in Oregon]

Nice clip art, Casa.


Brent, you have a great shop there. Just look at all those bar clamps!
The lines on your rifle are lovely. Whose barrel did you use?

[OLBIKER]

Thanks guys. I just pulled into Big Timber Montana on my way to Missoula for a BPCR match. 1040+ miles today.

So, because I'm stuck in this Super 8 I don't have access to many pictures. I do have one on this laptop that I uploaded

The rifle has been about 7 or 8 years in the making. I'm slow (yes, in many ways ).

in fact, it still looks much like it does in this picture. It is in the white even now and was when I shot it. I have about 3 coats of finish on the wood and that's it. Eventually, it will get done, but I had to race to get it to a shootable condition last winter and in time for the March Match at Oak Ridge, TN. It was my first ever long range muzzleloader match and I didn't have any time for load development. I just used the same bullets that I use in my cartridge rifles and the same 82 grs of Swiss 1.5 for a charge. I was just hoping to "stay above the fold" as they say. But after the first day I was in the lead and realized that I might just pull off a win, so Sunday I was a bit tense and I really bore down at 600 and 1000 and I managed to pull it off. No one was more surprised than me. It was really really fun. I love the long range part in particular, but the first event - just 200 yds, was interesting. My first 9 shots for score were 4 tens and 5Xs. I really wanted that 100 and 100 5x would have been a world record I was told. But I shot a 9 I do that a lot. Joe Hill also had 4 tens and 5Xs and he too shot a 9 on his last shot at that distance. We were jinxed.



Tomorrow I will set up a tent on the prettiest rifle range in America and then spend three day shooting a regional BPCR match. I hope to get as lucky. So far I'm 2 and 1 on the season, match-wise.

I think it is beer time now though.

Brent

Do you ever run into The Duck or Schrapnel at your shoots????

[Canuck Bob]

Is it possible to get an idea of the rules and results, please? Offhand or bench, group size, sights, round ball, etc.? I play around with a flint but this is absolutely amazing!

[BrentD]

canuck Bob, I would be happy to answer all of your questions but right now I'm in a motel in Montana headed home from a regional BPCR match. I've got about 900 miles to do tomorrow but in the next couple of days, I'll try to get you a complete set of answers.

OLBIKER, I don't know who Duck is and, no I did not run into Scrapple. He likes it better that way.

[.45colt]

Wow!! Great shooting. I would love to hear more about the rifle when You get Home. .

[Bill in Oregon]

Canuck, I believe the match is shot from prone.

[BrentD]

Is it possible to get an idea of the rules and results, please? Offhand or bench, group size, sights, round ball, etc.? I play around with a flint but this is absolutely amazing!

Bob, I'm home at last. 2600 miles for one shooting match is a bit much, but I keep doing it. Sure was fun.

Anyway, these matches are shot prone off of crosssticks or a wrist rest - the latter being required for international rules. With the wrist rest, a sling is often used as well, and there are very particular issues about what is allowed in the way of a sling. Personally, I'll take crossticks every time.

Group size? Well, I don't have much faith in such numbers, esp on the internet. But I shoot 10-shot groups of about 3" or less at 200 yds. At 1000 yds, well group sizes are big. But that's because of the winds and all the things that aren't related to the rifle's inherent accuracy. For what it is worth, at 1000 yds, the target has a black bull that is 44" in diameter. This comprises the outer edge of the 8-ring. The target has a white 7 ring and no 6-ring, though 6 points are scored if you cut paper - the paper target being 6 ft by 6 ft.

The x-ring is 10" and the 10 pt ring is 20". So that gives you some idea of what we are shooting at. This same target is used at 800, 900, as well as the 1000. At shorter ranges, different (smaller) targets are used, but generally a 1 MOA xring and a 2 MOA 10 ring is what is approximately what is called for.

Sights are vernier scaled apperture sights with soule or vernier windage. They are caliberated to 0.01" and we often split the calibrations to get 0.005" adjustments. This correlates to roughly 1 MOA and 0.5 MOA changes in points of aim given the sight radiuses common to these rifles (about 36" usually). I use MVA soule sights on my rifle. The same sights that I use on my black powder singleshot cartridge rifles.

Front sights are generally a globe sight with an aperture. I prefer distant thunder front sights. To make short ranges like 200 yds, with the rear sights that we tend to use, the front sight often has to be quite tall. Distant Thunder makes the worlds best (bar none) globe sights with levels and to any height I need require. The sights use aperture inserts of various sizes so I can adjust for light conditions.

Bullets are of my own design - I call it a 411 Prolate after shape and ratio of the three radii. They are 514 grs and cast of 16:1 lead:tin alloy. Here is a photo of a similar bullet, the only difference being that it is a bit longer and weighs 537 grs. The nose is identical. These are wrapped with paper of course before loading. Some guys use grease groove bullets, I feel sorry for them


Loading, in my case, is done with the assistance of a rifled bullet starter and plunger. I will take some pictures of the rifle and post them, maybe tonight, that show all of this. But loading a bit of a dance. The barrel is first swabbed with a wet patch, then a dry, then a cap is fired at the line, then a drop tube and funnel is inserted in the bore and pre-weighed charge of powder is poured into the funnel. The drop tube is removed, and a poly or fiber wad is inserted in the muzzle guide and then the bullet and the plunger is used to push both into the end of the barrel and finally the bullet and wad are seated on the powder column with a loading rod. Then the charged rifle is taken to the line, capped and fired. Going really fast, and keeping mind that I'm a slow shot, I can do 10 shots in about 30 minutes.

A little about the history of these matches. They began, for us Americans, in 1874 with a challenge to the world to send their best riflemen to Creedmoor Farm on Long Island New York. The Iris arrived, lead by John Rigby and his muzzleloading rifles and riflemen. They were the best of Europe. And we challenged them with our Sharps and Rolling blocks (mostly the latter I believe) cartridge rifles. We won in a very dramatic event that was decided on the last shot, and with a lot of luck and help from the opponents (cross firing on the wrong targets). The match was well attended by the public and press and many stories can be read about it I have posted a few references below for anyone interested to learn more. But one very important result besides the fact that the sport was born and that the cartridge rifles beat the muzzleloaders (this is the dawn of cartridge rifle dominance), was that to run this event and organize it and subsequent matches, the National Rifle Association was born. This is the very NRA that we have today, though obviously, the organization is much evolved and Creedmoor shooters often feel that the NRA has abandoned them and their own roots of late.

If you find these types of rifles interesting for either targets or hunting you might be well served to read Ned Roberts "Caplock Muzzleloading rifles" or is it "Muzzleloading Caplock Rifles" I forget. But easily found in reprints on ebay or Amazon. This book describes much of these types of rifles in both hunting and target shooting and it also has a great rendition of the 1874 match at Creedmoor Farm. Of all my shooting books this might be my very favorite. And its cheap too.


http://www.longrangebpcr.com/TCFacts.htm
http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/20 ... dmoor.html
http://www.dmatney.com/files/1874_Creedmore_Match.pdf

Shooting a Creedmoor (with either a bp cartridge or a muzzleloading rifle) is more fun than any other form of shooting there is. You get to really test your ability to break perfect shots one after another. You have to really plan out your strategy for rifle management. You have to truly "read the wind", and you have to research your equipment and ammunitions down to the last detail. And best of all, the competitors are a bunch of really great guys. It is the Ultimate Rifle Compeitition. Bar none.

Imagine laying the grass in the sun, and breaking a perfect shot, then rolling to your left to look through your spotting scope, counting, 1001, 1002, 1003, ... and then seeing a puff of dust rise from behind the target in just the perfect location for an x-ring shot. And then the target goes down into the pit and a few seconds later, rises with a white spotter disc in the x-ring and an orange scoring disk hanging from the x-ring position on the edge of the target. It just doesn't get any better.

[Bill in Oregon]

Brent, thanks for your detailed post. I did not realize you were using a false muzzle/plunger setup, but should have known you weren't shooting greasers. Can't wait for more photos!

Guys, I will second Brent on Ned Roberts' "The Muzzleloading Caplock Rifle," as a must own. Old Ned lived a long and productive life and witnessed the passing of the muzzleloading era, the golden age of black powder cartridge rifles, the dawn of smokeless and the golden years of schuetzen. An inveterate rifle crank, he gave us the .257 Roberts toward the end of his life.
I also recommend his book, "The Breech-loading Single-shot Rifle." You'll find yourself going back to these two titles again and again, craving to hear the voice of America's greatest rifleman.

[BrentD]

Here is a picture taken at the match last March in Oak Ridge. It was the cover photo of the BPC News.



The magazine contained the scores and equipment lists from the match but not a lot else about it. But it made a great cover photo. The rifle in the photo is a Pedersoli Gibbs- perhaps the only competitive off-the-rack muzzleloader. And it is VERY competitive. The guy that won second place at this match was using one. You can see that the shooter in the photo is using a wrist rest w/o a sling. From the height of his rear sight, I would say that he is shooting at either 200 or maybe 300 yds.

If you guys haven't guessed by now, I'm trying to set the hooks into at least of you to try either muzzleloading or black powder cartridge long range match shooting.

Brent

[BrentD]

I was looking for some other things and found these

A brief article on the match at Oak Ridge by Rick Weber
http://www.usimlt.com/Long%20Range/Oak% ... 202014.pdf

Rules for the International matches (to be held next in Butner North Carolina in Sept 2015).
http://www.mlaic.org/constitution%20and%20rules.htm

Rules for NRA BPTR (this is mid and long range black powder shooting, both cartridge and muzzleloading rifles compete side by side).
http://competitions.nra.org/documents/p ... p-book.pdf


BTW, at the international matches there is a separate class for just original muzzleloaders. They cannot be rebored or relined. They can have new sights however since many of these rifles have lost their "eyes". There are some real diehards shooting beautiful original rifles made in the 1860s and 1870s. Amazing rifles.

[gamekeeper]

Hats off to you sir, that is no mean achievement.
Dedication with a capital D........
I have only shot BP and muzzle loaders at 200 yds but the satisfaction is immense.

[Griff]

Brent,

Thanks for the detailed report and info. I love my Sharp's 1874... tho' it gives me fits! I shot BPCR Silhouette for 2 years at Raton, ('90 & '91). Then they instituted the Regional & State qualifiers to gain entry... & I just didn't have time for that. Even less now. So while the desire is there... time and other constraints preclude me competing.

Several years back, a number of us from this forum gathered in CO for the Friends of Billy Dixon shoot. It was marvelous!

Still hoping to attend that shoot again.

[BrentD]

I have heard of the Friends of Billy shoot. Sounds pretty fun. A friend of mine will be attending this year. He may be there now, I don't know the time frame.

One comment about BPCR nationals at Raton. THERE IS NO (I mean ZERO ZILCH NONE) qualifiers needed to attend. You can walk in as a rookie off the street and having never fired a firearm of any sort. And if you have a gun and ammo that meets the rules, you are good to go. This year, you could walk in the morning of the match and register (show up early though - and better, come the day before).

Brent

[Sixgun]

Interesting stuff Brent. I really enjoyed this post. Congratulations on a hard fought win.----6

[jazman]

Interesting stuff Brent. I really enjoyed this post. Congratulations on a hard fought win.----6

Plus 1, great post.

[BrentD]

Perhaps this will be the last post, but here are a few more pictures that I took this morning. As you can see, the rifle metal is still in the white. The wood is still uncheckered also. But it doesn't look so bad, the quality of these photos withstanding.

I also had pictures of the false muzzle and bullet starter but they got lost in the shuffle somehow. The FM fits to the muzzle with 4 pins. It is rifled and tapered and was made the proper way, being cut of the barrel blank and fitted back on between the reaming and rifling steps of buildding the barrel. The bullet starter is a simple plunger style as opposed to the more complex lever style (which is not legal in BPTR I believe).

You can also see the rear sight base but the sight staffs that I use back there are on some cartridge rifles at the moment and I didn't want to pull them off just for the picture. They are getting prepped for the BPCR Nationals in Raton NM in a few weeks.

The front sight is so tall because the rear sight at its lowest setting is not low enough for 200 yds, if a standard front sight is used. This is, in part, a problem of using a modern built Soule style sight which has windage made for the entire staff instead of a less convenient transition sight with windage on the eyecup carrier.

Because I hate copying things completely, there are several notraditional things about the rifle. First, the barrel is full octagon where as it would have been mostly round all the way back to the end of the lock plate and drip bar. And only the last few inches would have been octagon, or there would have been Rigby flats. But generally the predominant form of the barrel should be round in a traditional rifle.

Second, the schnable is different. It is often done in a horn tip and I had some horn to use and may go that way in the end, but I shaped my own schnable into a bilaterally symmetrical form that has a right and left lobe. You can't see it in these profile shots however. But anyway, its not "kosher" by some standards.

Last, the hammer is wrong, but that's what came with the custom lock (scratch built by Bob Roller). I have a more ornate blank to carve into a more Henry-esque hammer if I get so motivated. I don't particularly care for the shape of this one though. It would be about right for a Rigby rifle however.

[Blaine]

Regardless of any traditional irregularities you might discern, it's a beautiful rifle.....

[BrentD]

Thanks, I am glad you like it. It will have some parts case colored (lock plate for sure, probably hammer, breech plug, tang and escutcheons and trigger guard). But the rest will be rust blued. I like to do that myself. Checkering is in its future too. I am trying to get up the courage to try it myself. We shall see.

[Sixgun]

It take a good eye to recognize quality craftsmanship and your rifle has it written all over . (Yes, I can't do much but I can tell quality )

Is this your go-to-the-shootin'-match-rifle or in other words, your number "1"?-----6

[BrentD]

It is my number one for muzzle loader matches, but most of my matches are black powder cartridge matches.

There I have a somewhat modified Axtel Sharps for long range and a very customized Winchester highwall for silhouette. And each rifle can substitute for the other if one of them goes down in the middle of the game. That happened last year at the Lodi Creedmoor regional and I just pulled out the Winchester in reserve and finished the match (and won!). Both are 45-70s with identical special chambers specific for what I like to shoot.

Tonight I'll be loading for the Nationals in Lever Silhouette and BPCR silhouette. only 2.5 weeks until I blast off for them.

[Sixgun]

You going to the Nationals? Lucky you.....a buddy fellow shooter who won the Nationals last year will be there....Al Faust........I was shooting and Bs'en with him at our club two Saturdays ago. He shot two 38's out of 40 in small bore and CLA. He was showing me his pistol calibered gun, a Miroku 1892 takedown deluxe in 32-20. His big bore gun is a commemorative Winchester In 30-30 with a half rd/oct barrel.

There will be a bunch of boys from Pennsylvania there....all master class shooters...Brian Wakefield, Mike Haines.

Maybe next year I'll hit it----6

[Bill in Oregon]

Gorgeous rifle Brent. Can't wait to see it fully finished. It's obviously quite functional enough as is!
I skimmed back through the posts here. Did you ever mention brand and twist of barrel?
Hope the wind gods smile on you at Raton.

[Shasta]

BrentD,

Congratulations on some really great shooting! I can't imagine competing with a muzzleloader at those distances!

I too would very much like to see pictures of the finished rifle. I like the look of the full octagon barrel, and I think some checkering would set that beautiful stock off nicely.


SHASTA

[BrentD]

Gorgeous rifle Brent. Can't wait to see it fully finished. It's obviously quite functional enough as is!
I skimmed back through the posts here. Did you ever mention brand and twist of barrel?
Hope the wind gods smile on you at Raton.

Bill, the barrel is made of 4041 steel and carved by Bobby Hoyt (upstate PA as I recall). Hoyt is well known in muzzleloading circles in particular. The rifling is "Pope" and it has an 18" twist. If I did it again, I would use 16" twist for long range. I really l like 18" twist for some of my longer bullets that I like at long range matches. They will shot in 18" twist barrels well enough to win matches, but I'm always worried that I will lose one to instability if the winds get really choppy or strong.

Brent

[GoatGuy]

Congratulations on the championship. Looks like you'll be ready for the competition at the Nationals in Lever Silhouette and BPCR silhouette. Good fortune!

[BrentD]

Well, I'm not so sure about being ready. I'm not a contender at the lever action game. I sure like it, but I am a middle of the pack guy in that venue. In the BPCR part, I'm trying. I made it to 5th overall last year. But catching Brian Chilson is going to take a fairly major miracle or better. I sure will have fun though. That's guaranteed.

[Bill in Oregon]

The Freischutz Shop, eh? Hoyt has a magical reputation when it comes to barrels. Word is he is a really nice guy, too.

[BrentD]

I wish I could meet him someday. He certainly seemed like a very nice guy and his work speaks for itself.

When I got back from Oak Ridge I sent him a long note about how his barrel had performed. I hope he enjoyed reading it, but I never heard back from him.