Muzzleloader 101
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What’s in the big box?
Think of this in three sections. Special gun tools, general purpose tools, supplies and spares. It all has to be fine tuned to match your needs. Copying this list will fit my needs, not yours. I hope my notes give you some guidance.
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Special Purpose Tools |
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Soft Hammer Choose a small “soft” (softer than steel) hammer. Mine is a 3 oz. bronze. Rawhide is another good choice. | ||||
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Brass Punch Primarily for drifting dovetails (including sights) or removing wedges. | ||||
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Funnels Very handy for filling a powder container. I keep two, one with a handle and one that replaces the spout for filling a powder flask. | ||||
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Mainspring vise Compresses vee springs. Heavy users who do their own maintenance will want one, most will not. |
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Adapter 8-32 male - 10-32 female and vice versa. When you don't have a match from rod to tool, one of these will bail you out. |
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Borelight Small battery powered ones for muzzleloaders are available, but make sure it is small enough to drop through your bore. This is the one I use and it is sized for 50 caliber. I must remove the knurled ring for 45 caliber and use a tiny one for .32. | ||||
| I am getting modern in my old age and recently acquired a borescope aka endoscope. I can't review it yet but on initial try out it's great. Buying one can be intimidating because of all the variety on the market. A couple of watchouts. Some of the higher resolution models are fatter and will do fine in your muzzleloader but might not go into your 22. Most of the specialize rifle borescopes are too short for your 42" flinter. I got one with WiFi so my old eyes can see the details on a 42 inch screen instead of the itty bitty phone. Great detail. More soon. | |||||
General Purpose Tools | |||||
| You can just grab what you will need when you are getting ready to go, or what I do. Grab it out of the shooting box when I need it around the house. Important! Put it back before you head out to the range.
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| Screwdrivers I keep a box with one handle and a bunch of the replaceable tips, plus a couple of favorites for frequent tasks | |||||
| Wrenches A small adjustable end wrench (4 or 6 inch) is probably enough for most people. Late note: I just realized that I have never used a ce\resent wrench on a gun, but it is useful and I often use it for something else but not muzzleloading. Inside a little plastic box, originally full of lead balls, I keep the easily lost little things like the borelight and all the allen wrenchs that fit something on the guns. | |||||
Spares |
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This is very much to your needs. For instance I keep one of those one week pill box with each day's compartment holding a different nipple thread. If you have a flinter, you need spare flints and maybe a spare leather for the jaws. |
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| Supplies | |||||
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Like spares, you are really on your own. I advise primers, but which kind(s) fit your equipment(s). I like to fill cappers at the table so I have several loaded in the box ready to go into the bag. Ziplock bags with patches ready to refill your patch box.
I also keep a supply of litlle bottles and tubes containing gun oil, Ballistol, Neversieze, Locktite and a one-drop oiler. |
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