Category: Marksmanship

The Pedersoli Gibbs long range percussion rifle is inspired by the 1865 target rifle made by the English gunsmith, George Gibbs. His rifles competed against other custom built target rifles of the era and in the right hands it proved capable of beating the costly custom built target rifles of that time. Today, the Pedersoli Gibbs rifle has proven to be the most successful rifle of it’s type and has won most of the Gold medals in international and domestic (US) shooting matches for this type of rifle.

First, some changes in your lead bullet casting technique may be required when casting the long, heavy .40 or .45 caliber bullets as compared to casting round balls. You may need a larger capacity lead pot, and the temperature of the lead may need to be higher. You must hold the lead dipper to the sprue plate for a longer time to assure all air is vented from the mould and the mould is filled. To obtain good castings, the mould and lead must be maintained at a uniform temperature.

Percussion caps and nipples for the long range muzzle loader. Plus, a brief note on the importance of record keeping, consistent support position and butt plate position.

Shooters need to develop a consistent way of loading the rifle. Here Bill Roberts offers different ways of loading and considers their merits.

A few tips on accessories for long range muzzle loading: powder measures, drop tube, cleaning and loading rods, bore cleaning solutions.

Bullets used are either groove-lubricated or paper patched lead or lead alloy projectiles. They may be cast and directly used, or if paper patched, may be cast as slugs and then put into a hammer or press swage for final shaping. A muzzle-loaded bullet of lesser diameter than the bore is susceptible to gas leakage when fired. To help assure that gas does not pass between the side of the bullet and the bore, a sealing wad is sometimes used.

The beginning long-range muzzle loader shooter will soon learn that the single most important element in obtaining accuracy is consistency. If everything is the same with every shot there is no reason that all rounds should not go through the same hole. Of course this is humanly, mechanically, and meteorologically impossible, but the shooter can try his or her best to achieve the ideal. The most successful marksmen can replicate shot-to-shot conditions very closely, and their scores are proof that consistency works.

The military muzzle loading rifle (MMLR) may not be the first rifle that springs to mind for long range shooting, yet within Great Britain its use goes back to the origins of the National Rifle Association. The Volunteer Movement established in Great Britain in 1859 was the catalyst for a great interest in rifle shooting and marksmanship skills. Significant factors in maintaining this interest were the formation of the National Rifle Association (NRA) late in 1859 and the sponsorship by Queen Victoria of a competition in the NRA Annual Rifle meeting first held in 1860.

Choice of rifle today for LRML will be that of a modern made reproduction, including custom built rifles, or an original rifle. Many competitions make no distinction between reproduction and original rifles, although in international events they are fired in their own classes.

The World Governing body for muzzle loading shooting is the Muzzle Loaders Associations International Confederation (MLAIC), who in 1999 introduced long range World Championships to their competition programme.

Two national associations within the UK cater for the discipline of long range muzzle loading, namely the Muzzle Loaders Association of Great Britain (MLAGB) and the National Rifle Association (NRA).