Dutch Club Butt Fowling Piece

[Riley/MN]

[Roaddog]

That's a good grupe for the first outing with a new gun.I will like to see what you do after you two get to know each other.Ya sure did a nice job on the work on her.

[Hank in WV]

My guess is, as we're looking at all that smoke and fire, the ball has already passed through the target. Looks like that ole girl is going to do just fine.

[Stormrider51]

One of the things I noticed was the lack of muzzle rise.  I've had French style guns with the drooping butt that would come up and smack me sharply under the cheekbone.  My English style has less muzzle rise than the French but it's still noticeable.  It is also heavier than the Dutch.  The Dutch just seemed to sit there on the rest with the recoil coming mostly straight back.  The felt recoil was negligible.  That's probably thanks to the very wide buttplate.  Here's another photo, this one of the pan powder igniting.

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Storm

[Hank in WV]

There's something very suspicious about this build, Storm. Your shop is no dirtier at the end of the build than it was at he beginning.  My shop is always a disaster.  

[Stormrider51]

Hank,  If I was to turn the camera around the other way you would see that my shop is actually one part of a 40'X38' steel building.  What was originally "the barn" and my workshop is gradually being converted into our home and my wife's law office.  The floor plan could be best described as "open".  Therefore, and in the interest of domestic peace, I keep my area reasonably clean.  All of the sanding was done outside as was the staining and finishing.  Eventual plans include a separate workshop where I don't have to worry about dust settling over legal papers.  LOL!

Storm

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[Hank in WV]

Ahh yes, domestic peace. Wise man. That way you won't need your own lawyer.

[huntinguy]

Them is one of those guns that just don't look right  

[Stormrider51]

Given that the weather forecast calls for things to turn cool again tomorrow I decided to get the next stage of accuracy evaluation done today.  Today I had 68 degrees, humidity of 64%, wind of 10 mph almost directly in my face.  Once again, the range was 20 yards, 75 gr FFg, and .600 round ball.  

My first group of 5 shots was using a patched round ball instead of the shotgun wads.  The result looked so much like the one with wads that I didn't bother taking a photo.  It's obvious that either method of loading produces equal accuracy.  I moved on.

The second group was fired using tow.  I poured in the powder, ran a wad of tow down, dropped in the ball and ran another wad of tow down to hold things in place.  This method of loading gave very good results in my English style smoothie.  The results were not so great with the Dutch.

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The group is more rounded.  Not bad but not as good as with shotgun wads or PRB.  I also had to keep the water hose handy.  The smoldering tow started a small grass fire!

My last experiment for the day was substituting FFFg powder for the FFg I'd been using.  Using the same powder measure throwing 75 grains of FFg, I loaded with shotgun wads.  The recoil was more substantial but group size remained roughly the same.  I guess either one will work.  I did note that there was less fouling in the form of unburned powder granules with the FFFg.

That's it for today.  Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Storm

[TallTexan]

Thanks for the update; when are we going to see a deer or hog fall to that fowler?

[Stormrider51]

TT...The day I have a place to hunt you will know about it.

Storm

[TallTexan]

I know John, just teasing as I know you're as anxious to go hunting as I am.    

[4-Liberty]

Nice looking gun you got there! Just wondering what a "French gray" barrel finish is? Could we get a close-up?

[Stormrider51]

4-Liberty... French Grey is method of coloring metal that isn't blue or brown.  I'm sure some of the more knowledgeable folks on here can give a better history than I can.  The effect can be accomplished by a number of methods but the one I use is to degrease the metal, apply Brownell's Oxpho Blue in the thicker cream version, and use steel wool to spread and even the coating.  The longer you rub with steel wool the deeper the color gets and in this case we don't want it too dark.  I wipe off the excess blueing cream with a clean oil-free rag and I'm ready to reduce the blue to grey.  This step is best done outdoors and I wear latex gloves.  I use toilet bowl cleaner but any number of solutions work as long as they contain phosphorus (phosphoric acid).  I'm told bleach works as well but I've never tried it.  I apply the TBC using cotton balls soaked in it, let it sit for a few minutes, and flush away with running water.  I dry the part, lightly steel wool the metal, and apply a good coat of gun oil.  The acid will have etched the surface of the metal and reduced the color to "grey".  Before I move on let me add that getting some cold blue inside a barrel won't hurt anything but avoid getting the TBC in there.  The last thing you want is to etch/corrode the bore.  I've tried to get a couple of photos.  They aren't that good but I think do show the color.

Storm

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