[frontiergander]

Got my small upgrade in today for my sidelock. Its hard as heck getting #11s here and plus my powder doesnt work with them so i ordered a 209 adapter and got it in today. I havent shot this rifle much since i traded for it, but its a cva mountain stalker .54cal 1:48 twist.

Loaded up with 70gr blackhorn209 and a 295gr powerbelt hollow point, shes ready to rock n roll tomorrow morning!

Ive only fired it twice today but ignition was instant and recoil very sharp. Rifle weighs 5lbs 10oz and so that powerbelt really picks up a bit more recoil over the round ball.

I am going to start off with powerbelts first as they are easier to use in the snow. I will switch back to .530 round balls as they are mainly what i will use in this rifle with the blackhorn powder.

 

[deerless]

Looks like a nice rifle, I love the look of sidelocks. Personally i do not own one but my father in law hunts with nothing but. Why did you modernize something that is meant to be used in a more traditional way?

 

[frontiergander]

i only shoot blackhorn209 and it requires a 209 ignition. If they'd had it in the old days, they'd have used it!

they went from match lock to wheel lock, to flintlock, to percussion. And had 209 primers been available back then, they'd have used it.

 

[Muley]

The point is........they weren't.

 

[frontiergander]

I got a total of 7 shots though the Mag spark, on my 3rd shot today i got a hang fire, took the rifle inside so i could remove the adapter and see if maybe the flash hole was plugged up. Got the tool, went to unscrew the cap head and went, what the hell?!!!
Heres some pics. This is nothing but poor quality stainless steel for this to happen. The metal is way to damn thin in the area where it blew out.

Someones ears are going to be ringings this weekend and then monday morning when i call to find out what the hell they used as far as stainless steel quality.

 

[Muley]

The traditional gods are getting even with you.

Use BP.:yes:

 

[deerless]

I agree with you on that one muley. FG I agree with u on the point of using quality powder but if that is your preference maybe you should stick with inlines where that type of ignition is factory and not some rinky dink adapter made to replace a tried and true ignition system.

 

[Hunting Man]

Tinkering, tinkering.....:thumbdown:

 

[BruceBruce1959]

Tinkering, tinkering.....:thumbdown:

I agree with HM, too much tampering. :wacko: If a muzzleloader is designed to use #11 caps,, I say, let it use #11 caps,
If you'd rather have 209 ignition you should just order a different Model Ml'er. or take this one to a qualified Gunsmith and let them perform the modifications.

 

[deerless]

Just an observation but from the looks of the color of the barrel around your ignition point you are sending a lot of heat into the metal. That could possibly be a concern as you may be changing the heat treat of the steel.

 

[frontiergander]

most likely what happened was when the adapter split open, all the heat went and scorched the bluing.

This is supposed to work guys, however i got unlucky with the set up and it didnt hold up. toby bridges uses them on his sidelocks but i certainly am going to run this by him for some info.

This should NOT have looked like this at all.

No tampering or tinkering, its an upgrade to use 209 primers built by professionals.

 

[Hunting Man]

didn't end up like professionals. That adapter could not have underwent extensive testing prior to marketing it. Maybe there's a law suit in the making and all profits go to DHC! What a novel idea.we could build an actual headquarters somewhere along the Mason-Dixon line with club house and cabins for overnight stays, I make one of the worlds best Lake Erie perch batter mixes ever known to mankindWhat I saying is its time we schedule a country get to,gether, Would be nice have some old time ml shooting offhand of ourse, matches and see who the real expert markman is!

 

[frontiergander]

well ben hubbard will be giving me either a call or an email in the next couple days. The company i bought it off of forwarded ben my email and they are sending me a refund and ben will explain some stuff about the CNC machine on the last batch that were made.

The last time i spoke with Ben he seemed like a great guy so i have confidence that he'll have a good reason to what happened.

 

[BruceBruce1959]

well ben hubbard will be giving me either a call or an email in the next couple days. The company i bought it off of forwarded ben my email and they are sending me a refund and ben will explain some stuff about the CNC machine on the last batch that were made.

The last time i spoke with Ben he seemed like a great guy so i have confidence that he'll have a good reason to what happened.

"LAST TIME",,, you should consider yourself lucky this time that you're unharmed and able to listen to a reason but for the record there doesn't need to be a reason for any failure of a machine manufactured part that was later added to the weapons functionality,, keep in mind the weapon wasn't at fault BUT if you would have been harmed the weapon would have been put on trial because of your tinkering.
The BIG question is, Will this failure be enough for you to see the risks of tampering with your weapons? OR, are you going to continue tinkering and keep putting yourself in harms way?

 

[deerless]

Well said Bruce, hope your not taking this to heart FG but some things in life are designed to be used a certain way. I am a machinist by trade and have seen people try to modify or use equipment beyond its scope of safe practice. The consequences on several of these resulted either in injury or a close call.This is the case with your sidelock! You should also step back and LISTEN to what some of the older more knowlegable members are saying instead of pushing your point. Be a little humble at times it will go far...

 

[frontiergander]

I did no TAMPERING with this sidelock, i bought an upgrade part for it and that part failed. Same thing when you take an older inline design that used #11 nipple and upgrade it to use 209 primers. Its a simple swap out designed to work for that rifle.

Response from ben hubbard, he explains why this one failed.

Sorry about your experience, Jonathan. As I explained to you, the first Mag Spark was not oversized (6mm is approximately .236”). The threads appeared to be off on the profile, probably the angle was slightly off, However, the replacement was defective in a much more serious way. The manufacturer decided to improve on my design and made several changes to my specifications. One of those changes was that he cut the M6X 1.0 thread too far toward the primer cup, resulting in a thinner than necessary wall. This caused the failure that you experienced, not inferior metal. I invented the Mag Spark system over 30 years ago and I have sold thousands of them worldwide, without a single failure of this type. Until two years ago, I made them myself, on my own equipment, then, due to my age and other factors, I decided to have them made by someone else. That is the first time that I had problems. That being said, it is my problem. The Buck must stop here. I am currently looking for a company to make the Mag Spark to my specifications. Meanwhile, Paul and I will decide what to do about the ones that we have on hand. Again, I am sorry for the problems that you have had and I will see that you get your money back. Ben Hubbard

 

[Muley]

#11 cap
Real black powder

Life is good. :yes:

 

[Hunting Man]

Flint and real black powder!:thumbup:

 

[Muley]

No interest in scraping rocks.:thumbdown:

The majority of Hawkens were caplocks.