Kammerlader ponderings

Started by Fabian23, 03. September 2007 kl. 11:31:19

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Fabian23

Through a kind individual affiliated with this excellent site, I am finally going to be able to add a Kammerlader to my small collection.  I will of course be taking it to the range eventually, but I have a question.

Is the bullet any more accurate than the original round ball over short distances (50-100m). If time and ease of loading is not critical, there is much to be said for a well fitting ball and patch compared to a minie or paper patched 'pointy' bullet.

Do the rifles have to be loaded with a cartridge or can they be loaded with a separate powder charge and bullet/ball?
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Øyvind F.

I have had good results with roundball at 100 metres, but a conical is probably more accurate in most kammerladers. You do not have to use cloth patching when shooting roundballs. Shoot them "naked". I have used bullet diameters from .69" to .735".

I'm having a kammerlader mould made at Lee Precision now and NEI now, and this is an excact copy of the 1855 style conical:



The kammerladers can be loaded with loose powder and ball, no problem. Few shooters care to roll their own paper cartridges today.
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Fabian23

Are you just getting one mould made up or are you getting a series made?  If so, I'd love to buy one :-P
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Øyvind F.

I'm having several kammerlader moulds made. In addition to the kammerlader moulds I have also ordered moulds for the 12.17 x 44 mm Remington and 10.15 x 61 Jarmann. All the  bullets can be seen in the picture above. We are a group of shooters from the Norwegian forum that have ordered quite a few moulds.

The steel NEI mould is already in production. I have sent the order to Lee, but it's not verified yet from their side. I can put you up for a Lee mould if you are interested. The diameter will be 17.4 mm (.685" ).
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Fabian23

> The steel NEI mould is already in production. I have sent the order to
> Lee, but it's not verified yet from their side. I can put you up for a Lee
> mould if you are interested. The diameter will be 17.4 mm (.685" ).

Yes please!  I did see something on the site, but my Scandawegian is only as good as my guesswork using English, German and Dutch :-D
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Fabian23

I noticed that none of the KLs I have seen pictures of have a cleaning rod. Is this normal?  



Was the rod separate or was some sort of pull-through used instead and perhaps a separate chamber brush?
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Øyvind F.

> I noticed that none of the KLs I have seen pictures of have a cleaning rod.
> Is this normal?  

Yes, this is normal. It was not until the kammerlader rifles were converted to metallic cartridge that the cleaning rod appeared. A cleaning rod was more  important in the metallic cartridge conversions because it could be used to push out stuck cases.

For the paper cartridge kammerlader rifles a bamboo cleaning rod was adopted. I'm not sure whether each soldier carried the cleaning rod, or whether a certain amount of rods were distributed to each company. I guess the latter, because it must have been cumbersome to carry a bamboo stick with you in the field. :-)
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Ta også en kikk på kammerlader.no.

Fabian23

Is it a special cold weather Norwegian bamboo ;-)

It is a good choice, light, strong, flexible and cheap.  I guess the need for a special jag head was irrelevent since it is a breechloader, you could just use the stick to push cleaning rags straight through.  Perhaps Norway was really the origin of the phrase "speak softly and carry a big stick" :-D

Was a short stick issued for cleaning the chamber :-P
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Fabian23

I finally have my own kammerlader!  A Konsberg 1849/55 in beautiful condition.  It is one beast of a rifle, I will have to get use to the weight if I want to shoot it.  It should draw a crowd at the range, I don't know of any others in the Netherlands.

I am a very happy bunny :-D
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Øyvind F.

Øyvind F. - forum admin
Ta også en kikk på kammerlader.no.

Fabian23

:rotfl: Will get on it as soon as possible :-D

ps: The latest news on the main page, is it about repro blank back sights for KLs?  I'm guessing they are for trimming down to use at 50m and 100m?
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Øyvind F.

> ps: The latest news on the main page, is it about repro blank back sights
> for KLs?  I'm guessing they are for trimming down to use at 50m and 100m?

Yes, they are blank rear sights for the kammerlader:



I planned to sell them, but I the guy who made them only delivered about half of the batch I ordered. Until the dispute with this man is resolved I cannot set a price, but they will be available soon. They may end up twice as expensive as I planned them to be though. :-(

The reason for making the blank sights is the high point of impact when shooting with the original sights. They shoot about 1 metre higher than point of aim at 100 metres.
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Ta også en kikk på kammerlader.no.

Fabian23

Here we are:









She is dated 1854.  

The hammer spring is good and strong, and so is the rifling, just a little bit of dirt near the muzzle to clean out.
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Fabian23

Shot it today, what a rifle :-D

I aimed roughly 1m below the black at 50m, using 75gr Swiss#3 (FFg) and a greased ball.  I scattered some around the board, but put 5/12 shots in the black (2 in the 10 ring). 4 shots were done with paper cartridges with the ball end dipped

BP lube.  Those seemed to have more recoil than the loose powder and ball, I don't think the cartridges seated all the way into the chamber due to the paper thickness around the ball.

Still need to figure out the best way to clean the "kammer".
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Fabian23

Any news from LEE about those moulds?
Give me iron, steel and wood!  Tupperware guns are for losers!

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Øyvind F.

> Any news from LEE about those moulds?

No, not yet. I'll guess they arrive when they arrive. :-)
Øyvind F. - forum admin
Ta også en kikk på kammerlader.no.

Fabian23

I see the moulds have arrived :-) Let me know the total (with the rear sight) and how to pay :-P
Give me iron, steel and wood!  Tupperware guns are for losers!

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Øyvind F.

> I see the moulds have arrived :-) Let me know the total (with the rear
> sight) and how to pay :-P

PM sent :-)
Øyvind F. - forum admin
Ta også en kikk på kammerlader.no.

The Norwegian

congratulasjon whit the 1849-55 kammerlader,it is in a exelent condisjon.I am not happy that it is

abroad..But i am happy that you like it.Tell us more about the shooting and if you hit good whit it.:-)
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Fabian23

:-D Come on, firearms collecting is an international hobby, why should you hoard all your treasures....life is about sharing after all :-P
Give me iron, steel and wood!  Tupperware guns are for losers!

My website, growing entry by entry:http://www.militarygunsofeurope.eu[/url]