Squirrel Rifle shooting report

[mauser58]

A little while ago, a fellow MDSer and owner of Saint Firearms in Essex told me he had a .36 cal CVA Squirrel Rifle in his shop. Shortly thereafter, the Squirrel Rifle left with me.

The first time I shot it, the temp was like 25* and I only shot it at 16 yards. I could see it had potential even at that range. A previous owner had added a Williams Peep sight to the rear of the barrel but it was too low for my face so I replaced it with an old CVA sight I had laying around. I also put a Patridge front sight on and removed the bead type that was on there. My old eyes need a wider sight these days.

Fast Forward to a few days ago, and I got to wring it out at 50 yards. The attached targets are the last two I shot just to show the difference a patch makes. Prior to shooting them, I worked through 25 to 40 gn loads using .350 Hornady balls and Pyrodex P powder.

The shots in the outfield are different patch material/thickness that didn't work. Those in the X ring are what works well. I buy all my patch material from Joannes fabric store and I take a micrometer (not a caliper ) when I go shopping. Additionally, I do not wash my patch material as I use a water based lube (Ballistol and water 8 to 1) which softens the sizing in the fabric just fine.

These targets were shot from a front sandbag rest at 50 yards with the open sights. To say I am happy is a vast understatement. Considering my old eyes, it is amazing that I did so well. As I said before, these two targets are representative of all the others I shot that day. I shot almost 100 rounds and got many x rings hits. I now have four types of patch material that work well with this rifle.

As for loads, 25, 30 and 40 all gave 1 to 11/2 inch groups with the good patches. 35 grains was the magic number though. Also, I have learned not to clean when shooting on .32, .36 and .40 cal rifles. Why I don't know but you get better groups if you don't clean. With my .45, 50 and .54's I clean between shots to get the best groups.

BTW, last weekend, BP was totally out of Pyrodex and they must have had 50 pounds the week before.

Good deal John. You just dont see any of these Squirrel rifles anymore. I have wanted one for years. I bought one many years ago from Montgomery Wards clearance store. I gave it to one of my sons at the time. He still has it. Yeah they are cool Black powder percussion rifles. By the way where exactly is Saint Firearms? I know the Gun Shop in Essex but not Saint

 

[Melnic]

It is but it has a quirk. The comb does not have as much drop as most ML rifles. Therefore, the sights need to be higher or I am digging my cheek bone into the stock. I have an order from TOTW coming today with some higher sights to make it more comfortable.

I think we went into this once with the Crockett, I had wanted a rear adjustable sight and I ordered something that either did not fit or the front sight was not tall enough for the Crockett. I do want to revisit this in the spring cause the Crockett is a cheap shooting ML that is accurate as the shooter in offhand shooting.

Your ordering both rear and front sights or just taller front and raising the existing rear?

 

[John from MD]

I think we went into this once with the Crockett, I had wanted a rear adjustable sight and I ordered something that either did not fit or the front sight was not tall enough for the Crockett. I do want to revisit this in the spring cause the Crockett is a cheap shooting ML that is accurate as the shooter in offhand shooting.

Your ordering both rear and front sights or just taller front and raising the existing rear?

I'm replacing both since the two I used in the interim were just in my parts box and were taller but not tall enough to be comfortable. The rear sight I'm using is similar to say a Marlin rear sight but it is made to look sort of periodic and has a screw for adjusting elevation instead of a sliding bar like the modern sights.

 

[IronDuck]

Thanks, that was my first day shooting the .32 bp. Its a very old, very used gun. I was more interested in making certain it would hold together than accuracy during that shoot. I didn't doubt it was safe, but the wood and the lock have seen better days. I used old t-shirt patches, 20 gr. P powder. .310 balls. I shot, dry patch first, then spit, then a bore butter with the last two.
Next time at the range, I will be trying to get into squirrel accuracy. Going to try .018 pillow ticking patches.

Share the bad and the good, this is the bad.
Returned to AGC on Sunday to site in my .32 BP. After 2 shots, I pushed a cleaning rod in with a cotton swab for a quick bore wipe and couldn't pull it back out! Shooter next to me saw the struggle and kindly offered the use of a pair of vise grips. Still couldn't get it back out!!!! I poked a hole in the end of my gun sock slid the rifle in and put it back in the car! Fortunately, I brought my M1 G as well so the day was not lost.
Returning home I got the thing out, hammer and VG's, removed all of those cleaning patches from my BP box, then I put a removable handle on my cleaning rod and added a soft hammer and pair of vise grips to my range gear.

 

[John from MD]

Share the bad and the good, this is the bad.
Returned to AGC on Sunday to site in my .32 BP. After 2 shots, I pushed a cleaning rod in with a cotton swab for a quick bore wipe and couldn't pull it back out! Shooter next to me saw the struggle and kindly offered the use of a pair of vise grips. Still couldn't get it back out!!!! I poked a hole in the end of my gun sock slid the rifle in and put it back in the car! Fortunately, I brought my M1 G as well so the day was not lost.
Returning home I got the thing out, hammer and VG's, removed all of those cleaning patches from my BP box, then I put a removable handle on my cleaning rod and added a soft hammer and pair of vise grips to my range gear.

Small bores have their quirks, here are a couple of suggestions.

1, if you don't have a range rod with a non rotating handle, get one. Normally, all you have to do is twist the rod to the right and pull and the patch will come out. It is similar to using a bronze brush in a muzzle loading firearm.

2. If you do have the correct range rod, then you may not have the correct jag. The proper jag is tapered and allows the excess material to go into the recess rather than jambing up against the bore.