Shooting a jezail rifle

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by SchildaBrit

Whatever it is, it's resistant to everything that I dare to put down the barrel!

I think the barrel might be some kind of damast, which is why I would not like to use aggressive chemicals.

Photos now inserted. Unfortunately the software limitation means that I cannot post the picture of the barrel with adequate resolution to show up the wavy patterning. Just use your imagination!

Are you sure its not just old hardened black powder residue?? Try scrubbing with boiling water. We always used that to remove (most of) black powder residue. Then used black powder solvent to finish off.
Stu

[SchildaBrit]

"Are you sure its not just old hardened black powder residue?? Try scrubbing with boiling water. "

Could well be rock-hard BP residue. About a century old!

I'll give hot water a try. But since I can't remove the barrel from the stock, I need to make an effective plug for the touch hole.

BTW, everything is glued together with what appears to be a kind of pitch. Has anyone got a clue as to what the Afghans actually used? Pine pitch?

[David R]

Well the barrel is evidently damask aka twist, and a very nice piece indeed. I would suggest that whatever is in there is "better out than in" ...and it's your jezail and we are just onlookers. Not surprised by the quality of the barrel, these guys were happy to pay the price for their gear, blade or barrel.

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by SchildaBrit

"Are you sure its not just old hardened black powder residue?? Try scrubbing with boiling water. "

Could well be rock-hard BP residue. About a century old!

I'll give hot water a try. But since I can't remove the barrel from the stock, I need to make an effective plug for the touch hole.

BTW, everything is glued together with what appears to be a kind of pitch. Has anyone got a clue as to what the Afghans actually used? Pine pitch?

Don't worry about the touch hole, just leave it as it is. A bit of water on the woodwork won't matter, but if you want to, use a match stick/s to fill the hole. If it breaks off it can easily be removed by pushing thru into the bore and it will drop out.
Stu

[SchildaBrit]

"A bit of water on the woodwork won't matter, ..."

My worry would rather be about getting water between the barrel and the stock. Where it would start to rust and be inaccessible.

"...but if you want to, use a match stick/s to fill the hole. If it breaks off it can easily be removed by pushing thru into the bore and it will drop out."

Thanks Stu, that is an excellent suggestion!

[mariusgmioc]

Hello,

Not very wise of you to shoot an original antique rifle.
But what am I saying?!
"Not wise" is waaaay too polite!!!

Did you wonder why there aren't many people putting out this kind stunt?!
May it be because they treasure and respect their historical antiques?!


In other words, shooting an antique rifle is equivalent to trying to cut a steel plumbing pipe with an antique wootz shamshir or with a Kamakura period katana.

Are you aware that steel like any other material is subjected to aging and in time it changes dramatically its mechanical properties?!

The fact that your rifle didn't simply blow up in your face may be mere luck. Luck for the rifle!

[Victrix]

Hi Patrick,

How was the recoil? I would imagine it a bit like the kick from a mule? Did you have the butt against your shoulder like a conventional rifle? I was always curious about the strange shape of jezail butts. Some say they were fired with the butt held firmly under the armpit but not sure how they could look along the barrel to take aim properly if that was the case.

[SchildaBrit]

Forget the ímplausible stuff about having the butt under the armpit. It seems that no-one has ever produced a photo or an eye-witness account to substantiate this theory. You hold it just like any other rifle. And in fact the drop makes it easier to hold your head upright and get your eye squarely behind the peephole, rather than in the usual skewed position.

As for recoil - what recoil? this was only 47gn of S3 powder in a rifle that weights almost 6kg.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by mariusgmioc

Hello,

Not very wise of you to shoot an original antique rifle.
But what am I saying?!
"Not wise" is waaaay too polite!!!

Did you wonder why there aren't many people putting out this kind stunt?!
May it be because they treasure and respect their historical antiques?!


In other words, shooting an antique rifle is equivalent to trying to cut a steel plumbing pipe with an antique wootz shamshir or with a Kamakura period katana.

Are you aware that steel like any other material is subjected to aging and in time it changes dramatically its mechanical properties?!

The fact that your rifle didn't simply blow up in your face may be mere luck. Luck for the rifle!

I realize this is a rather 'direct' reaction, more emotionally based and not necessarily properly phrased or worded, and I know that Marius' first language is not English. However I do understand the reaction from his perspective, I do not like the idea of an antique gun being subject to damage, and naturally do not wish anyone to be hurt or worse from such an accident.

Still, I do respect those well versed in firearms who wish to experience and study the dynamics of these weapons. With that, I realize most who handle and shoot firearms have distinct safety protocols they observe, and these 'tests' are not haphazardly done. I never doubted that Patrick was a well experienced 'shooter' and appreciated his sharing the results of this test.

In truth, these weapons were often dangerous even in their own period, and quite honestly, gun 'explosions' were quite common. Usually these were from improper loading, and many aspects of the loading and firing activity. In actuality, most typical cause of explosion was excessive charge, not weakness in the barrel. With multi chamber revolvers, I have seen cases with cap and ball where multiple chambers fired simultaneously with naturally fatal result to the unfortunate shooter.


Getting to these 'jezail' guns, I bought one two years ago, and while I would fear myself or anyone else firing it, I commend Patrick for his courage and careful method of providing fascinating insights into the true accuracy of these guns.

I very much enjoy the TV series "Pawn Stars", and without exception, one of the key criteria is whether the antique guns they are buying will shoot. If they do not, it is a mark down on the value.
It would seem that experts are able to determine the viability of firing a gun regardless of age based on careful examination of components.

[kronckew]

If you get anywhere near a decent charge in that, I'd tie it to a heavy bench & use a long cord to pull the trigger from a safe distance, and preferably behind something solid, like a concrete wall. Whatever max charge you use, i'd not shoot it thereafter with more than half the load you 'proofed' with. Even then.... Get some Bubba and shout 'Here, hold my beer! as you apply for your Darwin Award. If you have a misfire, wait a good while before going anywhere near the front end. 2 days outta be enough.

p.s. - I read something I didn't know recently, Colt's Walker .45 six-shooter was renowned for blowing up with a full 70 grain charge. The steel was essentially crap. One reason they are so rare & expensive now. They backtracked and recommended not more than 50 grains of FFFG and oversized balls to better seal the chambers to prevent the ajacent chambers from firing all together. A rather spectacular occurance. FFFFG was priming powder for flintlocks and a bit too fast for the main charge. FFG was for cannon. FG for BIG Cannon. Colt stopped making them & made the Dragoon instead, with a shorter cylinder that held less powder, and used better steel. (and had a redesigned loading lever that actually stayed in place when firing) I'm glad my Walker was a modern steel version proofed for the full 70 grains (I used 50). It kicked a mite. - I sewed up a thin leather belt for the loading lever thing. Thought I was smart and wondered why no-one thought of that. Turns out that's what many dragoons did with their Walkers.

Pee ess 2. Civil war sojers, when it got hard to ram home their mini balls, would urinate in the barrels to dissolve the residue, rather than waste water. Works best with a hot barrel. Smells better with a cold one. No one probably noticed as battlefields were very smelly places anyway.