Torador Matchlock - Finished

Norman McCormick · 21st December 2016, 07:08 PM

Hi Rick,
Great work as always and I'm with Stu on the bits, nicely done. There's quite a lot of Toradors in the U.K., bring backs during the Raj, most of which are in a sorry state stuffed in garages and attics but the bits are much more difficult to find so it's nice to see them together. I've not been about much lately, have you got a liner in the barrel and if you have what is it like to shoot?
Regards,
Norman.

rickystl · 23rd December 2016, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norman McCormick

Hi Rick,
Great work as always and I'm with Stu on the bits, nicely done. There's quite a lot of Toradors in the U.K., bring backs during the Raj, most of which are in a sorry state stuffed in garages and attics but the bits are much more difficult to find so it's nice to see them together. I've not been about much lately, have you got a liner in the barrel and if you have what is it like to shoot?
Regards,
Norman.

Hi Norman.

Thanks for your comments. The barrel does in fact have a new steel liner. It's now a .54 caliber (14mm) smoothbore. I can load, shoot, and clean just like any other muzzle loader. It was just finished, so I have not fired it yet. Will probably wait till early Spring so I can have someone shoot a video.

Next Project, I'm sending off the barrel of an Albanian Tanchika long gun to have a liner installed. LOL

Rick

Pukka Bundook · 29th December 2016, 01:48 PM

Look forward to a range report Rick!
Like I said elsewhere, I believe this gun came from Jaipur originally, going by the metal re-enforcing and decorative style.

Looks well now. Maybe polish the scratches out on the muzzle end a bit.. :-)

R.

rickystl · 30th December 2016, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pukka Bundook

Look forward to a range report Rick!
Like I said elsewhere, I believe this gun came from Jaipur originally, going by the metal re-enforcing and decorative style.

Looks well now. Maybe polish the scratches out on the muzzle end a bit.. :-)

R.

Hi Richard.

Thanks again for the comments. I agree with your origins assessment. Now that you mention it, yes. The muzzle end could do with a bit of oil and crocus cloth. LOL.

Rick

Philip · 3rd January 2017, 07:41 AM

It looks great! Can't wait to see the video of you shooting it. And seeing how the shots group at 50 yd. The barrel liner is good not only for reinforcing and safety, but it gives you a standard caliber that's easy to get the proper sized bullet mold for. Do you find that the stock allows you to get a good sight picture in a comfortable and stable shooting stance?

Kubur · 3rd January 2017, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philip

It looks great! Can't wait to see the video of you shooting it. And seeing how the shots group at 50 yd. The barrel liner is good not only for reinforcing and safety, but it gives you a standard caliber that's easy to get the proper sized bullet mold for. Do you find that the stock allows you to get a good sight picture in a comfortable and stable shooting stance?

YES
I can't wait to see some videos if possible to hear the noise and to see the results on different kind of (non human) targets.

Happy new year and best wishes to all
Kubur

Roland_M · 3rd January 2017, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philip

And seeing how the shots group at 50 yd.

The barrel seems to have a smooth bore so it is a musket.

I know a wonderful sarcastic statement of an American Civil War Veteran: "The safest place on a musket (smoothbore) is directly in front of it."

Roland

Pukka Bundook · 3rd January 2017, 02:46 PM

Ah Roland, Some say so but others know better! :-)
We shoot our EIC Type F's and find if we load and hold them right, we can keep our shots well in the black at 50 yards. (Offhand)

At our annual shoot here in Alberta, some of us tried them from a rest. In essence a high rest so we could shoot still standing.
With 125 grs of 2F and a .750" ball, we found we could keep our group in the 3 1/2 to 4" at 50 yards.
They Did kick more from a rest though!
A good friend in the UK has shot well with a musket for a long time, and has found that even with small charges of powder, (85 grs) he can shoot a score in the mid 90's and has won quite a few Golds in National and international events, three or four in the last year!
For his shooting this pal uses a patched ball, whereas we us Bill Curtis' method of a thick felt wad above and below the ball, well lubed.

Also, I've wanted to try a Torador for some time now, and have a barrel I'm working on, fine -boring it to smooth it up. What got me interested in these and trying them, are the contemporary accounts from the Indian sub-continent of matchlock Toradors out-ranging and being far more accurate than the British Service musket. ( Going by the above re. accuracy, I believe it wasn't so much the musket as the compromised loading for speed that made the musket less effective than it could have been)
So Rick!...as mine is not yet ready to fire,m we wait with baited breath for your reports!

Roland,
A good book with references to Toradors in use is "Sahib", by Richard Holmes, and of course Lord Eggerton has quotes from eye -witnesses regarding horsemen with matchlocks shooting small objects as they pass at a gallop at a range of 20-40 yards and "rarely miss".

All best,
Richard.

rickystl · 7th January 2017, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roland_M

The barrel seems to have a smooth bore so it is a musket.

I know a wonderful sarcastic statement of an American Civil War Veteran: "The safest place on a musket (smoothbore) is directly in front of it."

Roland

Hi Roland.

LOL!!!! That's a good one.

Yes, it's a smoothbore. I have never seen any Torador that was not.

With the barrel liner I've dramatically changed the bore configuration from it's original design. So I'm guessing it will shoot similar to other smoothbore muskets now. It would have been very interesting to know how the original bore design would shoot. But I was not willing to risk it. LOL

Rick

rickystl · 7th January 2017, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philip

It looks great! Can't wait to see the video of you shooting it. And seeing how the shots group at 50 yd. The barrel liner is good not only for reinforcing and safety, but it gives you a standard caliber that's easy to get the proper sized bullet mold for. Do you find that the stock allows you to get a good sight picture in a comfortable and stable shooting stance?

Hi Philip.

What I found interesting is due to the design and length of the butt stock, you can actually get a sight picture with the butt against the shoulder or cupped under the armpit. With the liner there is a bit more weight added. I will probably start at the 25-yard bench to see where it shoots, and work my way up from there.

Rick

21st December 2016, 07:08 PM	#1
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,613	Hi Rick, Great work as always and I'm with Stu on the bits, nicely done. There's quite a lot of Toradors in the U.K., bring backs during the Raj, most of which are in a sorry state stuffed in garages and attics but the bits are much more difficult to find so it's nice to see them together. I've not been about much lately, have you got a liner in the barrel and if you have what is it like to shoot? Regards, Norman.

29th December 2016, 01:48 PM	#3
Pukka Bundook Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 803	Look forward to a range report Rick! Like I said elsewhere, I believe this gun came from Jaipur originally, going by the metal re-enforcing and decorative style. Looks well now. Maybe polish the scratches out on the muzzle end a bit.. :-) R.

3rd January 2017, 07:41 AM	#5
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	It looks great! Can't wait to see the video of you shooting it. And seeing how the shots group at 50 yd. The barrel liner is good not only for reinforcing and safety, but it gives you a standard caliber that's easy to get the proper sized bullet mold for. Do you find that the stock allows you to get a good sight picture in a comfortable and stable shooting stance?

3rd January 2017, 02:46 PM	#8
Pukka Bundook Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 803	Ah Roland, Some say so but others know better! :-) We shoot our EIC Type F's and find if we load and hold them right, we can keep our shots well in the black at 50 yards. (Offhand) At our annual shoot here in Alberta, some of us tried them from a rest. In essence a high rest so we could shoot still standing. With 125 grs of 2F and a .750" ball, we found we could keep our group in the 3 1/2 to 4" at 50 yards. They Did kick more from a rest though! A good friend in the UK has shot well with a musket for a long time, and has found that even with small charges of powder, (85 grs) he can shoot a score in the mid 90's and has won quite a few Golds in National and international events, three or four in the last year! For his shooting this pal uses a patched ball, whereas we us Bill Curtis' method of a thick felt wad above and below the ball, well lubed. Also, I've wanted to try a Torador for some time now, and have a barrel I'm working on, fine -boring it to smooth it up. What got me interested in these and trying them, are the contemporary accounts from the Indian sub-continent of matchlock Toradors out-ranging and being far more accurate than the British Service musket. ( Going by the above re. accuracy, I believe it wasn't so much the musket as the compromised loading for speed that made the musket less effective than it could have been) So Rick!...as mine is not yet ready to fire,m we wait with baited breath for your reports! Roland, A good book with references to Toradors in use is "Sahib", by Richard Holmes, and of course Lord Eggerton has quotes from eye -witnesses regarding horsemen with matchlocks shooting small objects as they pass at a gallop at a range of 20-40 yards and "rarely miss". All best, Richard.