Adobe .PDF - Thompson Center Arms

Black Powder PressuresAnd VelocitiesIt is not the purpose of this text to delve deeply into the complex subjectof chamber pressure or how it relates to all firearms. There are, however, somebasic differences between a muzzleloader and a modern cartridge firearm. Thereader must understand and respect these differences if he or she is to usetheir T/C muzzleloader in a safe manner.Shooting muzzleloading firearms requires rethinking all that you havelearned about firearms. It requires discipline to cope with the requirementsof being a reloader and rifleman at the same time. It requires strictadherence to the instructions set forth in this booklet. FAILURE TOFOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS MAY CAUSE DAMAGE TO THEFIREARM AND INJURY AND/OR DEATH TO THE SHOOTER OR BY-STANDERS AND DAMAGE TO PROPERTY.Odd as it sounds, your safe introduction to replica firearms requires agood deal of reverse thought. Our forefathers, trained in the use of muzzleloaders,had little difficulty using the products of their day or adapting toimproved concepts as each new idea presented itself in a normal progression.The transition from flint lock to cap lock to breech loader each represented astep forward toward a more technically sophisticated era. Users of firearmshad hundreds of years to adapt to these changes. In a single lifetime, no onewas exposed to drastic change.The muzzleloading enthusiast of today, however, has been trained in theuse of cartridge firearms. To safely use a muzzleloader he must adjust histhinking backward - bridging hundreds of years of product development - inone giant step! Those reading this booklet must face the realization that thedesign of a muzzleloading firearm is rooted in tradition. In other words, a manufacturerof replica firearms, while he does have the benefit of using modernsteel, proper heat treating and other technical advances, does not have theoption of drastically altering a design which is centuries old. To use a muzzleloadersafely requires considerable mental adjustment on the part of today’sshooter.Modern cartridge firearms depend heavily upon the strength of a brasscartridge case to seal the chamber and to safely confine expanding gas.Equally, it is the cartridge case which holds the bullet in a fixed position, confinesthe powder charge to a given volume and controls headspace. Moderncartridge firearms are designed to withstand high working pressures, sincethese same pressures make possible the high velocities, flat trajectories andincreased range of modern ammunition. Yet, the modern firearm is no stronger18