Black Powder firearms discussion

[Michigan Slim]

Thank you. I had no idea on price or that it was difficult to find?

Like everything else. Caps too.

 

[ScouT6a]

Does anyone know what a one pound factory plastic can of Goex FFFG black powder is going for at this time? Appreciate any input. Thanks.

We buy in bulk (25 pound bags) and it was $14.50 /lb, last time we purchased it. (Last Fall)

 

[Winamac]

Like everything else. Caps too.

Okay...I was unaware of that also. Thank you.

 

[Ark]

Got out this weekend and got to run 3 of my new (to me) BP guns through some of their paces.

First, I was able to do a proof load of the Military Heritage matchlock. I'm still not super thrilled with the barrel and the fact that the end isn't properly crowned is annoying. But, it took my 140% proofing load of FFg and a patched round ball like a champ. Gun came through with flying colors on the fuse firing.

I still don't have the matchcord yet (it's taking forever to ship here), so I did a second round with a normal charge using a paper fuse. Here's a lesson... don't do that. At least don't do that standing to the side of the gun with an overly full priming pan. I got the gun to fire and I got a nice little face-full of burning powder grains in the bargain.



Next, I got to try out my 1864 Burnside. Between my father-in-law and myself, we shot probably a good 30 rounds through it. It's a fun little gun and judging by holes in the target and wood that it punched through, that round packs a pretty decent punch. It's not very accurate though, so clearly I have some work to do on finding a load that it likes (and I have heard that overall, these guns aren't the most accurate to begin with). But, it's an easy handling little carbine, quick to the shoulder, with low recoil. A pretty fun gun to shoot.

Finally, we broke out my Loyalist Arms MLE 1763 flintlock pistol. That gun sparks well and fired the pan and powder charge every single time (about 10 rounds for the session). It has not sights and a somewhat heavy trigger, so I'm still working on accuracy with my flintlock pistols. I started with a 35gr charge, as that what was recommended, with a patched .662 round ball. Recoil was super negligible, but I noticed something weird. I was firing it at a 10 yard steel torso target. I missed the target with my first round (like I said, I'm still struggling a bit with flintlock smoothbore accuracy) and the round must have hit the railroad tie backstop. Everything was wet, so the wood was pretty damp. The ball actually hit the wall and bounced back, coming to rest on the ground to the left of me.

That surprised the hell out of me, because I've never had anything like that happen. We had some other ones bounce back as well. I thought maybe at first the powder charge was too low, so the balls were going exceedingly slow. So I upped the charge to 50 grains (this is a .69 caliber pistol after all) and still had it bounce.

We found a few of the balls, one that for sure bounced off the wood. One that hit the AR-500 steel and deflected down and one we weren't sure. The last one appears to have cracked completely in half, which is something else I've never seen. The first two recovered do show deformation, so they definitely hit with some decent force.

For comparison, here is a new ball out of the pouch:

And here is the weight of the one that broke in half

I mean, I have heard stories of cannon balls bouncing off fresh timber wooden hulls (like the USS Constitution), but I guess I hadn't heard of musket balls doing the same. Anyone else experienced this before?

Other than this weird behavior, the pistol worked great, whether with 35 grains or 50 grains of FFg. Consistent ignition, not excessive fouling and fairly easy loading. It's a big heavy bastard and a bit awkward, especially compared to my .58 Pedersoli 1807 Harpers Ferry, but I like it.

Heh, yep, standing right in front of the touchhole is not advisable.

Throw those balls back in the pot and melt 'em down, you've invented recyclable bullets.

 

[DadSmith]

We buy in bulk (25 pound bags) and it was $14.50 /lb, last time we purchased it. (Last Fall)

Where was that at?

 

[Beowulf]

Heh, yep, standing right in front of the touchhole is not advisable.

Throw those balls back in the pot and melt 'em down, you've invented recyclable bullets.

Thats the plan.

 

[Frontiersman]

I shoot into a big pile of sand for that reason. If I start feeling like supplies are getting low, I just go out there and pan for grey gold. It's quite profitable.

 

[Ark]

Finally took that flintlock Kentucky build that I've been talking about to a proper range. Shanked that one on the left (heavy trigger), but STACKED the other three dead on at 50 yards from a rest. Didn't even have the adjust the sights. I am absolutely thrilled at this result. Thinking I'm gonna try to get me a deer this year...

 

[MrSmitty]

Finally took that flintlock Kentucky build that I've been talking about to a proper range. Shanked that one on the left (heavy trigger), but STACKED the other three dead on at 50 yards from a rest. Didn't even have the adjust the sights. I am absolutely thrilled at this result. Thinking I'm gonna try to get me a deer this year...

Very nice!!! good luck with the deer!

 

[GBolt]

Why are there no modern .32 or .36 cal blackpowder rifles?

 

[Beowulf]

Why are there no modern .32 or .36 cal blackpowder rifles?

Probably because those calibers are considered too small for larger game hunting, which is what almost all of "modern" BP guns are designed for (deer, etc).

I think a lot of the inline shooters are really looking to take advantage of the extended BP seasons with guns as modern and reliable as allowed within whatever arbitrary rules the states put in place (where a Remington 700 BP gun using 209 shotgun primers, powder pellets and modern jacketed bullets with polymer tips in a speed loader, is 100% okay and a gun like the Sharps, with a design that is 173 years old, is banned because it's a breech loader... using a paper cartridge and an external primer... despite both guns can be loaded in approximately the same amount of time).

To be clear, I see nothing wrong with that at all. It's just mindless government regulation and people being creative to find workarounds.

But, that's where the market is. People interested in a using BP guns to hunt small game that often don't have a special black powder seasons are really likely too small a market for it to be worth building guns for.

 

[Ark]

To be clear, I see nothing wrong with that at all. It's just mindless government regulation and people being creative to find workarounds.

Agree. How much of the muzzleloader hunting world is just people complying with dumb regulation in order to hunt more, longer, and with less competition? Sure are a lot more inline muzzleloaders with optics sold than flintlocks or historic replicas. Those people would just as soon use a .308 to hunt for an extra month. A big factor keeping me out of the deer game is the way the woods are utterly swarmed for the only two weeks you're allowed to use regular guns.

Though honestly my Kentucky grouped better at the range that day than my .45LC Henry...

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Seriously, if CVA came out with a .36 caliber rifle with some decent sights and a decent price, I'd have one in a heartbeat.

 

[Hassiebawked]

It's come to the mods' attention that there may be enough demand to warrant the creation of a new subforum for muzzle loaders/black powder firearms. We don't want to create a new area for every specific type of gun out there because it would quickly devolve and make things harder to find rather than easier, however if there is enough demand for it, it's possible. So.... This is where we'll start, with a "sticky" thread. We'll give it a period of time and see how much activity there is and how much demand truly exists for such a forum.

Note that there is no poll. We're not asking to see if you think you'd use it. This is a discussion thread, so.... DISCUSS! What discussions will we be moving to this forum if/when you convince us by the numbers and content that the need is there?

I look forward to seeing what discussions will arise.

Ready? Annnnnnnd..... Go!

Blessings,
Bill

Looks fun.

 

[MrSmitty]

Took my old smoke pole out yesterday....Old CVA Hawken, I got it for $25 last year during the covid shutdown... had fun shooting it, and my SKS. No pictures, but was really fun..

 

[gregr]

I`m only a muzzleloader hunter because as has been said, it gives me more time to deer hunt, and I have to shoot a front loader to hunt the late season. I have one of the older Knight Disc Extremes, from back when the Knight family had it. It`s the great looking SS barrel with the camo stock in .50 caliber. I shoot 3, 50 grain 777 pellets, pushing a Barnes Boat-tail 250 grain bullet, set off with a CCI Magnum shotgun primer. It`s interesting and adds more hunting time and a different twist on deer hunting. I keep my extra supplies in a cool little possibles bag, and while far from true black powder hunting, when that plume of smoke belches out of that barrel, it makes me feel as though I`m really muzzleloader hunting!

 

[MrSmitty]

I`m only a muzzleloader hunter because as has been said, it gives me more time to deer hunt, and I have to shoot a front loader to hunt the late season. I have one of the older Knight Disc Extremes, from back when the Knight family had it. It`s the great looking SS barrel with the camo stock in .50 caliber. I shoot 3, 50 grain 777 pellets, pushing a Barnes Boat-tail 250 grain bullet, set off with a CCI Magnum shotgun primer. It`s interesting and adds more hunting time and a different twist on deer hunting. I keep my extra supplies in a cool little possibles bag, and while far from true black powder hunting, when that plume of smoke belches out of that barrel, it makes me feel as though I`m really muzzleloader hunting!

I prefer the old side lock traditional BP guns, don't care for the modern inlines. I shoot round ball ,pillow ticking patch, #11 cap, looking for a BP single shot pistol right now, I've had BP revolvers, they're ok, but just want a single shot traditional pistol. Glad to see you enjoy hunting with the Knight, never hunted BP guns, just targets, and dirt

 

[Beowulf]

I finally got my matchlock back from Bob Hoyt at Freishutz Shop and man does he do fantastic work. I sent my sewer pipe Indian matchlock barrel and my very rough 1816/1855 barrel for relining. He took the .75 matchlock down to .62 caliber and now it's nice and thick. The thing is built like a tank now. He was also able to reline my 1816, keeping it at .69 caliber and got the stuck nipple off, so I have new one on.

Anyway, I got both of them out to range this weekend. The 1816 shot great, though it's a bit tricky to seat a musket cap around that Maynard mechanism. But the real start of the show was my "cheap" matchlock (not so cheap anymore after $200 plus shipping to reline the barrel).

 

[2in1evtime]

Seriously, if CVA came out with a .36 caliber rifle with some decent sights and a decent price, I'd have one in a heartbeat.

I bought a cva back in the 80's in 32 cal and it is a shooter. It is even left handed. bought several kit guns back then at reduced prices as a company was clearing out there supply think the 32 cal was like 25 bucks then, slept some since then but i think i am close, bought double shotguns, pistols and rifles then too

 

[BigRed]

A question to you BP folks who I know will know more than me......

Could White Hots or Pyrodex pellets be used in a BP revolver and, if so, can the same number of grains be used as what would be used with BP?

For example, a Uberti Walker can take up to 60 grains of BP. Could I also use two 30 grain Pyrodex pellets or a single 50grain White Hot?

Just curious.