The Black Powder firearms thread
 

So who has black powder firearms? While they're not something I would carry to go up against powder-blue-helmeted UN troops with automatic weapons, they could come in handy when SHTF and regular ammunition is in short supply.
I searched but didn't find a thread dedicated to black powder firearms, so I'll get the show started.
Here are my two black powder revolvers, both .36 caliber, both Colt style. The one on top is an Italian-made "Sheriff's" 1862 model. The one on the bottom is a Colt 2nd generation (or some would say 3rd generation) 1851 Navy revolver manufactured in the early 1970s. Eventually I hope to purchase some .44 caliber pieces, perhaps a Colt Dragoon model.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...Desktop001.jpg

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

The term 'firearm' is strictly a commercial term and applies only to that which is 'regulated' under the 'commerce clause' (as opposed to the term 'arms' as mentioned in the 2nd Amend.).

Blackpowder guns are anything but 'firearms' - guns, rifles, shotguns, revolvers, sidearms, longarms, etc.

I wish people would stop allowing the enemy to define the terms.

"How fortunate for leaders that men do not think." --Adolf Hitler

Nice blackpowder guns you got there.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

You bet we do. We were shooting last night, as two of the folks have a black powder elk hunt up North of us. (Still in NM, but close to CO.)

Very nice pistols.:ok:

We were shooting some black powder yesterday evening. Judging by the 1 1/2 foot fire that came out the muzzle, I'd say it qualifies as a firearm. In fact we were talking about it. When you define the word as they do, you succumb to the definition.

Arms, as discussed in the Constitution, cover knives, guns, and anything else with defense as a primary objective. Arms that build a fire are firearms.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

I used to do medieval reenactments, in periods usualy before the introduction of fire arms into european warfare, but always wanted to get an old match-lock replica. I love the old black powder long arms and pistols. Not so keen on the late model pistols, but love the long arms.

Theres just something about match and flint and the chain of events they cause that fascinate me. Some of the art work on these early guns is just outstanding as well; beautiful peices of work.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

Flame, percussion, smoke - What's not to like about shooting black powder?

RE the term "firearms," I just like the sound of it better than "guns." I'm aware of how language gets twisted by firearm-phobes. I just refuse to play their game.

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Love shooting my TC 50 cal Hawkin and can't wait till deer season.
I've had a bad itch to get a Navy 1851!
Soon to be I hope!! :15_1_70v:

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

The thing is, whenever you use the term 'firearm' you ARE playing their game.

The 'game' is known as the Banksters' Game, as operated by their minions in the BAR, a subsidiary of the Crown Temple. Most are so immersed in the illusion they are unable to make the necessary distinctions and are thus very easily manipulated by those who wish to control them via the media and other inputs.

'Firearm' = an object which requires permission before taking possession (when buying from a 'licensed' 'firearms' dealer). Black powder guns are not regarded as 'firearms' by those granting the permission because they don't see black powder as a real threat to their meat shields.

Take responsibility for your own programming, or don't and suffer the consequences.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

I have a Ruger Old Army in 7.5" adjustable sights stainless......did you know Ruger quit making these a year or two ago?

The Old Army cylinder bores were milled with a round bottom mill.....I have mine squared up for additional volume....35 - 40 grains of Hodgdons 777 and a 220 grain 45 Cal soft lead conical....700 ft-lbs energy ....that's 41 Mag country.....I will try to take a deer with it this year.

TC 50 cal Hawkins.

Savage ML10....only factory (non-custom) proofed for 100,000 PSI....smokless approved. It is the most powerful rifle I own.....over 3000 ft-lbs on smokless.....250 or 300 grain Hornady SST/STS 45 cal sabots........zero at 100 yrd = 12" low at 200 yrds = 36" low at 300 yrds. I'd take a 250 yard shot without reservations. You can also shoot black powder.

The Savage ML10 is the ultimate modern muzzleloader - awesome rifle.

Gives me another few weeks of deer season + lots of fun.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

The only drawback to BP guns is that the powder has been designated a hazardous substance so you have to pay a tax to get it shipped. The tax is the same whether you get a little or a lot. A pound costs almost as much as a barrel.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

Uh, OK. Whatever dude.

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Can you favor us with some pics? Sounds pretty sweet.

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Those who don't stand for something will fall for anything. lol

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

so all wiener shaking aside and back on topic about black powder arms, I LOVE shooting black powder rifles. My grandfather made black powder rifles as his hobby in his basement. He would machine the action on his lathe and mate it with the barrel which he ordered. He sent away the stocks and got them turned and assembled the rifle in the basement. He gave me my rifle when I turned 12 as a christmas present.

They're inline actioned, no serial number on the gun anywhere since he made the whole thing in his shop.

We usually shoot ROUND BALL that we pour ourselves with black powder (the real stuff....not the synthetics) and there is no better feeling. The smell, the smoke, and loud BOOM that is actually tolerable without ear protection (not an ear splitting crack like modern rifles). Its great, my favorite gun to shoot by far!

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

QWAK,I have a 50 cal.TC Hawkins with teliscopic site and a 50 cal. TC pistol to match.

A 44 cal Italian made Buntline revolver and a 36 cal revolver .

I always figured if it got bad enough I could make my own black powder.:wink::yes:

I need a good simple formula to put in the black powder box -- just in case.

the DUCK:15_1_70v:

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

What a great gift your grandfather gave to you. Hopefully you will be able to pass it on to your grandkids. Do you have a pic?

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Reminds me of the word "handgun" is used. Disgusting

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Another T/C .50 cal here.

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Its currently in my fathers safe since I'm been kind of transient moving around. I'll ask him for some pictures and post them here in a day or two. I can't justify keeping it with me right now with no safe to keep it in. Its irreplaceable!

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

This is probably a tiny picture....got it off Savage site. This is my model.....Stainless Laminated. I have mine topped with a 2-7X Bushnell Legend Series.

Savage site link: http://www.savagearms.com/muzzleloader_home.htm

I'm pretty sure it is the same action as their 110 bolt gun.

The Accu-Trigger is fantastic......custom target quality trigger right out of the box.

I can think of no better MODERN muzzleloader due to strength to use smokless.....if you like traditional stuff....get a T/C Hawkins - got one of those also.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

That has to be the ultimate in muzzleloaders! Same action as the 110 series w. AccurTrigger, wow. That has deerslayer written all over it. Very nice. :ok:

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If you use smokless and can live with 3 inch high at 100 yards.....zero @ 180 yards.......8 in low at 250 yards......all with a 300 grain 45 cal payload. This is a bad boy on long range deer....

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Here is my Ruger Old Army - making 700 ft-lbs energy on Hodgdons 777 and 220 grain conicle. True .44 cal. That is a powerful black powder pistol. Like I said - think 41 Magnum power.

Ruger based this guns grip frame on the Blackhawk - so it can use a lot of aftermarket grips. I like rubber so I can wash them in the sink.

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Beats the hell out of using shotgun slugs. Do you have a separate muzzleloader season in MI? We do in IL, along with a pistol season. In MI you should have an year long season, any weapon, any time. You have a lot of deer up there, much more than IL.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

Michigan:

Bow = Oct 1 until Jan 1
Firearm = Nov 15 - Nov 30
Muzzleloader - varies on area of state......Dec 4-3 in UP, Dec 11-20 N. LP, Dec 4-20 in lower half of LP.

For the past 2 years they have had an early firearms doe only prior to Bow.....and also a late firearms doe only in december in select areas. Too many does.

Roughly the lower half of the LP has a rule of no rifles.....shotguns and muzzleloaders only (or handguns are o.k.) during firearms season.......I'm torn....I do love my 870 slug gun.....but my Savage ML 10 is more gun....hell - it is more powerful than my 30.06....I also love handgun hunting ...so either 44 Mag or the Ruger Old Army B.P. is out with me during firearm season for close shots....

You can take as many as 5 does with 5 permits.......2 bucks max....but 1 must be 4 point on 1 side.....UP has some goofy rule of 3 point one side or better this year.

I've been out in the tree a few times so far....passed on several little does....I'm waiting for a big girl with a lot of junk in the trunk! Bow hunting is challenging - and frustrating....takes tons of time since the distance needs to be so short - you have to get 'em close.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

Those are some sharp pieces Ruprick. I especially like that Ruger Old Army. Thank you for sharing.

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Years ago, I built a TC 50 cal Hawken rifle from a kit. Don't have a pic, but it's very similar to this one, and it is a percussion cap model, not a flintlock. The set trigger mechanism works very nicely - sensitive but not a hair trigger. I have not done any group/range testing with it.

http://www.xbowsplus.com/files/21323...ded/tc5043.jpg

I'm not a hunter (not yet, anyway); shooting BP is a (very occasional) "recreational" activity for me at this point. Building and finishing the piece was at least as much fun as shooting with it.

It's a lot different shooting BP. The extra time and trouble it takes to load and clean a BP arm makes you want to make every shot count.

Anyone mill their own BP/ cast their own bullets? That's what would appeal to me - being able to make ammunition from scratch if one had to, in a shtf situation, etc.

R.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

Here is my homemade black powder experience from 30 years ago....

When I was in Jr. High....I made a lot of black powder for some seriously big pipe bombs......it was a little out there even in the late 70's....no chance for kids to even try stuff like that these days without ending up in jail.

I got my Potasium Nitrate (Saltpeter) and Sulfur at the local drug store....a lot of it...even had the drugist/owned order a bunch - told him I needed it for a rocket project... I used regular BBQ charcoal.....I'm pretty sure I used 70% KNO3 + abd equal parts S & Charcoal for the remaining 25%.......It worked well in large pipes.....never tried it in a gun.

I understand you can add a little water during mixing....then make cakes to dry, bust up and re-grind - mixes on a much finer level......makes it burn better. I never tried this either.

Lastly - I understand that homemade Charcoal is the key rather than typical BBQ. I did not know that at the time. I now know the charcoal is the key to high performance.

In the open it just burned - required a pretty good sized pipe (threaded steel well pipe, cast iron caps) to really make a big explosion....about 12" long x 4" minimum diameter worked very well = powerful = moved more than a large garbage can of dirt, the upward blast was impressive with a blast cone that was about 75' - 100' high.....my first attempt was with a pipe about 1.5" diameter x 6" long.....it only acted like a rocket motor...not enough pressure to burst the pipe and just had a 6 foot flame jet.

Several pounds of even my low performance powder in a strong pipe was like a stick or two of TNT. I wish I knew how to make really good BP back then....but we did not have the internet back in 1978. I'd like to see what some good stuff could have done....probably a serious stump remover.

I'd be scared at the stuff I would have tried if I was a teen in the internet days.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

Ahhh the good old days when youngsters could build a bomb, set it off and the local cops would look up from their donuts and coffee and say, "What was that?" and then go back to consuming their donuts and coffee.

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

This looks like this site has all the tricks to make homemade black powder. And they say the water mixing is critical for fast burn - along with special homemade charcoal......which is great = you can make it yourself.

http://www.musketeer.ch/blackpowder/homemade_bp.html

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

I've never made my own BP, but all of the bullets we shoot are homemade lead casts.

We have a few round ball molds that my dad has had forever...he told me his dad gave them to him so I have no idea how old they are...but that sort of stuff lasts forever! I'm sure you could still buy new ones somewhere.

We just melt lead in a lead pot and skimmed the top with an old spoon. Then dipped the lead in a ladle and poured it into the molds. Let it sit for a few minutes, open the mold and tap them out, then cut the extra lead off (from the hole you poured it in) with wire cutters. We make sure to load the ball with the "nubbin" pointing out the end of the barrel every time for consistency sake. Plenty accurate for deer slaying...all the deer my dad, my brother, and myself have killed have been with MP and a round ball.

Still working on the pictures...

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

Here's a few of my ol' timey shootin' irons. The flintlock pistol is a .69 caliber and it has seen many rendezvous and lots of shootin', as for accuracy, you can hit the broad side of a barn with it, LOL! The revolver in the middle is a Ruger "Old Army" in .44 caliber, good shootin' pistol and very accurate. The revolver on top is a kit gun I've had since I was a kid, still shoots good but not as accurate as the Ruger. The Rifle is my sweetheart. She's a custom built rifle my good friend built for me in the "poor boy" style. The stock is P++ Maple, the barrel is a swamped Green Mountain in .45 caliber. The lock is an Egg Flintlock. The hardware is all iron and custom made. The rear sight is a buckhorn and the front sight is German silver. The ramrod is hand split from a Hickory log and seasoned in kerosene. As far as accuracy, don't let me get you in my sights within 200 yards. I can split playing cards with this rifle out to 75 yards, or keep a 2" circle at 100 yards. At 200 yards I can hit a man sized target in the center mass.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...9/MVC-089S.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...9/MVC-090S.jpg

Re: The Black Powder firearms thread
 

I finally got the pictures I promised.

Hope you guys like them!

My present at 12 years old. The same year my family deemed me old enough to kill my first deer. First rifle is .45 cal, only use REAL blackpowder (no synthetics) and homemade poured lead balls.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...IMG_2324-3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...IMG_2321-4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...IMG_2320-3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...IMG_2327-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...3/IMG_2328.jpg

Second rifle is .40 cal, only use REAL blackpowder and homemade lead balls

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...IMG_2333-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...IMG_2337-3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...IMG_2335-2.jpg

Enjoy!

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I am not sure wether I like the guns or the TShirt more. Damn fine day to be a Browns fan. Browns 13 Steelers 6 (for the GIM archives).

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I am not one that wants to drag BlackPowder shooters through the mud cuz I cut my teeth on these guns (I currently shoot a TC Encore wityh a 240 grain .45 cal XTP sitting on top of 3-50 grain Triple Seven Pellets).

However, in an attempt to better inform fellow shooter I need to point this out. In fact it is one of my pet peeves when hear people talk muzzleloaders. It is a TC HAWKEN , not a hawkins. That word is like nails on a blackboard to me.

http://www.tcarms.com/firearms/mzTraditional.php

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Yeah, very good day! Unfortunately its been tough the rest of the season...

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I have a 1810 Kentucky Long Rifle at home, I'll try to put up pictures this weekend. It hasn't been fired since the 50's. It was bored out into a shotgun after the Civil War and my grandfather used it to hunt with up into the 50's.

Also, nice T-shirt, I grew up in NE Ohio in a small farming community and always considered Cleveland my home town for sports teams.

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Thanks mtnman. They will be passed down. The only problem is I don't have enough rifles to pass on to the number of kids my wife and I would like to have. I'm sure it will be an issue, but I plan to pass them down if I can.

They shoot like a dream too! No sense owning them if you aren't going to shoot them!

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Must have shrunk the cylinder too, it takes a 457 round ball ...

I load up my own black powder shot shells, keep several pounds of FFg on hand, some cannon fuse, a few iron pipe nipples, a few end caps ...