Black Powder firearms discussion

[Buck67]

400 yard shots with a Flintlock. Just for your general information. My Buddy Jesse and I went to Friendship today to shoot a target at 400 yards with our flintlocks. The target was 2' wide by 6' tall. Any hit on the board counts. Out out of 20 shots, I got three hits and Jesse got one. Open iron sights, loading from the bag, no cleaning between shots, round ball only, no inlines. Here is the challenge, can you beat that? If you don't have a 400 yard range, try a 1' X 3' target at 200 yards.

Buck67

 

[RichardBD]

I have a CVA Tracker "carbine" in .50 cal traditional muzzle loader I purchased from a dealer in Mooresville sometime in the early 90's. It is a short 21" barrel and is a lot of fun to shoot and I typically take it to the Atterbury public range to shoot in the fall/spring. I don't see a lot of muzzle loader shooters there and I always get the impression I'm bothering other shooters near me because of the big bang and smoke. I use Pyrodex green and thought it was "smokeless" but there is still more than cartridge smoke. Not a lot of public facilities near Indy that allow muzzle loaders so Atterbury is the closest choice I know about. I'd be interested to know if other muzzle loaders have similar issues and the varous types of powder available which might reduce smoke.

 

[Grizhicks]

RichardBD -- First of all; WELCOME to the group (both INGO & BP) !!! Don't worry about other shooters; it's a public range and you have as much right to shoot what you want as they do. While I'm not a muzzleloader, I am a black powder guy and the more smoke the better. I'm a cowboy shooter, using cap 'n ball pistols, and BP cartridges in 45 Colt & 12 gauge. If I go to a public range, it is normally Wilbur Wright (NE of New Castle), and the smoke normally attracks people wanting to know what I'm shooting (65 grs in a 45-70 makes lots of smoke & noise). Later, Grizhicks

 

[MWCMT]

Anyone know of a place around Indy or south that carries Dynamit Nobel No. 1081 Percussion Caps? Thanks in advance.

 

[MWCMT]

I may be wrong on the Dynamit Nobel No. 1081. We may be looking for No. 11 Dynamit Nobel caps. Or just Dynamit Nobel Percussion Caps.

 

[Buck67]

I have picked up caps at Gander Mountain, they usually have a few in their black powder department. Not a lot so I buy up all they have when I do find them. You can also order them from Dixie Gun Works Dixie Gun Works muzzleloading, blackpowder and rare antique gun supplies. but you will have to pay a $27.50 Hazmat fee.

Buck67

 

[huntall50]

Richard DB, check out MCFG and it muzzleloader shoot the 3rd Sat. of each month. Nice group of guys, also don't concern yourself with the smoke bothering other shooter, you may get the opportunity to add an new shooter to muzzleloading.

 

[mdmayo]

Fall Creek Valley CC is muzzleloader friendly, and just outside of Pendleton. It's a members only club (to the best of my knowledge) but the dues are very reasonable. The folks there have a nice facility and are quite active.

I shoot a little .32 percussion squirrel rifle and an A&H 420M inline, which is a .50 cal tack driving machine, though A&H parts are VERY hard to come by since the company's demise. Luckily, I bought a few extra goodies back in the day. With different plugs it will prime with p-caps, 209s, and (my fave, though purists don't seem to care for them) .32 H&R Mag brass with small rifle primers. It's one muzzie that always goes bang and will shoot roundball to sabot to powerbelts with amazing accuracy.

 

[ScouT6a]

Spent Saturday and half a day Sunday with a bunch of guys that got together to do a black powder trap shoot. It was about a 50-50 split between flintlock smoothbores and percussion doubles. We shot at regular clay pigeons, mini "dove" clays and clay rabbits. Had a ball and the flintlock shooters gave the percussion guys a run for their money.
In the end, there was a shoot-off between one of each and the percussion shooter nudged him out by one bird. Good stuff!

 

[revance]

Just FYI, I noticed that a Wal-Mart near me now has pretty much any kind of ML items you could possibly want. Seriously the best stock of ML supplies I have ever seen in a bricks and mortar store. I wonder if it is just seasonal for deer season.

 

[Seancass]

That would be my guess revance, just getting ready for deer season. I'll have to check out the local stores!

 

[Kurr]

Got out to the range today (read that as finaly got time to ask my buddy to let me walk to the back of his woods next to a soybean field) after well over a year of not firing a single round.

Took the 1851 navy and my bag of goodies and bought a soda from my buddies vending machine in his yard on the way back. First I cut a small stick to length and took some printer paper from my bag. Got to the back and wished I had bought a license, heard several tree rats barkin within a 50 yard radius or so.

Poked the sick though slits in the corners and crossed it then stuck em in the ground, so the paper was held up rather secure. Then finished my drink and set it in front of the "backstop/eyeball" paper, and made 16 good paces back. The ground rises a few feet so I had a small backstop before the field.

First 4 cylinders went with appr 18 grains or so, bout half a cylinder, no wad, ball seated well. Noticed 1-2 flyers, maybe i pulled em.

Then I started getting "stiff" on the rotation, so I cut a section of good tough grapevine, trimmed it smooth, and used a half ababywipe from a small jewelry ziplock bag (holds 3 full wipes) that I had to do a "field clean". swabbed barrel and gave the rest a general wipedown. Smooth sailin again. But it seems my accuracy fell off. Shot 3-4 more cylinders, Ended up with 3 shots vertically strung 2 inches left of the can, 2 shots about 3 inches above, and one diagnally top right about 2 inches from target.

Can was thoroughly smoked, lol. Took the other half of the wipe and did another quick swab and wipedown while I collected my things together to pack out. Big fox squirrel cought my eye as I was reloading for the walk home about 15 yards away climbing down the tree, again making me wish I had bought my license.

Not a bad day, all in all, finally getting to make smoke again, some much needed practice, and good confidence booster.

Now if I could just figure out why my shots started stringing and flying after I cleaned it...

 

[Grizhicks]

I don't know for sure, but even with the cleaning, you may be getting some build-up in the barrel. I don't see anywhere about you using a lube of sometype (& you did say you were not using a wad). I can shoot a 6-stage cowboy match without cleaning and still hit where I aim. Also, with the shooting, the gun is getting warm (or hot) and that will effect where you are hitting.

If you are using a ture navy, then it is a .36, and you may be using too much powder. Some of my fellow cowboys are using 13-14 grains and getting good results. I've recently cut back on the powder in my Armys (26 down to 22), and it seems the gunns shoot better.

Just some random thoughts; good luck.... Greg/Grizhicks

 

[Kurr]

No, I wasn't using a lube that day at all. I did consider heat, but didnt think a slight worm up would affect it too much, your comment has me reconsidering that. Next time out I'll drop her down to 13-14 (it is a true .36 navy) if I can find my adjustable measure and see how that does, but I'll prolly have to bring some filler into it then to seat properly.

I'll see about picking up some wads too.

 

[Pete]

Spent a sunny afternoon at the range today.

I only shot 30 rounds but I had a great time. I dialed in a Thompson Renegade .50 with round balls. It shot best with 70 grains of FFg. I was ringing bobcat steel - what a sweet sound. I'm looking forward to another sunny day.

Anybody else burn some blackpowder today?

 

[Titanium Man]

Looking forward to Saturday. Going out zeroing my wife's and my new Traditions Deerhunter Muzzleloaders. Both are identical, 50c, percussion, black stocks. We both have in-lines, but we also wanted to be able to go on primitive hunts when available. Using round balls with 70g or Triple 7. I was truly amazed at how there is relatively no selection of deer hunting side locks on the market. I have wall hanger side locks, but I wanted something which could stand a little abuse and I would not be concerned about a scratch or two. I'm staying with Triple 7 for pure convenience in cleaning. I sometimes enjoy my muzzleloaders much more than my center fires. I really had a great time last month watching and visiting, the National Muzzleloading Rifle Championships down in Friendship, Indiana.

 

[Toby50]

I think that would be a good idea

 

[Seancass]

Attempted to do a little update to my BP 44. It got some rust on it from a gun case, so i figured i prob can't make the thing any worse. Here's some before and after.

Not perfect, but pretty good. The factory 10-22 barrel in the background gives you a color reference but it too has some rust on it. As to the work involved: if i can do it, anyone can do it! I think this gun was good practice.

 

[Fire Lord]

I came across a Tingle .45 muzzle loading rifle yesterday. It looks to be in fair condition. The barrel has no bluing and has some light rust on/in it. Wood is in good condition. It has some scratches, nothing to bad though. The action works well. I offered $50 for it, but don't want to be ripping of the person trying to sell it. Seller received it after a death in their family. I couldn't find anything out appraisal wise on the internet, or in my books of values. I'm curious what a fair price would be, as long as the breech isn't damaged. Hopefully someone with some experience with these rifles can shed some light on the situation. Thanks in advance.

 

[sun]

I don't know much about the Tingle rifles but the Tingle pistols are usually worth about 1.5 - 2 times the value of a comparable CVA knock off from Spain.
Does this rifle have a conventional sidelock or is it a solid block receiver with a centered external hammer like the pistols have?
Gun values are based on condition, rarity, collectibility, design and the selling venue among other things.
The gun sounds to be potentially shootable but has some wear and a rust issue.
Is the barrel replaceable or can it be cleaned up enough to still be servicable?
My guess is that it sounds like the gun could be worth anywhere from $75 - $200.
If it is just a conventional sidelock then the value would be on the lower end, $75 - $125, maybe even $150 more or less.
However if it has a solid block receiver like the Tingle pistols and the barrel can be replaced, then I would guess that the "collector's value" could be more toward the higher end, $150 - $200 or more.
We can't see it and don't know its bore condition etc...so I can only guess about how collectible or shootable it is. But I'm aware that it's probably on the rare side and could always have some value as a parts gun.
I don't blame you for offering low money on it because no one wants to sink too much money into a gun that's basically just a wall hanger or needs a lot of work to get into shooting condition, or won't shoot well if the barrel has rust issues. It sounds more like a tag sale offer and my advice would be to make an offer that corresponds to how much you really want the gun. If you don't really want it very much then leave your offer at $50. If your genuine interest in it is greater than $50, then consider raising your offer to $75 or $100.
It's your call, we can't see it as well as you can.
If you were so inclined, barrels can be rebored or the rifling refreshed for whatever the balance of the value of the gun would be if it were in better condition or for sale at an antique gun show.