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Posted: 12/25/2002 12:20:13 PM EDT
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While I was at my Dad's for Christmas, I snapped a pic of the family muzzle loader collection. All were entirely (except barrel machining) crafted by my dad over the last 30 years or so. Even the bags, horns, knives, etc., were all made by him by hand. Lots of deer have met their demise by these rifles!  Just thought I'd share.... |
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Nice to see so many flintlocks! If the good Lord had meant for man to use caps, Pyrodex, etc., he would have put it in creek beds, too! Actually, I have a .45 flinter and a couple of bp cartridge rifles (Uberti Highwall repro in .45-70, Sharps-Lee repro in .42-60, and a Hotchkiss repro in .40-65). Messy but nice. |
He's always been a flint lock kind of a guy, but there are at least five cap locks (there are several more rifles not in the pic) for use in rainy weather.
Someday (hopefully a LOOOONNGG time from now) I'll inherit a third of them. It's already been decided who gets what. The pic doesn't do them justice either. Several of them are pretty ornate, and have beautiful brass work and patch boxes. As mentioned, there are some more that aren't in the pic, including two that he uses in BP matches. At 87 years of age, he still wins more than his share, but as his eye sight slips he's not winning quite as often. At one time he was dominant at most matches. |
I've spent many a day in the rain with my flintlock! My best was three squirrels in the rain. You just have to know how to keep your pan/frizzen dry. A greased "cow's knee", along with keeping the lock under your armpit works well. also a little beeswax at critical points helps. The problems arise after your first shot, because powder residue attracts moisture. Again, beautiful collection. |
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Nice rifles. My question is, where do people still buy black powder? I'd love to buy, for example, one of the $70 50 cal rifles Tapco had for sale, but it's been over 30 years since I've seen black powder for sale anywhere. I haven't seen it at any of the gun shows or gun shops I've been to.z |
Any gun store will have black powder, just ask. I believe storage regulations might keep it off the shelf where you can see it. Here in MI you can get pyrodex at Walmart and Meijers stores. Beautiful collection. Building an American longrifle is on my life list of things I want to accomplish. To me they are a thing of beauty. I'd rather have some form of ornate American longrifle on the wall than most so called art I see. Kent |
| Ditto Green-canoe. Can usually find Pyrodex at any sporting goods that carries guns. The real stuff, classic gunpowder, is a bit harder to find but can do if you look hard enough. Classic gunpowder is dirtier but alot more smoke. I like it in my handguns for more realism. |
Any gun store? I've asked in about 15 different gun shops that I've been to in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Tennessee, but I haven't found one yet that carries it. I also haven't seen any at any of the six different gun shows I've been to. One local shop, that specializes in reloading equipment, said they stopped selling it in 1996 after the BATF told (not asked) them to stop. Wal-Mart doesn't carry it, Dick's Sporting Goods doesn't, Sports Authority doesn't, etc.. So, just where can you buy it?z |
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Because of storage regs, BP is getting harder to find. Goex's website has a list of master distributors www.goexpowder.com/index.html |
Maybe things have changed since I worked at Shippee & Smith Sporting Goods (est. 1946) while in high school. At the time we didn't carry very many pounds due to fire regs. We had a fire resistant vault with a blow out panel (in case the powder did light) in the back room. We probably had 8 to 10 pounds in stock at any one time. What's the world coming too? Kent |
The Lyman great plains is one of the bes production BP rifles out there. Historically, they are much more accurate than the TC/ CVA's, etc. out there. If you want to build one- Check out Dixie gun works. They have a ton of kits at various levels of skill. I built a Brown bess kit that was about 80% inlet, but all the stock shaping/finishing needed done, as well as tuning the lock, and finishing the metal parts (sand cast, still needed finished) It's my favorite muzzle loader- .75 caliber flint. Nothing like sending a 3/4" roundball into a deer! It also shoots shot fairly well. |
That's the truth. This morning, I asked a guy that works at Dick's Sporting Goods that I know shoots BP. He said, "after Tony's [a nice gun shop in NC about 30 miles north of where I live] stopped carrying it, I started making my own. You just have to be careful, because sometimes it'll surprise you!" Ummm, ok. I don't like surprises when it comes to explosives. I guess I'll just keep looking. Shooting a blackpowder 45/70 is just one of those things that's on my list of things to do before I'm gone. It's on the list with firing an MP5 or an Uzi, but that's not very likely to happen considering I've never even seen a privately owned machine gun so I'll setting for BP in a metallic cartridge.z |
Check out americanlongrifles.com for more stuff on building BP firearms than you could use in one lifetime. They have lots of links to suppliers other than Dixie, and check out the builders links to see the rifles professionals put together! Kent |
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