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  1. maillemaker

    New Member From Alabama

    If you like shooting black powder weapons from the era of the American Civil War, check out the North-South Skirmish Association! You are in the Deep South Region. All of our shoots but one are held at Brierfield Ironworks State Park, which is just south of Birmingham...
  2. maillemaker

    SOLD - Pending funds Rare Pedersoli Howdah in .58 and rear leaf sight

    Very cool.
  3. maillemaker

    New from Northwest Georgia

    If you like shooting black powder guns from the era of the American Civil War, check out the North-South Skirmish Association. You are in the Deep South Region: www.deepsouthnssa.com All of our shoots but one are held at Brierfield Ironworks State Park, just south of Birmingham, Alabama.
  4. maillemaker

    Just bought a Pietta 1851 Navy in .36, what do I need to know?

    I have several articles on replacing various revolver front sights here: https://4thla.weebly.com/links-of-interest.html
  5. maillemaker

    Seeking a bullet mold maker

    Accurate can make the mold, and Larry Flees can finish up the base plug. Larry Flees: [email protected]
  6. maillemaker

    Weight sorting cast lead balls.

    I used to weigh bullets and discard anything outside of +/- .5% of average. I would plot the weights in Excel and there is a definite S curve where weight falls off for cold cast bullets and weight increases for hot ones. There is a relatively straight line in the middle. Here you can see...
  7. maillemaker

    I am Interested in making muzzle loaders the old way. Need advice how to.

    I've never made guns, but I used to make medieval armour. It's a similar elephant to eat. You want to break it up into little bites. My recommendation for folks who said, "Hey, I want to make armour!" is to start with something small. Armour making (and gunmaking) is really a collection of a...
  8. maillemaker

    Kibler Brown Bess?

    I'm down for one if it is historically accurate.
  9. maillemaker

    Just bought a Pietta 1851 Navy in .36, what do I need to know?

    Here is a handy reference for the sizes of various percussion caps: https://guntoters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Percussion-Caps-and-Nipples2.pdf I have shot black powder competitively in the N-SSA for 12 years now. I have found that Remington #10s fit well on stock Pietta and Uberti...
  10. maillemaker

    Just bought a Pietta 1851 Navy in .36, what do I need to know?

    My Pietta 1851 Navy is one of my only revolvers that actually shoots point of aim with no sight modifications. There are loads of YouTube videos on how to load and fire a black powder revolver. Here are some tips: Maximum accuracy will be around 12 grains of 3F powder. Make sure your balls...
  11. maillemaker

    1853 Enfield bad range day

    To reiterate what others have said: The key to accuracy with a muzzleloader with expanding ball ammunition is to use a bullet that is .001" - .002" under bore size. You cannot trust what is stamped on the barrel to tell you what the actual bore size might be. Likewise, you cannot trust what...
  12. maillemaker

    In hot water?

    I think the old advice of "boiling hot water" is unnecessary. What it does do is promote rust. Oxidation, like most chemical reactions, is accelerated by heat. But I find that any kind of soapy water does the trick. Probably don't even need the soap.
  13. maillemaker

    Anyone care to share why it didn't go well..

    I once tried multiple wads as a way to use them as "filler" so that the ball was seated near the chamber mouth. On loading, the ball was pressed against the wads, and they were squeezed such that the lube oozed out of them and fouled the powder. Many shots "vomited" out of the barrel with...
  14. maillemaker

    Bore brushing.

    During competition, I only clean with wet patches. At home, I clean with soapy water and a brass bristle brush and finish up with patches.
  15. maillemaker

    Another shipping war story….

    The "sorry we missed you" is a common problem today. The issue is drivers are penalized for being too slow. So if they get out of the truck to deliver a package, it slows them down. Much faster to just leave a note "sorry we missed you" and drive on to the next delivery so they make their...
  16. maillemaker

    To Bounce or not to Bounce

    In N-SSA competition I see many a shooter that repeated bash the ramrod against their projectile before firing. I agree that consistency is key. I don't think there is any need to smash the heck out of the bullet though. Prior to the invention of the expanding ball, there were experiments...
  17. maillemaker

    I am an *****. Frustrated to the point of wanting to quit.

    Here is a video of trying to set off black powder using a stun gun:
  18. maillemaker

    I am an *****. Frustrated to the point of wanting to quit.

    As you were told, black powder substitutes are not idea for flintlocks. The reason is that Pyrodex has a higher ignition temperature than real black powder. So, it's harder to get it to go off with a spark. While 4F or 3F may result in a quicker ignition, you can prime with 2F all day long...
  19. maillemaker

    North-South Skirmish Association "Camp of Instruction"

    We had a great time last weekend at our Camp of Instruction! It rained in the morning before the event, but by the time we got shooting it has mostly faded out. We had 24 people pre-registered the day of, and of those, 13 folks showed up. Of those, 6 signed up as new members on our team...
  20. maillemaker

    Hollow Base Revolver Bullets

    I use the Moose Moulds "collar button" bullet. Rather than expanding, it compresses.
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