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Re your question on the quality of the work vs the standardization of design, the answer is both. The professional could afford to buy specialized tools and had been trained in how to use them for best results. Standardization of design was (and still is) a cost saving practice - easier to make...

The best search engine for books for sale that my university reference librarian wife put me onto is "Bookfinder.com". Bookfinder shows Baxter's "Blunderbusses" available.

The only book that I have on blunderbusses is "Blunderbusses" by D.R. Baxter (1970)

Contact Dave Kasmerik (sp?) online at "Pepe's Possibles" in Tenn. I have two of his boxes & one of his portmanteau. He does excellent leatherwork. I got him to send me the boxes un-drilled since I use them with a naval blunderbuss that is larger than musket bore. (I was only able to get 5 holes...

Sorry for the confusion - I was thinking 18th c flintlocks, not 16th/17th c matchlocks.

Many fowling piece barrels are octagon to round. I have never seen a musket barrel that was not round for its full length. Musket barrels tend to be thicker due to rough combat use & the need to carry a bayonet. Fowling barrels tend to be lighter for better wing shooting. I would like to find...

You are most welcome from a former ensign

Ensign, where used, is the lowest rank of commissioned officer. Still used in the US (and other navies), used in the US Army until 1815 when replaced by rank of 2nd Lt

As it happens, I have one of the Pietta Dance .36 revolvers and it also has the 2nd "R" missing from "fireams". I had never noticed until now. Interesting. Perhaps on purpose to help it from being faked as an original?

I have a small Chapmans set in my range bag and a large Brownells in the shop. Happy with both. Buggered up screws really frost me. To have a professional remove a screw that has broken off will cost more than a good set of gunsmith screwdrivers. Cry once for a lifetime investment.

Look up "parlor guns" and "Flobert" in particular. Every now and then one hits the market.

Because the shooting pouch only carried that which was needed to shoot the gun a few times. No car keys, no cell phone, no wallet, no snacks - all stuff that should be in another bag (say small snapsack) so as not to make the shooting bag into a "man Purse".

In the pouch, as little as possible. A small flint wallet containing 2 flints and a turnscrew filed to fit the gun that goes with the pouch, a bit of tow for wiping the barrel if needed, lead balls and precut patches.

Welcome from a fellow Virginian. The only shop that I know of that carries real black powder that is sorta close to you is Bob Moates Sporting Goods, just west of Richmond on Midlothian Turnpike. (I did say sorta close). They generally have some BP guns as well - mostly percussion. Best to call...

Madison Grant's "The Kentucky Rifle Hunting Pouch" is the only one that comes to mind. Keep in mind that many of the dates in the book are informed guesses.

Welcome from a fellow Virginian!

The cool kids sit at the black powder table .........

I screwed up. When working out the scale, I went down, not up - a .50 bore for a 6.4" gun works out to a scale of 1/12, not 1/24. Actually the .50 bore is a bit oversize for the 9 & 58" long barrels so I may compromise on a scale of 1/16. Looks like a trailer may be in my future as well

I just put a pair of .50 caliber Brooke 6.4" two band rifled cannon on order. They are steel smooth bore & fully functional. Can a 1/24 model of the CSS Albemarle be in my future?

For home made horns, I would think almost certainly. For commercially made horns, much easier & faster to turn tapered round plugs & mold the horns to fit the plugs. Horn was the plastic of its day.