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I would not shoot this thing, period. I have too much regard for my head. If its made in Spain it should have proof marks. Dan

This is something like one would find in a 458 magnum class modern firearm. This is too fast for even a 45 cal lead bullet. Since 1:18 is good for bullets to 600 gr of so. They probably had some surplus blanks laying around for modern HV 45 cals and just profiled them for the ML and used them...

One should never steel wool an original. One should never take the barrel "back to white". Cleaning is one thing. Attacking the gun with abrasives or worse is something else again. You really did the gun no favors. Dan

BTW in 1688 Gov. Dongan of New York wrote that about 10% of his non-native Militia force of 1687 were rifle armed. So there were rifles in America before 1700 in significant numbers. Virginia I cannot speak to. But by the 1740s the natives in some areas were heavily armed with rifles. See...

Almost no difference. Import locks were often 20 years behind Europe. Locks with virtually identical shape to the Siler were in use in Europe by 1700 or so. Though most had no bridled pan it was coming into use at least in England. A Siler is fine for a Germanic lock since by 1720 bridled pans...

Actually not. If the string was sinew water could be an issue and the bow would become useless. Dan

Shield it with you body or hand to keep the wind off the prime. They did not fight in the rain until the advent of cartridge guns. Hunting? One is advised to use a full length leather cover with Sno-Seal applied. It will slide off easily and the gun will be dry. A film of water will stop a...

Probably a low end English gun if one can find proofs. Or it could be a foreign made knock off. The the American trade.

Just stay away from the large front leg bones. This would be my only caveat. Lots or elk killed with a 54 RB and even 50s so far as that goes. Shot placement is the thing. Dan

It stinks. Dan

Hard to tell from this distance but the lock is not as corroded as the area around the drum is. Rifle could be a restock. Is not very well done if made by a gunstocker from what I see. Could have been redone in the early 20th c or 1870 or 1970. No way to know. The circles on the muzzle are...

Leather is the best choice. Buckskin is too thin. A medium weight cowhide or Elk will work as will a heavy brain tan. Lead is too heavy, can slow lock time and can put excessive loads on the cock when it stops at the end of its travel. It also requires more clamping force to hold the flint. Dan

Unless the bullets are soft and they are forced through the piece of barrel perfectly square and centered you will have accuracy problems. If the bullets are less than 2 calibers long they should stabilize in a 1:48. But there are other problems as well. Such as the bullet sliding off the...

Will likely be velocity limited due to the hollow base being blown. Its another one of those answers to a problem that really does not exist. The problems they cause out weigh any advantages. Depending on where you live the greatly increased maximum range and ricochet potential make them a...

Rabbits? The smooth bore is not "versatile" its a special use weapon that while it will "do anything" the only thing it does well is shoot small shot. Its good for night guard loaded with buckshot back in the day. If you are in Montana as the OP states, a great deal, 2/3 perhaps, of Montana...

I live in the upper Yellowstone Valley. First we have to ask... What did the people that were out here back in the day use? Generally a rifle of 50-58 caliber. Anyone that thinks the trade gun is a viable choice note the results of Indians armed with trade guns against trappers with rifles in...

I would NEVER put this stuff on a piece of wood. Unless its one of the newer synthetics its little more than 10w petroleum oil with an additive package to make it work with wet clutches and a high detergent content to prevent the tranny from having sludge/varnish build up. If the wood has a...

For reference look at a Colt Walker, a horse pistol and the Dragoon is marginal for the belt, a 49 pocket and the 51 Navy "belt" pistol. Horse, pocket, belt. Most large FL pistols were "horse" pistols. Pocket pistols are likely going to have barrels 4" or less maybe 5 max. A "belt pistol" can be...

Typical run distance for lung shots (or shots at the shoulder that miss major bone) with almost anything is 40 yards. Unless its something really nasty like a light bullet HV thing like 25-06

Just use a RB. A Rb of the same weight as the conical is a better killer. Conicals in MLs, were never popular for HUNTING back in the day. Even for large game like African Elephant. But of course this knowledge is lost unless people want to read some old books. F.C. Selous said that he never...