Search results

Turner Kirkland in old Dixie Gun Works catalogues suggested two starting loads for a round ball muzzleloading rifle: put the ball in your cupped hand and cover the ball with powder for a light load, do the same with a flat palm for a heavy charge. Never tried it so I have no opinion.

When Lincoln was out testing a Spencer rifle with its inventor, an obviously knowledgeable bystander was heard to remark: "a good rifle gun should recoil forward...."

Friend's Rifle Shoppe Ferguson...bayonet took years to come in. Have a video of his first shots with it, but can't find it....

DuPont was the main powder supplier for the Union, providing roughly half of all powder acquired. Georgia's Augusta Works was chief supplier for the Confederacy. During the war the Federal government purchased 8,834,551 pounds of rifle and musket powder, while producing none itself. The...

Ammunition weight was a chief factor. It not only afflicted the soldier but supply cartage, too. Also recoil, which is significant. Against that, the government had many, many thousands of M.1822, 1835/40, and 1842 .69 calibre never-issued smoothbores crying to be rifled. As stated, I shoot an...

I lied. .69 rifled musket standard load was 70 grains of powder.

60 grains was standard load for rifled .69 calibre muskets, too. Trust me: touching-off just 60 grains behind a 730 grain .685 lead minie isn't something you want to do repeatedly from the bench. Here's an M.1822 H&P conversion whopping the old guy....

Regulation U.S. load for a .58 rifle-musket in 1861 was 60 grains of what is close to modern 2F. During the war this was bumped-up to 65 grains.

I believe that was Fess Parker in this Davy Crockett incarnation...in the "River Pirates" segment when Jeff York played Mike Fink, "King of the River".

Have a .60 caliber J.E. brown, Jr. jaeger from the early '80s with a Davis lock. Mainspring is seriously stressed. Keep a spare in the patchbox. Otherwise a superb lock.

Believe you'll find only M2 practice grenades had a black powder filling.

Fess carried several "guns" each episode. The real Daniel often favored smoothbores for serious woods fighting. Believe he carried a fusil or fowler when he headed out for what was to be the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782.

As I recall, the character had studied in London.

Amen, brother. As stated above, I'm a casual shooter. I blow down the muzzle after firing to keep fouling soft. I'm reasonably aware of my firearm going-off so have no hesitation to do so, any more than I have of walking in front of my car after I put it in park and shut off the engine. Others'...

I'm a casual shooter. Learned from an old timer years ago, when not cleaning between shots, to blow down the barrel of a black powder muzzleloading shoulder arm to keep fouling soft. Ones breath is humid. Believe precision breechloader boys use special blow tubes to do the same, but from the breech.