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Robby and I think alike, be tolerant of folks who are not in the know, and try to get them hooked on a better way of shooting and hunting. I've just gone so far as to recondition an older right handed 50 cal CVA flintlock to have as a loaner gun. Spent some of my enforced down time at the bench...

I did much as Rich Pierce describes, using 6" white plastic pipe from Home Depot. As the process had to be done in our rather chilly basement I warmed the pipe with a brooder lamp shining on the bottom of the pipe. For small parts I used a plastic tub from Wally Mart as a humidity chamber, again...

I have read this series three times, and keep seeing mods I want to add to my current or next bench!

I haven't tried the paper shot collars yet, but have experimented with using a buffering material in with the shot charge. This was for a 62 cal/20 gauge cylinder bore trade gun, to be used for turkey hunting. Had fine ground corncob and walnut shell on hand, so tried these. Experimentally...

I grew up in New Hampshire, a few hours drive from Moosehead Lake n Maine. Mount Kineo (KIN-EE-0H) is on the shore of Moosehead, and is the source of a rock known as Kineo Flint. It's not a true flint, but rather a high silica form of rhyolite, formed by long, long ago volcanic action. It forms...

This forum doesn't usually deal with the new fangled "muzzle loaders" made of stainless steel and various shades of plastic. That said, the load you mention compares favorably with those used in a recent population control cow elk hunt where I had to conduct marksmanship tests for the hunters...

I must be getting bored with the enforced idleness of Covid-19 isolation. Granted I have built two rifles and get to the range about once a week, but having been a free-range retiree I still feel stifled. A year and a half ago the Boulder Rifle Club had its summer shoot and barbecue, with a...

I have a CVA Mountain Rifle, bought years ago at a garage sale. Fit of tang and barrel to stock were quite sloppy, and groups seemed large compared with other rifles. Decided to try to make a silk purse out of this sow's ear. Totally stripped it down, removing finishes on all wood and metal...

I set fire to the dry grass at the Boulder Rifle Club range when experiment ting with olive oil as a patch lube. Did a bit of study and learned vegetable oils have various ignition temperatures, olive oil being the lowest and peanut oil being highest. That said, I use Moose Milk as range lube...

Even when a tight fit wedges can still get lost. I lost one from a TC Renegade years ago when hunting elk in NW Colorado. Field expedient repair was duct tape, which worked fine. High tech replacement for rawhide. When I received a replacement I drilled two 3/32 holes an inch or so apart, then...

In Colorado a ML is considered legally unloaded if the cap, primer or priming powder is removed. The regulation resulted from a sad incident: People staying in a SW Colorado USFS campground woke to a gunshot and a shout for help. They found a man on the ground behind a pickup with the tailboard...

My favorite rifle is a lefty 40 cal flinter built by Jack Patterson from Upstate New York. Beautiful rifle, and a great shooter for some years. I don't know the history of the rifle, only that I am the third owner. I know I have put many pounds of powder and lead through it. Recently it seemed...

Oh, those itty-bitty little screws that transmogrify into spent caps when they hit the floor. I think taking a remaining screw to a good hardware store to get a match is the best approach. Get at least eight, and replace all. To remove the plating heat the screw red hot with a propane torch...

The stocks for CVA, and now Traditions, arms are made from some sort of "select european hardwood", probably beech. It is a clear grained easily machined wood. However, it is not very hard or dense. When tang screw is screwed down hard the wood compresses between the tang and the trigger plate...

Having coached junior shooters in the NRA/CMP Highpower Rifle Service Rifle game for over thirty years, I strongly advise aiming with your dominant eye and shooting from the dominant eye side. Being cross dominant myself- right handed but left eye dominant- I can assure you it will only take a...

I just use spouse's old hairdryer to heat the barrel. Whole after browning drill has been to neutralize with baking soda solution, the wash with plain water and let dry and sit for a week. Then treat with oil, and finally finish by heating and rubbing bee's wax in hard.

When faced with such a crack I bought a length of "all thread" brass or bronze rod, drilled an undersize hole, pushed epoxy into the hole, installed the threaded rod using an eggbeater manual drill while wood was clamped. After curing the exposed end of the rod was carefully dressed down with...

Yesterday at the range I got to be clever. A shooter with a European made Civil War* rifle suffered a cracked nipple. No replacement was available,. and there was a load in the barrel. Relatively new to muzzle loading, he did not have a screw-type ball puller. Well, I had one in the patchbox of...

Thanks to all for the help. Brother is a gifted cabinet maker, and I'll bet he has the tooling.

Ames, original rod for this slim and lovely rifle does not appear to be of any standard diameter stock. Starts out at front end with a .340 diameter, slowly tapers to .325 just behind the end fitting. End fitting is .310 diameter. Appears to have been hand scraped to taper, has a few flattish...