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I will take this. I'll send a check Mon.

Welcome to the Forum. It's Great to see you here, Jack. I am the very proud caretaker of one of your SMR .50 wonders. Its both beautiful and far more accurate than my old eyes can do justice. Thank you, sir.

My SMR is 7# 2oz. My FdC is 7# 11oz.

While you are sealing the rod, put a strip of cleaning cloth in the split end of tha undersized rod/dowel. Secure the cloth; dip it in your favorite wood oil/grease; and either hand spin it up & down the rod hole a few times to seal the sides of the ramrod hole. That wood may be absorbing...

I picked up the habit of naming cycles and cars from a friend (and the mechanic who kept me on the road beyond all reasonable expectation). I never named any of my unmentionables, but the close involvement with a flintlock just seem to make it feel natural. Of course, I have (on occasion) called...

A grandfather's love is special. When he's a skilled craftsman, it's awesome.

Hammering copper wire into a pick is easy and work hardens it enough to use as a pick. I give mine a square or diamond cross section, to aid scraping the touchhole clear. They are cheap, easy, and losing one isn't as irritating as a finely forged iron one. I chained a nicely forged iron pick...

I've hunted with a .50 SMR and plan to hunt with a Fusil de Chasse I got recently. At what I consider reasonable hunting ranges, it's proving to be accurate enough (provided I get enough practice in).

Welcome to the smoky, sooty side. Welcome also to the frustration of short supplies and rising prices. It's all well worth while. Some of the best fun you can find.

Welcome to black powder shooting. It's an endlessly interesting rabbit hole to explore. Since you say you are new to BP, I'll restate this important factor. Before you plan to restore/replace the lock, answer two basic questions: 1) Is it loaded? A surprising number of old- and repro...

You could add a rear sight fairly easily. I've thought about it for my Fusil de Chasse, but decided to train my eye instead. The last time I checked there was a clean, well-made, brass peep sight, which mounts on the tang screw, offered in the Accessories section here. That would let you try a...

From about 10 to 16, I set my skewed view of life by basically growing up in a 19th century museum. I realized later that the curator (a wonderful, rennaissance man) was the key mentor who introduced me to fine old guns and BP. His in-laws had a historic bronze cannon (in retrospect, about a...

Welcome from Ohio.

Beautiful craftsmanship, sir!

This may be your opportunity to test J. F. Cooper's claim by using silk as patching material. Find a thin scarf or dress.

Welcome, from OH.

Rifled and smooth both have their virtues but I think I could be swayed fairly easily. It's so much fun and so versatile. The only drawback is the slightly too long length of pull. The buttplate shape makes shortening slightly impractical, so I use my middle finger for the trigger. It's...

I knew next to nothing about them when the chance came up to get mine. I needed something to use reenacting in the F&I period. The FDC is perfect. It's lighter than a Bess or the French military fusil; shoots w/ amazing accuracy w/ a wadded .60 ball or a patched smaller ball (of course...

awhen you posted pics of your beautiful build it was a wonderful surprise. I'd been searching the web for information on and pictures of FDC's; trying to learn as much as I could, as quickly as I could. I traded for one, to use reenacting, about a month ago. Judging by pics and descriptions of...

I applaud your decision not to shoot it. It was made to shoot and the chance of damage (other than it's collector value) is small, but why risk it? You can't lose $ on this one. It's appreciation probably beats most other investments. Like land; they aren't ever going to make more. Good luck...