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Beautiful day here on NW Missouri, sunny, no wind, and 70° in mid-November. Decided to "Bust some caps" in my Pietta 1851 .44 Navy. Shot over the chrono, as I usually do, and here are the results for 3 different powders, using a 30 grain (volume) charge. Fairly disappointed with the Swiss 3f...

The Remington "1858" New Model Army is an excellent choice for a first black powder revolver, whether a Pietta or Uberti. I have a few of both, and the older Pietta's, while not quite as well finished, are still just as reliable. I prefer Colt repros for their looks and handling, but they just...

As a follow up to yesterday's poor results with the Kerr Bullets in my 1860 Pietta Army, I went out back and shot some roundball today. I am blessed to be able to shoot off my back deck, and it is exactly 50 yards from my rail to the target. Tried 3 different powders, all 32 grain volume...

This morning I tried some of my cast Kerr .44 bullets (225 gr.) in my stock Pietta 1860 Army. It has always been a great shooter with round balls. Now, I have shot 100's of the Kerr bullets through my Pietta 1858 Remington with great results, but today was the first time trying them on the...

I have a lot of cap and ball revolvers, and my favorite is a stock Pietta .36 1851 Navy. Cheaper to shoot, less powder, less lead, and lower recoil. I shoot it more than all my other revolvers combined. If hunting or in a situation where two legged varmints might be a possibility, I go with a...

Neither will work, you need a $3,000 entry level custom gun. However, I am one of the "Poor Folks", and I own two .50 cal. Deer Hunters, and have shot the Hawken. Both have shot great, cloverleaf at 50 yards with PRB's or a Ball-et/Pennsylvania Hunter. With my Deerhunter, I have taken nine...

Buy a chronograph. Seriously. There are so many variables, that is no way to ascertain with any consistency. Powder type (grain size, Swiss vs. Goex, real black vs. subs), patch thickness and lube, ball size, cap manufacturer, flinter vs. caplock, temperature, etc. are all variables. Longer...

I am now in a more favorable financial situation than I have ever been, having put my children through Christian School, and finished paying for college educations, and all the other expenses of raising a family. I am also very fortunate in that I live close to a business that sells black...

Been using Pyrodex in my percussion guns since 1977, my barrels look factory new. I do prefer Swiss Black Powder nowadays as I can readily obtain it. However, my preference is not based on logic or performance, as Pyrodex has never failed me, shoots as accurately and consistently, and in MY...

Got a bunch 30+ year old cans/jugs of Pyrodex (bought them for $1 a jug, end of season clearance), and have never had a problem with them. I suspect it is as stable as real black when stored in the same conditions. Leave them in your garage, wet basement, or camper all year around, and you...

Buckshot is very hard to load, especially with that short lever on the Pocket Model. There are devices to apply more leverage, but i was very concerned about breaking my loading lever using that methodology. I happened across a Lee .330 mold by chance, and I now cast my balls from pure lead...

First, ditch the Maxi-balls. Can't imagine it will shoot them accurately with the slow twist your rifle has. Then get a Minie-ball sized .001-.002 under bore size. I get mine from Pat Kaboskey (Civil War Bullet Man), and he will size them to your specs. Using a generic .575 Minie in my...

Many years ago, I helped a 12 year old boy retrieve a large 10-point buck that he had killed on his family's land. His weapon that he used to kill that large bodied buck was a Crossman Pump master 760 BB/pellet gun. Muzzle velocity was maybe 600 fps. Somehow the BB penetrated the skin...

My last several deer, I've taken at ranges under 20 yards. A couple of years ago, I could have bayoneted a large 8-point. So, I decided this year I did not need the accuracy and range of my normal deer rifle, a original 1861 Colt Special Musket, and am going with my antique Robert Chaplain...

Swiss is some very good quality powder. I use Swiss 3f in everything, other than an antique 13 gauge SxS, where I use 1.5 or 2f. I shoot over chronos a bunch, using various guns, and I can say with certainty that Swiss is a much more energetic and consistent powder than Goex. Swiss 2f gives...

In 50 years of muzzleloading, I have only had two failures to fire a percussion sidelock when the cap ignited. Both those failures came on the same day, and I was using Triple 7. I've had slight delays as nipples have eroded due to usage, replacing the nipples fixed those problems. 120...

I clean my guns, them apply a light coat of 3 in 1 oil around the drum/vent, then a heavily saturated cleaning patch pumped up and down the barrel several times. I leave the oil soaked patch in the breech on the jag. My barrels look factory new after decades and thousands of rounds. When I...

Several years ago, I walked into a designated "Wilderness Area" in south central Missouri. Had my rifle, tent, and a few other things to stay out for 3 or 4 days while perhaps shooting a nice buck. This area is absolutely closed to vehicle traffic of any kind, and it is prominently displayed...

Took two of my Pedersoli's to the range today, a Blue Ridge Rifle (1 in 66"), and a Rocky Mountain Hawken (1 on 65"), both in .54. My goal was to test performance and accuracy of Swiss 3f and develop standard loads for each rifle. For years I have shot Pyro and Goex, but now that my supply...

Nope, overpriced for a used repro, even a lightly used one. In my area, repros in excellent condition are $500-$700 range. My last original Springfield 1863 in great shape was only $1200. Thats my .02, others may differ.