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This is a reminder, I have mentioned this issue here before. I am a piano tuner. Today I removed a set of 88 lead key weights from a piano's keys that were too heavy. Each weight is a lead cylinder of about the weight of a .50 or .54 round ball and these are usually pure lead. Old pianos are...

I bought a NO Ace kit for my stepfather as a birthday gift many years ago. When he began to finish and polish the kit he found a rifling scar that discouraged him. I went out and bought another kit ($19) and traded barrels. Mine I finished to shoot and after the first shot I was hooked! Now...

SVML shoots at 9 AM at a separate range at Burro Canyon (the first one on the right), but get there at 8 to set up. Recomended!

I am in the "just leave it for historical preservation" camp, though perhaps a light application of one of the original oils (linseed?) might better preserve it. A museum curator would cringe at the idea of applying a non-reversible treatment like linseed oil though.

If you were concerned about possible live wood worms you could heat the gun up to about 120° F for a half hour or so to kill any remaining larvae or eggs. That temperature shouldn't cause any damage and it would kill anything left alive.

Several of these seem to be pot metal or cast zinc replicas and might not stand up to even a small load of black powder without turning into a grenade. At least one looks like a noise maker (see the bauxite comment) and should not be used with any powder besides its preferred fuel. Please be...

Please keep it pointed in a safe direction! Unloaded guns kill!

I own a collection of pipes, but I can't claim to have a strong opinion as to which smokes better. My favorite is a home-made pipe with a wood stem in all maple that smokes cool, is easy on the teeth and absorbs moisture well. I also have an old Ropp cherry pipe a few clay pipes, mostly church...

There is a blend called Hobbit's Weed that is a mixture of aromatic tobaccos and herbs... interesting, but not my thing.

I spent over 20 rounds at the range with mine and never got on to paper at more than 15 feet. Someday!

Yes, but have you ever been able to hit anything with them? (I can't)

When I cleaned out my flintlock after my first use I went through about 25 patches before anything came out clean. This was more than I experience with my cap lock where I can remove the nipple and pour copious amounts of warm and soapy water through. It is a different experience.

Thanks for all the advice and good experience. I will probably eventually remove the liner once, just as a matter of practice and to apply an anti-seize lubricant and to get a better seal, toothpicks after that. The cleaning jig with a tube down the barrel to flush out the fouling is a good...

I recently purchased my first flintlock rifle. This one was very lightly used and is in decent condition. I am trying to get used to the fine art of cleaning it out, I am used to my cap lock with its hook breach. after my first range test it took a lot of patches to get this flinter to come...

The carbon content of iron and steel is a complex subject, there is apparently more carbon in cast iron than in steel. The only thing I worry about would be lead content as lead is added to make steel machine better, but sheet steel shouldn't have lead in it. The coating sounds like they used...

Science!

Just to interject something very confusing into this discussion, have you seen this video on rotating objects? The rotation of a lead ball with the asymmetry of a sprue might be much more complex than we realize!

Hmmm... beautiful weather, bad politics vs humidity and mosquitoes and right-wing politics... Hmmm... (although we now have a mosquito problem here too)

I'm from New Iberia, but live in California. Bringing my rifle out for a shoot would be too much trouble, but I still go to the Gumbo Festival every year!

This is a very basic question. When shooting a flintlock rifle, at the range or on a hunt, how do you prefer to prime? From your main horn or flask (yes, I know that is dangerous)? From a small priming flask? From a priming do-hicky that discharges 4 grains (is that enough or do you have to...