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quick reply, to no one in particular: Not yet mentioned is another potential source of smouldering resuidua in artillery, the cloth container/bag the powder charge was generally contained in. I would expect that the aluminum foil generally used nowadays is less likely to produce hot spots, but...

Consider getting inexpensive mail-order bifocals with with the distance Rx adjusted to shooting or to workbench distances. They'll be plastic lenses and reasonably protective, and can be combined with over-your-glasses safety glasses if you need heavier protection and/or side-guards. I've...

Quick experiment - go to a store and try putting the weakest reading glasses you can find (likely +1.0 or +1.25 diopters, but +.75 might be better but hard to find) over your prescription glasses and use your fingers and/or objects in the store at the appropriate distances as stand-ins for your...

Yes, most commonly with a coarse diamond lap (be sure to use it wet) or with some coarse synthetic stones. Some folks use a Dremel-type tool with a diamond or mizzy wheel. Regards, Joel

Dunno about your neck of the woods, but in Southern and central Alberta, 3X and 4X wool felt western hats turn up in thrift stores and garage sales with sufficient frequency that I can easily supply all the felt wads I need for my smoothbores. I first cut the hats into three or four pieces -...

If you can get lead wheel weights for free or for cheap, the stick-on ones are generally soft and close to pure, vs. the clip-on ones (can verify by a thumbnail-scratch comparison). Just sort the stick-on ones out for soft lead uses. Actually, the clip-on ones will work fine in smoothbores...

This has been hashed out before, but I can't get the search terms right to find more than this one thread: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/247539 Regards, Joel

I seem to recall pictures of some late French guns (both handguns and fowlers) with cocks like those, as well as some Mantons(?) doubles. Now to see if I can find the illistrations..... Regards, Joel

I have a modern-made 16ga flint double with no chokes. All my loads are with FFg (or CTG) powder, and for clays, most upland, or snowshoe hares, I usually use 1oz over 2dr or 2.1/4dr, or 1.1/8oz over 2.1/4dr or 2.1/2dr, with #8 - #5 shot (usually magnum), depending. The gun's not a lightweight...

The province of Alberta Canada has NO muzzle-loading seasons. The closest are anything-but-centrefire seasons in December in otherwise-bows-only WMUs around out two largest cities. So we just use ours mostly in rifle season. Regards, Joel

Moderators: Since this concerns an original/antique firelock, could this thread be moved back into the Firearms Research forum, where it originated? I would think there might be interest from more of the historically-oriented members there. Regards, Joel

In our neck of the woods, 100% methanol is common and cheap as gas-line antifreeze, fondue and/or stove fuel, and lacquer thinner. It's often labelled as "methyl hydrate" to reduce the poison-centre visits by idiots. Regards from East of the mountains, Joel

With respect, buck-&-ball is much better suited to combat than to hunting. Just ball, or straight buckshot if required or preferred, would be better for hunting large game. For buckshot use, a 10 or 11 bore would permit efficient use of larger shot sizes and larger charges than would the...

Missed the edit time limit: "Nowadays, "quills" are made of drinking straws, paper tubes, or rolled up sticky-tape." Joel

Yup, especially back in the days before "corned" powder, when you often mixed it on site or remixed it before the engagement because the ingredients tended to separate in transport. Use the ladle to measure the charge, run it in to the breech, rotate the ladle 180* to dump the powder, and...

There was fairly extensive discussion about that on various boards back when the (Nat.Geo.??) article with the forensics first came out, and someone posted a link (lost a few computers ago) to a period resource on forging iron musket balls. Iron balls likely gave better armor penetration, and...

Not according to a fair number of knappers on other boards. There's still lots of argument over the precise mechanism at the microscopic or molecular lever, but it seems to be generally related to dehydration. In surface finds, even from beaches, fractures don't travel as far or as easily as...

That's contrary to the Mad Monk's findings. Going from memory: Potassium sulphate in the fouling is countered by the greater amount of alkaline potassium carbonate, and any corrosion that they do produce tends to uniform surface rust, and not terribly aggressive. Corrosion from any chloride...

Have you considered a Colt Dragoon, probably a 3rd model? The chambers are intermediate in volume between Walker and 1860. Regards, Joel

Just looking at the geometry, I'd guess that the hammer rest/safety drops clear when the hammer is pulled back to full cock. Regards, Joel