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My usual hunting pard uses them about half the time, mostly because his favorite 54 cal rifle vastly prefers them over round balls and it's packing a REAL any time it goes out the door. I was on hand when he dinked a good buck head on in the chest at about 50 yards. When we skun it out later...

I seem to recall that the "f" designation is a modern invention. All the old accounts I can recall refer to "strong" powder and some such, but zero mention of grain size. Haven't seen Spence post in a while, but he's a gold mine for original references. The most striking thing I recall about...

That's where I'm at, but with a small twist. I don't even bother with the file because they're cheap to replace. For me buckhorn sights are drawer decorations rather than raw materials.

If you like the Hornady Great Plains, look into the Lyman Plains bullet molds in 50 and 54 caliber. They don't have the little dimple of a cavity in the rear like the Hornady, but my rifles haven't noticed. Just be sure to cast them from pure lead.

From what I've seen, it pretty much coincides with the growing difficulty in getting black powder. Guys had to use what they had on hand and got to experimenting with it. And discovered that it often worked better than 2f in their guns. At least that explains how I came onto using it. Results...

Here are a couple of views of the TC hunter on a Lyman GPR. Low and secure. My favorite sight for my old eyes, and I have them on a number of rifles. Well worth tracking down your own. BTW- For hunting I unscrew the aperture and use just the remaining ring for a "ghost ring" sight. Very quick...

I suspect the "craze" for larger calibers out west had all to do with Lewis and Clark's accounts of multiple shots and treeing incidents with grizzlies while using 54 calibers. I'm guessing humans were humans back then, and decisions were often made based on style and fashion more than...

A bud played with chamfering on a number of his guns. He REALLY liked the way the chamfering swaged the ball going into the chamber rather than cutting rings. There's a down side you kinda need to watch for in his experience though. The tolerances for fit between cylinders and barrel throats...

The smith who built my Leman "squirrel" rifle has owned a fair number of originals over the years including several 38's. Since I was interested in a smaller "lean" half stock we spent a lot of time talking about them and going over his pics, even if he didn't currently own one. We couldn't find...

Our local club (modern guns) followed much the same trajectory. In an effort to stimulate more participation and new members, they started monthly shoots with rifles and pistols for prizes. Attracted lots of people at first, but after about 6 months you could watch familiar shooters drive up...

One point in common for lots of us who are speaking up- Many used to shoot competitively. I put a fair collection bling on the walls in several disciplines with modern guns, but got out of it before taking up muzzleloading. Guys in those circuits freeload a lot of coffee from me these days...

I'm betting the line shooters could learn a whole, whole lot from me and others about hunting, which all has to happen before the first shot is fired. Completely different interests. For me the shot is the afterthought, and the end of something much more important to me.

My experience is that it's a nonissue with REALs when I use a lubed felt base wad. But my further experience with Buffalo was that they needed the felt base wad too.

All the builders I know are getting old. Older than me for lots of them. And they're all slowing down. The best of the best is only building one a year now and hasn't added a name to his waiting list in over 10 years. There are some up and coming youngsters around, but I don't know a one of them.

Dunno about the original stuff other than the "impression" from oldsters I've known that it was pretty course. For a number of years I've been using 1f Goex for all my shot loads (equal volumes powder and shot) and for ball in 62, 69 cal and in my Bess. Fouling is ZERO issue if you are using...

That's a pretty good formula for misfires right there.

A bud had a similar issue with holes, and in fact we're pretty sure we traced it to stray powder because they were happening on the back radius where it met the ball. In his case we're pretty sure it happened any time he failed to raise the hammer and remove the old cap before a reload. I...

For nigh onto 20 years my wife has been shooting 60 grains of 3f in her short 54 cal, holding her shots to 50 yards or so. We've never recovered a single ball. Only light load experience I have with 50 cal is my sweet little Pedersoli Frontier Carbine which loves 70 grains of 3f. Whacked...

The only true barrel wear I've seen is from ramrods at the muzzle, both from RBs and minies. To my delight there's something else called wear, and it works to my advantage. Lovers of "seasoning" their barrels eventually build up enough crud in the bores to diminish or conceal the rifling...

Easy to understand now why Alaska flinters are scarce, and cap shooters get a little starchy when folks criticize them for using subs. Sure you can get it in Anchorage, but the rest of Alaska calls the place Los Anchorage or NRA City, as in "Not Really Alaska." Most towns out in real Alaska...