beginner

Howdy, I am an aspiring traditional hunter and a huge enjoyer of history with a recent love for the 17th and 18th centuries. I am in search of an heirloom quality percussion muzzleloader that can with practice be used to take up to Black Bear sized game but will mainly be used for target...

Let me preface this by saying that I’m an idiot and new to this. I left my musket with someone for around a week, and it rusted a lot. While cleaning the rust, there is black discoloration, seemingly raised on the gunmetal, that won’t come off. Am I stuck with this? Thank you for humoring me.

I am planning a new "scrap yard" muzzleloader, and I am going to buy a Numrich 12 gauge barrel blank and use it for the barrel. I plan on using this because I do not have to worry about it blowing up (as black iron pipe barrels can) and leaving me fingerless. I have created a simple percussion...