Pawn Shop Percussion

[Urban Coyote]

Shopping Midsouth Shooter's this morning I checked out the Traditions Deer Hunter, sale priced at $339.00 and
on backorder. Seven reviews, no negatives. You ought to be happy with the deal you got! You're hitting all the high notes on this project.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Small town antique/thrift shop/flea market stores can also be a good place to find muzzleloaders. Last year on vacation I picked up a 50 cal. Renegade missing sights and a nipple for $85+tax at one of those antique stores with multiple vender booths. It was rough around the edges but cleaned up nicely. The bore had surface rust but smoothed up. I did haggle on the original $100 asking price. My wife helped with that. She told them I couldn’t spend more than $75.

 

[TrophyGuy]

Pawn shops are sometimes a gold mine for firearms. The Brady Bill marooned a bunch of excellent firearms when criminal owners couldn't pass the background check to redeem them. I scored a Python for $425, a Citori for $400, a Gold Cup for $500 and a minty Remington 81 for $300, all "back in the day" which is long passed. Today pawnbrokers don't see as much good stuff. Too much plastic in the market. I've never encountered a ML worth having, but I live in a big city.

 

[TDM]

Just finished shooting the little rifle, put 20 RBs through it and it did pretty good. All shots were 60 grs 2F Goex, .490 RB, .020 LP, w/homemade lube. I swabbed every 3 or 4 shots. First 3 shots were off the bench at around 19-20 yrds. The taped holes on the 50 yard target are from me making windage & elevation adjustments. While my 50 yard group isn’t stellar, the low sun was casting shadows over the range and target, my eyes just couldn’t find a repeatable sight picture. I think the rifle is capable of much better. Next time I’ll try some 3F and different charges, maybe some OPWs. Oh, and I made a couple of more shots at 20 yards after the sight adjustments and it put 2 holes side by side only an inch higher than the first try. I guess I’ll keep the little rifle.

 

[TDM]

And I don’t plan to use the JB on the bore at this time. The patches looked good and the couple of rough spots started to disappear on their own. I was surprised that after all the cleaning and scrubbing I did on the bore the last couple of days that after it had soaked for a while (with Witches brew / Moose Milk / whatever you call yours) and I started suction swabbing with hot, soapy water I got more rust out. Now, it’s about as smooth as you’d want.

 

[B.P. Fun]

Good find! I think I will hit the local pawn shops in my area.