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For those of you that have a black powder pistol what make would you recommend? Primary use would be for target practice and for a coyote if one would try to sneak by.I have 50cal rifle so the handgun would be the same caliber.
 
There are a lot of fine production pistols out there so I guess its up to what features and price point you want. I've had good luck with the old CVA models and I own one or two Pedersoli pistols. If money is no object then a custom might float yer boat.

Don
 
Would think any of the 'Kentucky' or 'Hawken" style pistols would do it for you. There are some good used guns out there with adjustable sights if that's a consideration for you. Most of the commercial guns are similar in quality...don't know if some are really better than others. Most of my playing is with smoothbores and haven't done much shooting with the rifled bore pistols for quite a while. Enjoy the fun!
 
Lyman Plains Pistol
CVA Hawken Pistol

would be my first two go too answers for what you have stated you want

Now I am wondering why limit yourself to .50 just because of bullet size? I would suggest a revolver.
 
I was thinkin' the same thing as Cynthia Lee. A nice single shot flint or caplock is a thing of beauty and joy forever, but, there are some good deals to be had on the revolvers and a repro Remington New Model Army should be seriously considered. It is a staple in so many blackpowder shooter's armory.
 
You might check out Cabelas, and others, and see what tickles your fancy.
 
I bought a 45 caliber SantaBob built from him through the classifieds on this forum. It is extremely accurate and I am very well pleased. I would watch the classifieds for a 50 or put a want to buy ad in them. Lot of good things go through.
 
I have a Traditions Kentucky in .50. Very accurate but not the most attractive. The Pedersoli Kentucky is a more pleasing design. Go to Dixie's website, they probably offer the biggest selection of production handguns.
 
IMHO you can't go wrong with the Lyman Great Plains Pistol. They are accurate, built tough and realiable, reasonable price, last forever.
 
Flint or percussion?

Lyman's plains pistol is not available in flint.

Traditions and Pedersoli make traditional kentucky styles in both flint and percussion.

Used CVA kentucky, Hawken and Mountain pistols were available in 50 cal, but flintlock models are hard to find in 50 cal.

I just bought a flintlock CVA kentucky for $129 with free shipping on an on-line auction. PA's rules require a minimum 50 caliber, so I bought a percussion 50 cal CVA gun to swap parts around. I will cut off the drum of the 50 cal barrel and will drill and tap for a touch hole liner.
 
All that's needed is to stain the wood and blue/brown the barrel? Is the hardware finished? The wood fitted?

Who makes the kit?
 
That's all that's needed if you want to end up with a pistol that looks like the builder just slapped things together.

It looks like one of the gun kits made by Ardesa and the fact that it is made in Spain gives further evidence that this is true.

Ardesa made almost all of the old CVA kits and this looks a lot like many of them, right down to beechwood being used for the stock.
http://www.ardesa.com/en/productos.php?wgo=46
 
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Well Zonie is correct. Maybe I was too optimistic on the time. There is a little bit of wood here or there you might have to remove- things like that.
On all the less expensive kits- you end up with a "blocky looking" gun. Most use a monolithic nose cap with a ramrod hole and the pipes on the under rib are screwed on (gap between ramrod and rib) rather than inlet into the under rib. The sights are horrible- put on pc sights to give a more streamline appearance. If you study photos of original pistols the barrels were often tapered which created a really elegant look.
Here's how I see it. The price isn't too bad and you get a "shooter" that in my case produced 1 1/2" to 2" groups off sandbags at 25 yards. At a later date, you can use the pistol as a practice piece- buy a better nose cap with entry pipe, an under rib and inlet pipe, things like that. I put an inlay in the wrist and checkered the grips. You can do this re-stock and end up with a pretty good looking pistol and acquire gun building skills.
One thing I'd definately do on the Deer Creek- it came with a belt hook that after a while I really didn't like. I would take a scrap of 1/8" thick metal and file it out into a side plate rather than the belt hook and carry the gun in a holster.
Well, in any event I thought I would mention it as another choice to consider.
 
My Lyman Great Plains came with a belt hook also. I had it slip off while setting a few times and removed it in favor of a holster as well. :( best of luck with whatever you decide on. :thumbsup:
 

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