Show N Tell your first MLer rifle

[Nor Cal Mikie]

Tell but no show. Think it was a TC kit that someone put together, fired, didn't clean, just put in the corner for a couple of years.
Pulled the .45 cal, barrel, did the electrolysis thang in a tank while I was working. Hooked a battery charger to it and watched it bubble for a couple of days. Turned out that the barrel, was JUNK (looked like a lava tube) so I picked up a Green Mountain drop in replacement in .32 (that they don't sell anymore) refinished the stock and made a shooter out of it. The first of many.
Tried to sell it but no takers. Only fired 3 or 4 times than bagged, oiled and put aside for another project. So you could say it's AS NEW.
Still got the laves tube barrel and have plans to hone it out and make a smooth bore out of it. Outside of the barrel (with sights) is in pretty good shape. A little steel wool and re blue job will make pretty nice barrel.
More into building than shooting so I've always got my fingers into something.

 

[Tannehill]

My first ml investarms. .45, friend gave it to me. It was in pretty sad shape. Spent summer completely stripping it down and refurbishing it. Killed my first ml deer with it that fall. It also has taken my biggest deer, 11 pointer.

 

[TrophyGuy]

Like many here, my first was a T/C .50 cal. kit in the mid seventies. I lived in an apartment with no tools or place to work, but somehow got the thing sanded, finish inlet, and the barrel draw filed and polished. I had a gunsmith hot blue the barrel, back when smiths did such work. I thought it was so beautiful that I had to clutter up its lines with T/C's vernier ladder rear sight and globe front sights. So much fun to shoot. Gave it to my Dad to use in Arkansas's new ML season. Dad scraped off the fragile tang sight and front globe, and replaced with awful red fluorescent sights that he used to bag deer every season until the siren song of in-lines turned him to the dark side. I lost Dad five years ago and welcomed back the battered T/C. Dad had used it as intended, as a working tool without much TLC for the bore. I freshed up the old girl with an aftermarket barrel, but kept the old one as a memento relic. I found the vernier tang sight in Dad's fishing gear, minus a few parts. I'm slowly getting it back to its original presentation condition to my Dad. So much nostalgia in an inanimate chunk of wood, steel and brass.

 

[reddogge]

A friend that I worked with was a ML shooter and got me interested. My first ML was a Lyman GP .50 cal. perc. kit that I bought at a gun show at the National Guard Armory in Boulder, CO back in the 1970's. IIRC I paid $165.00 for it, and I could tell that it had beautiful wood.
It is more accurate than I am! I added a different rear sight and some accent lines to the stock contours. I still have it and plan to shoot it more often now. View attachment 357233
View attachment 357235
View attachment 357236

Beautiful job on that rifle and the stock color and finish is superb.

 

[tenngun]

I always wanted a flinter and at that time loved the Roman nose style. Ha, until I shot it . Anyway in 1971 I got rained out on the heavy highway construction job I was working on. I asked my wife of one year if she would go to Dixie Gun works with me. She said yes, and we drove from Omaha to Union City Tenn to purchased my first muzzleloading rifle. This is a Italian made 45 cal and sparks very well. Still have it today.
Larry
PS. If I remember correctly it was right at $265.00 pick it up price. It did not come with set triggers nor a fly in the lock. I added the set triggers and fly after I found out why I needed a fly.


View attachment 356949

I had one of those as my third gun, and first flinter.
My first was a Mowrey.50 with wood for stock. And second was a Zouave from navy arms

 

[2Moons]

My first was a TC Hawken kit back around 1980 or so. Still have it, but she’s a safe queen now. Have too many others to play with. She was a shooter, though!