Show off your first muzzleloader!

[tom mesa]

My first two muzzle loaders were kits that I got in the late 80's . The rifle is a 54 and the pistol is a 50. Both still shoot great.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Purdy!

 

[Art Caputo]

My first muzzleloader was a TC 50 Cal Hawken that I built from a kit over four decades ago.
It’s shown in this crummy old photo with my first buck. I still have this rifle, and it still shoots as well as it did back then.

 

[toot]

I don't have any pictures of it, but back in the early 1950;s I had and shot an original BROWN BESS MUSKET. I would tear apart my dad's old paper 12 gauge BP. shells that were loaded with the old round PUMPKIN BALLS, now called a SLUG. and pour the powder in & a wad of the old brown market paper bags / KRAFT. and roll the PUMPKIN ball on top of it followed by another wad of bag on top of the ball. first I primed the pan, for got at 76+++ things come into my thought processer at a snails pace. any how that is my first BP, gun. I wonder where it is now?

 

[muzzlecap]

My first BP was a Safari Arms 50 caliber Hawken made by Investarms. Still have it. Bought it in 1979. At the time I bought one for myself and one for my dad. Very nice wood on both of them.

 

[mushka]

The first was a tc kit. A 54 cal. hawkin. The wife bought it for me for Christmas in about 85. Put it together a couple of years later. I still have it and just shot it a week ago. It still shoots very well. Sentimental value with this gun.

 

[Marshhawk]

...oops, forgot to attach image of said .45 CVA.

 

[BigSkyRambler]

My first muzzleloader was a .45 FIE "Kentucky" with big musket looking hammer and two piece stock. (Photos from interwebs).

Bought it in 1972 and carried it into the woods on Arkansas' first "Primitive" firearms deer season. I shot a skunk! Hey. I was 15.

 

[rodwha]

My first BP gun was supposed to be a 2nd Model Dragoon as I didn’t care for the lines of the 1860 nor the silly rib on the loading lever of the Remington. I wanted a sidearm that was powerful enough to use as a primary hunting weapon. I was planning on trading at a gun show or something for a modern arm I had and talked to my father who told me to hang on to it, that a great friend and shooting buddy had recently passed and the family was looking to offload his guns. He brought an ASM 1860 Army and a Ruger Old Army, which I snatched up in a hurry.

But that’s not really a muzzleloader. Now that I was full on working towards a real hunting firearm I considered that something light enough to carry all week long but still have some heft to absorb recoil as I had often read of people speaking on conicals and unfriendly recoil, which isn’t the case with this rifle at 7.5 lbs and with a recoil pad. I settled on .50 cal as I read, mostly here, was more than up to any medium game and non dangerous big game if you can get close enough, but figured I could use a conical for bigger game. Since this rifle needed to be up to most any hunting situation, and needed to be a reasonable weight, I looked at more compact rifles, the Pedersoli Country Hunter, Traditions Deerhunter, and Lyman Deerstalker, which I settled on (blued version with deeper grooves).

My father gave me a lot of Pyrodex, which I loathe, so I used a lot of it to just break in my rifle and have fun at the range. The only “load” development I’ve done is play with powder charges from 50-100 grns in 10 grn increments. I moved and am now rather far from the outdoor range. I need to make time...

what is considered a short term goal

 

[toot]

I echo Toot's comment. When I was first corrupted, only originals were available, in one condition or another.
My first was(I was told) a British offer's fusil/forager's fusil. 'The muzzle is worn paper thin. I recently used a simple wedge gauge to guesstimate .72-75. Still sparks well & fires on first try.

If my dad hadn't hung onto it for me, it'd be a memory too. Thanks to him, it's a memory I can still occasionally fire.
I've only ever fired blanks or light shot loads but it still has great handling and patterns decently.

The infection took; I'm still in love w/ the smell of BP.

glad that you brought up about the paper thin barrel, my fathers BROWN BESS also had a paper thin top barely on the end that would almost cut your finger.

 

[toot]

My first two muzzle loaders were kits that I got in the late 80's . The rifle is a 54 and the pistol is a 50. Both still shoot great.

nice I like them.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I am pretty sure my first was an H&R Huntsman followed by a TC Hawken, Senica, Renegade and then another Hawken or three.

 

[GreenCheek44]

You always have a special place in your heart for your first

 

[Bledfor Days]

Mine is a .54 Lyman Plains rifle. I thoght it was a trade rifle but knowledgeable members here set me straight.

 

[bradly_tx]

My first black powder muzzleloader was this hacked-up, abused .36 caliber Pietta Remington 1858. I bought it about 10 years ago for $92.

I shortened the barrel even more, rounded the butt, and did other modifications. Then I hot caustic blued the gun.View attachment 44861
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After I was done with the gun, I made this crossdraw holster for it.
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That is sweeeet!

 

[Bikemooch]

My first front loader was a kit that I assembled in school. With class money the teacher purchased several kits. We put them together in class. When they were all finished, we took a field trip to the Rod & Gun club. We loaded and fired those rifles for what seemed like minutes, but in actuality was waay longer than we should have. The teacher had to talk the schoolbus driver into taking six students home because they had missed their regular bus.
I still have that rifle, plus one from the following year. Thanks for bringing up old memories.

 

[muzzlecap]

Nice story. You show up at school with a muzzleloader now and you'll have 16 SWAT Teams at your disposal. I remember taking a BB gun to school for show and tell. How times have changed!

 

[user 48679]

Since my 1st front stuffer was one I made in 1967, no pics...….

I used an 8" end cut off a 24" long .444 Marlin barrel, a block of walnut I sourced locally, a large bolt as a breechplug, some sheet brass to make the TG, rough open sights, a Hickory stick for a RR, and boughten parts (lock/hammer, trigger, drum/nipple, RR thimble)

 

[Omahkapi'si]

My new Pedersoli .50 percussion...

 

[Musketeer]

My very first was a Hopkins & Allen under hammer pistol that I bought as a kit from a local mom and pop archery shop. I sadly no longer have it, nor did I ever take any pics of it. Here's a pic of the gun I found online. I cold blued the hammer and trigger on mine, but I left the barrel in the white. I also just oiled the grip, rather than staining it, so it was a lighter color, but mechanically it's the same gun.