What was your first Muzzleloader?

[pilot]

I found another smoothie, a 12 gauge double. I haven't shot it yet, just got a bag of shot. I'll most likely shoot it next weekend. This one is a British or Belgian percussion double from 1850 to 1870. It says "W. Richards" on the lock plates.

 

[ugly old guy]

CVA .45 caliber (percussion) Kentucky Rifle, roundabout 1987.

 

[old iron]

First post, back in the seventy's I traded a sears 30-30 lever action for a new TC 45 Hawkins that I still have, wish I could have bought it and kept the Sears but couldn't afford to then

I’ve had this CVA kit probably thirty plus years,my how time flys

 

[trapperjack]

My first muzzleloader was a Thompson Renegade. I bought it because I liked the brand and the rifle was in like new condition. Since then I purchased a 32" Green Mountain barrel 1/70. It's now a very accurate round ball muzzleloader I shoot in competitions.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

CVA Kentucky Pistol kit, age 7

 

[Eutycus]

I would almost bet that most of the numerous guys who mentioned a CVA kit of some sorts still have that gun.

 

[GomezMunoz1951]

I was stationed at Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls MT back in 1973 and was cruising a local gun store and saw a Uberti 1858 Remington .44. It was used, and the previous owner had antiqued the frame and cylinder, braised the front sight higher and added bone grips. I bought it for $50 bucks and shot the heck out of it. I still have it..super accurate..

 

[GomezMunoz1951]

I would almost bet that most of the numerous guys who mentioned a CVA kit of some sorts still have that gun.

LOL Yeah I have a CVA Kentucky rifle kit that I built and a CVA Kentucky pistol that I built from a kit. Actually the rifle was the second one I built. I won the kit and built it and then my number 2 son bought a kit and got stuck building it so I traded the gun for the kit and built it. Still shooting both rifle and pistol.. the second yes turned out better than the first since I knew what I was doing and didn't make the same mistakes I did on the first one. My son still has the rifle also..

 

[GomezMunoz1951]

My first black powder gun was a hand cannon made from a scrap of wood & a brass curtain rail. Not sure how old I was, probably 8 or 9 years of age.
Keith.

LOL Back when I was about that age I got a piece of pipe about a foot long, a chunk of wood that kind of looked like a pistol and some nails and a cap that screwed on the back of the pipe. I drilled a small hole in the cap and screwed it on the pipe and nailed the pipe to the wood by bending the nails over the pipe. I used to stick fire cracker fuses out the hole and carefully screw the cap on, throw all sorts of stuff, BB's, small rocks, etc. down the barrel and then held the "gun" in my left hand and aimed while I lit a wooden match and lit the fuse... It went boom and the ammo shot which was all I wanted... I also made a cannon that shot wooden plugs and assorted stuff small enough to fit down the barrel.

 

[Muley Gil]

Wesley Richards was a high grade British gunmaker. The Belgians would build guns and then mark them names like "W. Richards" to make you think you had bought an expensive London shotgun. I used to have a 12 gauge breechloading W. Richards double barrel. It was a good, solid old gun, for what it was.

 

[Elkpurgatoire]

I would almost bet that most of the numerous guys who mentioned a CVA kit of some sorts still have that gun.

Yes, a Derringer and a Mtn Pistol

 

[Jay Templin]

Summer of ‘91 I was hired as a tour guide at Fort William Henry, and my friend Terry taught me to load and fire a Brown Bess. At that point we were using a pair of much-abused long lands that Kit Ravenshear had rebuilt, and a couple of Japanese short lands. I fell in love, and have never been without a Brown Bess since, though the first front stuffer I actually bought was a secondhand Cabela’s Blue Ridge .45 flintlock. I recently had her refurbished and gave her to my son for his 18th birthday. Now she’s his first muzzleloader, too.

 

[Darto]

It was a dark and stormy night and they all laughed when I mailed in my order for a CVA Kentucky. Then one day a long brown wrapped parcel appeared, apparently propped up by the mailman against the wooden shelf on which sat a row of aluminum covered boxes. Soon, back inside our living room I hurredly tore away the papers. Well they weren't laughing anymore!

 

[pilot]

Wesley Richards was a high grade British gunmaker. The Belgians would build guns and then mark them names like "W. Richards" to make you think you had bought an expensive London shotgun. I used to have a 12 gauge breechloading W. Richards double barrel. It was a good, solid old gun, for what it was.

I seriously doubt mine is a Wesley Richards. The proof marks on the bottom of the barrel are hard to read, they were struck really deep. It has 36 inch barrels and total weight is 9 pounds 15 ounces. It's a beast. I hope to use it turkey hunting this year.

 

[Ruben44]

My first was a CVA Kentucky Rifle that my uncle built. That was 1983 and I was in 8th grade. That got me hooked on black powder. The next was a Ruger Old Army in 1987.

 

[JCKelly]

My first was Grampa's 20 ga, which he got for 50 cents at a raffle. First I unloaded some nice #6 shot & dry powder (think I got Dad in trouble when I told Pop this). About 1954. Made from a bored out CW-musket barrel. Shoots nice, Grampa took care of it.

 

[Crow-Feather]

I'm curious to know what was your first Black Powder firearm? Was it a rifle or a smoothbore?

What made you want to buy it?

How experienced/knowledgeable with this sport/hobby were you, when you bought your first Black Powder gun?

At our annual Kit Carson Days Parade, a group called Posse Commentates (sp) wearing red shirts with black pants and black suspenders marched in the parade shooting their muzzle loading rifles. I was about twelve at the time. In my late 20's I saw a CVA Kentucky rifle kit for sale and bought it/put it together/put in in my closet. Two years later, I took it to the range and tried it. Cleaning it, I stuck the cleaning Jag in the bore. Took it to Seagal's Guns to have the breech removed and met their gunsmith David Kaiser. David was an encyclopedia of knowledge on muzzle loading rifles. I thought he was a nut case! He told me to pour some powder in the nipple hole and shoot the jag out!!!! He wanted to blow up my barrel!!!!! After he convinced me that the barrel wouldn't blow up, I went home and shot out the Jag. From that day on, I listened to every thing Dave told me and he never gave me any bad info. The Posse gave me an interest, Dave gave me the knowledge, and I thank God for both of them.

 

[3 DUCKS]

Thompson Center Pa hunter carbine (flintlock). Another one I should have held on to...

 

[Oldtimerbow]

Ordered a Thompson Center Renegade left hand .54 cal kit in the early 90s and put it together. Still have it today and still hunt with it occasionally.

 

[William O.]

I'm curious to know what was your first BlackPowder firearm? Was it a rifle or a smoothbore?

What made you want to buy it?

How experienced/knowledgeable with this sport/hobby were you, when you bought your first BlackPowder gun?

Mine was a Lyman Trade Rifle in .54 and I bought it just because it was on sale at the gunshop that I was buying my first cowboy action revolver at. I bought a box of ammo for the revolver, a box of RB for the rifle, a pound of Swiss powder and some pre-cut & lubed patches. After going through the CF ammo I loaded up the rifle as per the instructions and shot a bullseye at 100 yards. After about ten years of shooting cowboy action at least once a month I had shot the rifle about 4 times, but ended up selling most of my CAS gear and then really getting into smokepoles. I eventually bought two more TR's and turned one of them into my first left handed semi custom rifle; Big Red