It was such a perfect day, weather-wise, and all the talk here about black powder recently had me leaning that way for a while now. It's been years since I've shot any of my black powder guns, so I figured I'd start with something simple ... my screw-barrel .45 caliber, cap and ball Derringer.

Loads of fun. I used real black powder (FFFG) that I had on hand from like twenty years ago or more. Already had the .451 balls, also very old stock, and caps (old too). Everything worked without a hitch. I guess this stuff lasts a long time in storage.

I had to shoot within ten feet (yes, you heard that right) to get any kind of decent groups, since there are literally no sights on the gun, not even rudimentary, so you really are left with almost guessing where the barrel is aimed (the view is almost completely obscured by the cocked hammer). These were intended as belly guns, to be used at bad breath distances. They were quite popular once, though, back in the middle 19th Century.

Still put a smile on my face, despite the absence of sights.

I loaded the max charge. You screw off the barrel with the supplied tool (fits into the rifling from the muzzle), then fill up a reservoir in the receiver with powder. Then you place the ball on top of the powder, and screw the barrel back on over it using the tool. There's some resistance, since it has to be snug.

Cleaning was no big deal. Just lots of hot soapy water in a tub (Only the nipple, barrel, and tool, got actually dunked ... everything else made of metal was brushed and swabbed with soapy water), followed up by rinsing then drying everything, then applying Ballistol liberally and wiping down.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]