Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Making a new rifle old

I was thinking of getting a civil war era reproduction rifle and make it look kinda used. Anyone ever do this ? I know how to get the stock like I want just don't know about the metal, steel and brass.

Brown the barrel, that will make it look period.

You could just buy a used one.

Some builders of ML rifles beat around on them and mix stove black with varnish, and rub it into all the nooks and crannies in the stock and wipe off the excess. You can also strip the blue off of the steel parts to make it "in the white" and then brown it or just let time and use take its toll. There are some guys that are so good at aging a rifle, it's hard to tell them from a 200 year old original.

Buy whatever you want and use it
With honest use after a while it'll get
to looking how you want it.
If you're looking for a military rifle and want
it to "look military " , I wouldn't let it get
rusty and tarnished. If you had such a
rifle and were actually a soldier in the mid
1800's, and let it get in bad condition, your
sergeant would have punished you severely
and would have probably physically beat the
sh*t out of you.
JMHO- I don't go for all this "forced patina " BS
that everybody embraces these days. People
with any sense have always taken care of their
gear throughout history

Good luck
I'd like to have an old Enfield myself. I have an
old brass trigger guard from an original that
a friend found buried up. The rest was rotted
and rusted away. If I had one I'd try to fit this
and give it some use

A used black powder cleaning patch does a great job of tarnishing brass.

I let my little brother borrow a mint Win 94 for a deer season. Looked 100 years old when I got it back.

That's funny right there. I had a friend like that.

That s why I don't loan guns, women, vehicles or dogs. Mb

I'm in complete agreement with Ranger99!

I have several ML's that are anywhere from 3 to 45 years old, (the 45 years being how long I've been a part of Traditional
Muzzle Loading, and it's not hard to tell the older ML's from the newer ones.

Don't rush good honest wear and tear of a muzzle loading firearm (or any firearm as far at that goes) as it will come in
time,,, and when it does - you'll wish it was still brand spanking new.

The one thing all our ancestors maintained and valued was their firearm. They had to, as it was their protection and hunting
firearm - and it was the most valuable possession they owned, and they kept them in good working order.

Just because museum pieces show signs of heavy wear and tear doesn't mean all were subjected to the same... Let your
muzzle loading firearm age gracefully with use and time. Don't fake it.