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7mm:

If you remember, I shot Pyrodex for a number of years. Last year, because of economics, I switched to black powder. I have not regreted it for one moment.

I had a friend of mine make me a storage box out of flat plate steel that will meet ATF storage regs. I can now order black by the case and keep it stored in one of our outbuildings.

I am lucky enough that I have a 100 yard range on the back 40 and since retirement find myself shooting 4-5 days in a week.

Hi everyone, I am a new member who also likes to shoot traditional rifles. I currently shoot several T/C hawkins/Renegades, and really love the 54 and 58 caliber rifles. I am really a Traditional bow hunter, but also enjoy the side lock and underhammer muzzle loading rifles(H&A .36 I am currently working on). This seems to be a lively site, and looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for having me. Robert

Welcome aboard, Robert. Glad to have you. Where are you from?

I'm into flinters mostly. Living in PA makes it a must,as our late season is primative (flint only).

I've got two, a Hawken and a Penn Long Rifle, both are .50 s made by CVA..

Wall, I got a range right out back. I only wish I could shoot 4 or 5 days a week! On the other hand, it's probably better I don't. I'd be in the poor house inside of a couple months! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
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Welcome rds7015

I've got a .62 cal fowler (smooth bore flinlock) and don't shoot it any other way than out of the bag. It's great out to about 50 yards or so, or rather I am. If I could still see like I used to I might be able to stretch that some but the absence of a rear sight makes it tough. I've got a .54 flintlock ordered that should be done shortly...been waiting since last January for it so a little longer won't matter much. It's an Early Virginia with some extra fancy curly maple, has wooden patch box, and some engraving and carving for the finishing touch. I'm getting anxious to see and shoot it!

LJ

My first post here but I can assure you that you are not alone in your love for traditional muzzleloaders. I have 8 rifles and one cap and ball revolver. My wife says the there is no more room in the safe. She may be right. I love all types of shooting but the history these rifles represent make them special. Now that we're getting through the holidays I hope to be able to shoot a little more regularly. Tomorrow looks good if the weather holds.

Campfire- You're part of a very small select group, traditionally there have always been just 2 or 3 thousand really hard core BP ML rifle shooters, on
occaison there have been a couple of ML fads in the 35 years or so that I've been doing this, but since the advent of special separate ML seasons literally millions of guys have been buying ML's to fill out the second tag, since most of these guys are completely unfamiliar with ML shooting the big manufacturers determined that the easiest way to get these guys to fork over the cash is to make the rifle look like something they have some familiarity with ie' a bolt action, my Cousins husband who is a devoted outdoorsman
(lives to fish and hunt) uses a shotgun for Deer hunting here in S. Wisconsin where rifles are precluded because of the population density, he was relating some of the problems he'd had shooting slugs at any range, so I told him he'd
find a ML rifle considerably more accurate than any shotgun shooting slugs, he said he'd considered that but didn't know how to load a ML, which pretty much made me wonder why my Cousin would marry a dolt, I suppose thinking gives him headaches, but sadly he's not all that unique. If you look at shooting industry trade journals and magazines you'll see some of the big outfits like remington etc, have sold 10 or more inlines for every centerfire in thier product lines, and like my mouth breathing Cousin's husband assume traditional ML's are very arcane, primitive and difficult weapons to operate and BP is dangerous and hard to use so they are easy prey for the corporate beancounters and thier huckster marketing departments, then they need Pyrodrek compressed turds because actually measuring out grains of powder would be too daunting for thier addled intellects, and I think there's an assumption that all the BP substitutes must be a great improvement over real BP because it's new and high tech, I think there's going to be millions of
pit corroded out bores in the not too distant future as lots of these folks
aren't aware of just how corrosive lots of these BP substitutes really are
or that the perchlorate all these faux BP's contain isn't fully water soluable
this is particularly destructive when they use this crap and buy into the Bore Butter or Wonder Lube Bore seasoning schtick, or use smokeless solvents
which don't do squat as far as neutralizing and removing the salt residues
from thier bores. I hope at least 10% of these young guys end up becoming BP enthusiasts as most of the shoots I attend are just about all Greybeards like myself. fredj

Wall- Correct twist rates are not universal accross the range of calibers
for RB shooting with a .45, a 1 in 48" twist is the correct ratio, for a .62 cal in
in 70" is likely too fast, the mass of the projectile has a large part in the rate of twist needed to stabilize it. Pecatonica primarily sells Green Mountain barrels which all have the appropriate rate of twist for the given caliber, Branch meanly the founder and owner of Grn. Mtn. is a long term BP competitor with numerous championships under his belt, and he knows from long experience exactly what works how and why as does Dick Greensides the owner of Pecatonica who has been actively shooting BP competition for over 40 years. I've built 7 or 8 rifles with Pecatonica parts and they're all tack drivers despite my lack of patience and lack of manual dexterity.
fredj

Welcome aboard, Fred, Bridger, and Little John! Glad to see some more traditional shooters joining our little club.

Little John, where are you in PA? I'm in Bedford County, North of the turnpike.
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fredj:

Thanks for the info on Pecatonica. I am more familiar with Getz and still have one Douglas XX left.

Wall- I've wanted to try a Getz barrel as they're really beautiful ML barrels
cut rifled with really interesting rifling patterns neat steel alloy etc, I'd like to build a nice longrifle
with a Getz swamped barrel, I've always gone with the Grn. Mtn. however
as they are so much less expensive and reputed to shoot as well as a Getz or Colerain, and if the truth be known I'm always having enough trouble scraping the $$ together for the wood and the parts as it is, and my inletting skills still leave a great deal to be desired and the swamped barrel makes the barrel channel inletting considerably more challenging. If I ever won the lottery or something I'd actually prefer letting the guys that actually have the skill required to build really fine rifles, mine all look OK and are tack drivers but lack the really fine balance and subtle beauty someone with the patience
and dexterity can turn out. Once I asked Jeff (One of the guys at Pecatonica)
for his honest opinion of the Tulle' I'd just built, he just smiled and said "Fred lets put it this way, wood ain't your medium" ;-) BTW anyone reading this don't let this shy you away from building rifles, as I can't even hang a door.
Regards fredj

Little John- Those smoothbores are somewhat addictive, I built a .62 Tulle
flinter 6 or 7 years ago and didn't shoot much else for the next couple of years, I'm only deadly out to 35 to 40 yd's, and at those ranges offhand it's easily my most accurate long gun, but the no rear sight does take some getting used to, I know a guy who's quite elderly but he's impressive out
to almost 70 yd's, I don't think it's the eye's, but rather all kinds of loading tricks, and of course a great barrel, I read somewhere that the British Marines best shots with the best barrels on thier .75 cal Brown Besses could hit a man size target approx. every other time at 100 yd's. One trick I've learned is to slightly knurle the surface of the balls, some do it with a very stiff old terry cloth towel, I also once saw a device for sale at Friendship designed to do the same thing, I guess the theory is the balls fly straighter
like a golf ball does. I'll be willing to bet you'll love the .54 and likely be
really good with it after mastering the smoothie. Regards fredj

PD Shooter,... You can add me to the "ranks" of the traditional riflegun shooters (I've herd rumors of "plastic-stocked-scoped-whiz-bangers"). Here in Wyoming everbuddy thet I know, shoots REAL blackpowder rifleguns.
My "favorites" is the,...... Early full-stocked "Hawken", the slim "Jacob Dickert" rifles, and the "Brown Bess".
I fallered sum of my friends over here to this "site", and I'd like to say "HOWDY", to ALL of you traditional rifle shooters!!

Very best regards, and "keep'em center"!!

rollingb!

Hot diggity-dog!!!! Sure am glad to see ya gain ol' pal!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
hey, when ya gits a chance shoot me an [email]e-mail...delraex.com.[/email] <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Well, I ain't a traditional BP shooter yet - but "howdy" right back atcha anyway, Rollingb - and you too, Maxiball. Good to see you made the jump.

-FreeMe

Howdy!!!!! Maxi,.... I tracked, you'n, sse'n, rd7015'n, fredj'n, ddunn'n, simonkenton'n, everbuddy over here!!
I'll send'ya an E-mail purty soon,...... I jest got in frum a 700 mile drive, the ONLY "stops", were to fuel-up and git sumthin to eat.
I'm purty "wobbelly" right now, but I'll be "fit" after I take a "NAP"!!;>)
I'll send yore E-mail when I wake up!!

Very best regards, and "keep'em center"!!

rollingb!

Howdy!!!!! Maxi,.... I tracked, you'n, sse'n, rd7015'n, fredj'n, ddunn'n, simonkenton'n, everbuddy over here!!
I'll send'ya an E-mail purty soon,...... I jest got in frum a 700 mile drive, the ONLY "stops", were to fuel-up and git sumthin to eat.
I'm purty "wobbelly" right now, but I'll be "fit" after I take a "NAP"!!;>)
I'll send yore E-mail when I wake up!!
"Howdy"!!,.... Freeme,
.... good to see'ya post'n here to!!

Very best regards, and "keep'em center"!!

rollingb!

Howdy!!!!! Maxi,.... I tracked, you'n, sse'n, rd7015'n, fredj'n, ddunn'n, simonkenton'n, everbuddy over here!!
I'll send'ya an E-mail purty soon,...... I jest got in frum a 700 mile drive, the ONLY "stops", were to fuel-up and git sumthin to eat.
I'm purty "wobbelly" right now, but I'll be "fit" after I take a "NAP"!!;>)
I'll send yore E-mail when I wake up!!
"Howdy"!!,.... Freeme, .... good to see'ya post'n here to!!

Very best regards, and "keep'em center"!!

rollingb!

Freeme, and Maxi,.... I'll haft to "chat" with you fellers after I take a "nap", my butt is REALLY "drag'n" after the 700 mile (straight thru) drive.
It's good to see thet ther is "life, after Shooters.com"!:>)

Very best regards, and "keep'em center"!!

rollingb!

SEE!!!!!!!!!!!....... What I mean!!!!!!

OH Well!!!!.. I'll git the "hang of post'n here", after I git sum much needed sleep!!

Take care, "Brothers"!!

rollingb!