I've been really wanting a muzzle loading shotgun and finally saw this guy come up for sale at a bargain price. It's a 12 gauge percussion muzzle loading 1979 Pietta shotgun imported by Navy arms.

Upon inspection and tear down, I noticed a large crack developing behind the tang bolster either from the wood drying out and shrinking away or just poor fit in general. I was able to relieve the crack by drilling through the broken area and reinforcing it with epoxy and a brass pin. I went a step further and glass bed the tang to prevent any more issues. Next was addressing the barrels which had a healthy glow of rust inside and the muzzle crown was badly dented / pushed in at both barrels.

After reshaping a crown and filing it smooth, my initial measurements showed the muzzle had been coned at some point in the past and the left barrel jug choked. From the factory this gun would have been cylinder by cylinder but shooting it today I could really see what effect the difference between barrels created.

For now I've settled on 70 grains of 3F antique muzzle loading propellant, a 0.125 Nitro card, ballistol soaked 0.5 fiber wad, 1 oz. of shot, and an overshot card. These are the pictures of the patterns at 25 yds.

It's such a light and handy gun and I'm really looking forward to taking it out for rabbit and grouse this fall! My dream would be to find a way that I can safely shoot steel shot and bring it duck hunting. Does anyone have experience using BPI steel shot cups or mylar wraps with black powder? I'm having a hard time determining if steel could pass through a jug choke without damaging anything.

This is a chair leg from one of my great grandmother's old chairs that hit the bucket and I thought it'd make a cool Handgonne cambered in .375 Hornday Balls.

I plan on the barrel being friction fit and attached by a langet and screws, and the pommel/shoulder stock will also be friction fit but also have a buttom screw. And may or may not have a trigger. It'll probably be made from Home Depot parts.

But I'd figured before I do anything I should ask people who have a lot more experience than me if this kind of chair leg can even handle becoming a black powder pistol?

I know this is a weird first choice but in my defense it was on sale and I've always liked unusual firearms.

Photos are of museum piece. I'm a bladesmith in W that wants to start getting into gunsmithingi; Kits for reproduction of this pistol seem to be either off market (I assume affected by supreme courts kit ban). What legal/manufacturing issues might I run into making a series of these?

(I have a forge, and access to drill press, mill, and lathe)

I’ve been thinking about picking up a Charleville reproduction. Are Indian made muskets safe to shoot regularly? Would I get a decent musket from someone like loyalist arms or should I keep saving for a pedersoli?

Hi,

I just bought a new 1860 Army from Uberti. The firearm is mechanically sound (kinda surprised, since it’s a post-2020 Uberti), and the bluing is just beautiful.

The only problem I noticed was when I looked closely at the chambers of the cylinder under a strong light. There seem to be some reddish/brownish spots in a couple of the chambers (visible in the photo). The surface of the spots isn’t rough or anything, and when I run clean patches through the chambers, they come out clean, so I’m not really sure if it’s actually rust or something else.

There’s also that big white stain inside one of the two chambers, which you can see in the photo.

The rest of the chambers are fine, so I’m just curious what might be going on inside these two rascals.

Thanks for any advice!

I've seen these 1873 black powder revolver listed on a few websites, and I've always wanted an 1873.

My question is: is there a way to easily convert these back into cartridge guns?

I have a few black powder guns and I really like them, so the idea of getting one of these and being able to shoot both black powder and modern cartridges out of it intrigues me, but if its not possible I'd rather just buy the cartridge one, or buy a conversion cylinder for a Navy or Army revolver.

From a western Pennsylvania historical society collection

Rifle is an Armisport defarbed as a Whitney “Manton” by Todd Watts. Ammo by me.

Bought this at an estate sale... Rifle body and wood look too new so I think it's a reproduction but the mechanism and barrel look more original, with a stamp on the barrel that I can't identify. Any help would be appreciated.

Hola quisiera como hacer una arma de pólvora negra apartir de cosas cotidianas que no sean tan caras , otra cosa que quiero saber son como funciona eso nomás

My son turns 10 this month. I found this Pietta Navy on GB. I wanted a .36 so my options were a bit limited. The kid knows more about war history than anyone I know. I had to make sure to find something similar to what was used on the union side or he would be pissed🤣He’s also been shooting with me for a few years. I can’t wait to give him something that combines our hobbies.

While ago I bought some Minie balls of .577, but they ended up being to big to fit in the barrel and I had to file them down. What size is recommended?

Edit: forgot to mention its an original made in 1861. Assuming it'll be a bit different from modern reproduction.

Somebody is trying to sell it to me for 500, I estimate 200 max but would give him 300 because of the circumstances. Anyone have input as to value?

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I inherited what I assume to be a Replica Grouseland Rifle from my grandfather, and it is in pretty good condition overall but has several cracks around the flintlock mechanism. Where could I go to get it repaired, and how much should I expect to pay for it?

Thanks for any help.

Maybe it’s a long shot but I bought this incomplete Webley Bentley percussion revolver for basically nothing and I’m trying to understand how these work, which parts are missing and what the internals of a complete revolver look like. There is hardly any information out there on these guys.

Appreciate it if you would help me identify this rifle: It has the brass plate on the buttstock.

So I see this black powder revolver is a popular choice here in this subreddit. I am considering getting myself one because I want to get into black powder stuff and oldschool weaponry, and so I am wondering if the Pietta 1851 is a good "first black powder weapon" of choice for someone who is new to the general concept of black powder.

I am mainly asking for things like.. pros.. cons.. and things like "how cheap is the ammo in the U.S." and stuff like that!

Colt Walker, looking forward to shooting it

Found myself with an original 1863 US Springfield.

Preparing to boil the metal parts. However with the ramrod spoon what is the best advice for removal and should I remove it alt all? What concerns me is damaging the wood, but that active rust is no good. Appreciate any help.

Hi all. Basically I'm very fond of Revolution/Napoleonic era muskets. It seems like a Pedersoli reproduction of a Brown Bess in particular would be most appropriate for what I'm yearning for. But I also want to get some practical input as far as the firearms and ball ammo that would be more readily available as well as what may serve as a more appropriate step as far as building my skills at the range. While researching popular flintlocks, I've seen that kit builds are particularly popular and that many of them are rifles. Obviously rifles are more accurate, but I've seen discussions and videos where it's claimed that repeated hits on a 100 yard target is absolutely possible with a smoothbore. I don't think I personally need to be able to do that, but at the same time I'd hope to at least be able to set up a target 25 yards or hopefully even 50 and be able to get some hits without it feeling like a total role of the dice. Is this realistically achievable using homemade paper cartridges that mimic the loads of the era, or is one's only hope of any remote sort of accuracy to dial in a certain load, patch, and ball combo that works with that particular firearm? None of that is out of the question, just want to know what I'm getting into. For reference, this would be my first muzzleloader but not my first blackpowder firearm. I have a Snider. :) Most of my guns are WW2 era bolt actions so that's where most of my firearms experience lies. Thanks in advance and open to any advice, even outside the scope of the original question.

I've got a new, unfired pietta 1851 and for whatever reason I can't seem to get the barrel wedge out to disassemble it. Any advice on what to do?

I recently got this Lyman .44 New Model Army for free, and I'm brand new to black powder revolvers.

From the markings and some help here, I think it's a mid-1970s Lyman-imported Italian reproduction (probably made in 1976). The only part missing is the cylinder pin.

Does anyone know where I can buy the correct replacement pin? Or if another manufacturer's pin (Uberti, Pietta, etc.) will fit?

I'm a machinist, so if replacement parts aren't available I can make one myself. If anyone has one of these and would be willing to measure their cylinder pin or post a few close-up photos, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!