Any Black Powder Enthusiasts?

[Phrozen Phil]

My father target shot black powder for a while and enjoyed the company of the other enthusiasts. He described the expereince as " a loud noise with a bad smell, followed by a period of waiting until the smoke cleared before you knew if you hit anything". He did indicate that cleaning the gun was labor intensive, but felt that it was an important part of the fun.

Some of his friends used to go to the extreme with the buckskin outfits, fancy powder horns and coonskin hats. I fired the .50 caliber gun on a couple of occasions. It was hilarious. The gun didn't so much kick as much as it simply pushed me back a couple of feet. I'd think our ancestors must have gotten pretty close to be accurate with one of those monsters.

 

[notherbob]

I have a rather plain black powder 12 mm cap and ball pistol made in Spain probably in the 1960s that was given to me by a friend who passed away a few years ago. It's interesting to shoot because there is a delay after the hammer falls and before it actually fires so you hve to continue to hold your aim even after you have pulled the trigger. Then you wait until after the blue smoke clears to see if you hit your target.

It is interesting to look at and shoot but I would not like for a cap and ball to be my only weapon for either hunting or defense.

 

[burmafrd]

Egads the inside of the barrel was rusty. There was some exterior rust too, but the down the barrel rust is what I couldn't believe. Guy has a swamp cooler and says the added humidity is the cause of it. I said, "no, not taking care of weapon is the cause of it." Needless to say, I didn't shell out the 50 bucks because of that. I think I want to do this though. I'm going to shop for a better gun.

it would depend on how long that gun had been there. Was it scaley rust or just colored? If it was scales then you could have had significant deterioration of the barrel and that is very bad news.

Probably best though to look for something better.

 

[Vtwin]

Thanks V. I do all that cleaning exactly as you do with my originally owned smoke poles. However the one I bought at the gunshow........I'm pretty positive it wasn't cleaned often. Like I said, I gotta run some 4-ought steel wool thru the barrel bout every 6 shots or it's a ***** to get the ball shoved in there and seated pretty good. I do use the buttered patches.

So I guess I was asking if anyone knew of a cleaning method for a barrel that's pretty fouled.

Try some Marvel Mystery Oil. Let it soak, clean it out and repeat. The problem is though, if the bore is pitted it will continue to foul very easily,

FWIW, I don't go six shots without running a patch through myself. Even after three it gets harder to load on a clean, well maintained barrel.

 

[Hostile]

it would depend on how long that gun had been there. Was it scaley rust or just colored? If it was scales then you could have had significant deterioration of the barrel and that is very bad news.

Probably best though to look for something better.

Pitted rust in a couple of places at the end of the barrel and rust at almost every seam.

 

[burmafrd]

Pitted rust in a couple of places at the end of the barrel and rust at almost every seam.

then you did the right thing in backing off

 

[67CowboysFan]

Black powder guns and rifles are a lot of fun. I used to have a few and you can have a lot of fun blasting old cans and bottle along the railroad tracks for only a few bucks. There are black powder clubs all over where folks get together and have target practice or comptitions.

When first learning with black powder remember one thing. Squeeze the trigger and don't move for a few seconds. They are slower than modern day guns but surprisingly accurate.

 

[Seven]

Try some Marvel Mystery Oil. Let it soak, clean it out and repeat. The problem is though, if the bore is pitted it will continue to foul very easily,

FWIW, I don't go six shots without running a patch through myself. Even after three it gets harder to load on a clean, well maintained barrel.

Thanks again, Vtwin I'll try that. At the very least it could reveal just how bad it may be.

 

[burmafrd]

Black powder guns and rifles are a lot of fun. I used to have a few and you can have a lot of fun blasting old cans and bottle along the railroad tracks for only a few bucks. There are black powder clubs all over where folks get together and have target practice or comptitions.

When first learning with black powder remember one thing. Squeeze the trigger and don't move for a few seconds. They are slower than modern day guns but surprisingly accurate.

if it takes more than a second to go off it probably won't. I have never have one go off in more than 2 seconds. It is possible though. I have heard of cases where it was 5-6 but that is EXTREMELY RARE.

Now if you do not take care and do things right- that is another matter. And only with flintlocks are you going to have a delay at all.

 

[jnday]

if it takes more than a second to go off it probably won't. I have never have one go off in more than 2 seconds. It is possible though. I have heard of cases where it was 5-6 but that is EXTREMELY RARE.

Now if you do not take care and do things right- that is another matter. And only with flintlocks are you going to have a delay at all.

I have had some delays up to five seconds, but it was due to wet powder on rainy days. It is strange pulling the trigger, dropping the gun to your waist and then having it fire.