Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

About the only smoke blowing I do is with a cigarette - which I really need to stop doing one of these days before it kills me...but anyway, I'd like to see some pictures of your muzzle loaders laying on the kitchen table, propped up against a tree or with your behind the sights and a puff of smoke coming out of the barrel.

Take a moment to describe the pieces and parts, the bullets and powder that you use... help out a poor dumb guy who doesn't know anything except cartridge ammo.

allingeneral wrote:About the only smoke blowing I do is with a cigarette -

That just got a bit more expensive, so I hear

Here's mine, and by the way allin- I quit smoking last month when the prices started going up. It helps if you think about it like this- cigarettes are near $45.00 to $50.00 per carton now, at a pack a day that's 3 cartons per month, that translates into $135-$150 per month that could go towards gun and ammo purchases.

CVA Bushwhacker .50 cal. I use 100 grains (by volume) of Pyrodex RS to push a 350 grain T/C Maxi-Hunter, I usually put a little Pyrodex P directly under the nipple to make sure everything works right. For those not familiar with black powder, Pyrodex is a black powder equivalent. The granules in RS are larger than P, RS is used in Rifles and Shotguns (RS) while P is used in none other than Pistols. You can use P in place of RS but you should use less volume.

Nice!! Be sure to cleanup that pyrodex good though, its very corrosive and has ruined many a good gun.

Moccasin wrote:I quit smoking last month when the prices started going up. It helps if you think about it like this- cigarettes are near $45.00 to $50.00 per carton now, at a pack a day that's 3 cartons per month, that translates into $135-$150 per month that could go towards gun and ammo purchases.

I'm with ya there, brother. I've quit smoking so many times...I'm on the wagon again today. Chantix helps immensely.

allingeneral wrote:

Moccasin wrote:I quit smoking last month when the prices started going up. It helps if you think about it like this- cigarettes are near $45.00 to $50.00 per carton now, at a pack a day that's 3 cartons per month, that translates into $135-$150 per month that could go towards gun and ammo purchases.

I'm with ya there, brother. I've quit smoking so many times...I'm on the wagon again today. Chantix helps immensely.

I used nicotine patches for 2 days, then I figured out they were so old that they didn't do any good. Haven't used anything since.

allingeneral wrote:About the only smoke blowing I do is with a cigarette - which I really need to stop doing one of these days before it kills me...but anyway, I'd like to see some pictures of your muzzle loaders laying on the kitchen table, propped up against a tree or with your behind the sights and a puff of smoke coming out of the barrel.

Take a moment to describe the pieces and parts, the bullets and powder that you use... help out a poor dumb guy who doesn't know anything except cartridge ammo.

Top pic is my White Thunder shotgun .12 guage. I have killed several squirrels with her so far, maybe a turkey someday. The small game load is 1 1/4 oz. #6 shot/ 75 grains of triple 7 2Fg.

Next is my White .410 Whitetail rifle, just got it in March and shot it for the first time this past Sunday. So far it likes 60 grains of triple 7 3Fg and a 380-400 grain conical, dead on at 25 yds, still need to find the 50 and 100 yd. load, but its getting there.

What I don't know about muzzle-loaders you could write books about. I can't tell you about the load, or what kind of ball I shoot or anything because I've never shot it. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure if it's mine or not.

What I do know is, it's a Thompson/Center "Seneca" in .36 cal. It may have been fired before I got it, but I'm not sure.



It actually belongs to an woman I worked with at my former job. She "loaned" it to me about twenty, twenty-five years ago. She got it when se was dating a fellow who was into shooting at the time. When they broke up, she "loaned" it to me, with the understanding "I'll get it back when I want it." I've tried several times to return it, but she says "You keep it. I know where it's at."



I keep saying I'm going to try squirrel hunting with it, but I probably never will.

hehe - Wayne, that's a story to tell your grandchildren!

Nice rifle Wayne, I have that ones big brother they are all stright shooters, T/C is hard to beat, they make a great Muzzleloader.

That Seneca is a rare gun, better hold onto it, if in good shape inside and out its worth $600. I had a .32 Cherokee and sold it to buy my first inline a TC FireHawk. The Cherokee are also hard to come by and I could have doubled my money if I had kept it.

I just finished this one two weeks ago, the lock is massed up now, broken sear and an weak main spring, should of knew with how the lock looked when I got it, took me two years to put it together from parts.

54cal hawken

Here some photos of my blunderbuss that Al Edge made for me. She has a 10 gauge brass barrel, Chambers Early English lock, 1st Model Brown Bess furniture and I got to pick out the wood.

That's a really nice gun, notes. I always thought the ole blunderbuss was neat.

allingeneral wrote:That's a really nice gun, notes. I always thought the ole blunderbuss was neat.

Thank you! I forgot to mention that her name is Retribution. I'm a member of HM Sloop OTTER, a living history organization that recreates the Royal Navy and its place in Virginia history and I carry her at every event.

That is a sweet BP rifle. PM sent for details, but I just added it to my list of must get.

Well, here are a couple of 'smoke poles' I have...

This is a .50 cal. Percussion Johathan Browning Mountain Rifle... very accurate, not too many around I think. Has a single set trigger which is pretty neat. Shoots a patched round ball with around 80 to 100 g. 3F... I am working up a load for Black Magic artificial black powder... still working on that.


This is a .50 cal. flintlock Dixie Tennessee very accurate but hard to hold since the barrel is so long. Shoots patched round ball with about 80 g. 3F. has double triggers... set trigger. very light touch, really nice shooter and good quality.


This little rifle is a .45 cal. flintlock that I built from a kit. I have shot it but not enough to tell you much other than it also shoots a patched round ball. Also pretty accurate


This is a Springfield 1863 .58 cal. 3 banded musket used in the late stages of the Civil War... I shot with it extensively in the NSSA some 25 years ago. It is very accurate and I shot at many meets over the years, shot a very low level charge of 50 g. 3F behind a conical 500g. bullet. It was like shooting a brick at something... very large bullet and a lot of smoke... very much fun... and I had many years of enjoyment... it hangs on my wall over my computer desk along with an original bayonet and scabbard and an "Arkansas Toothpick"... fighting knife...

I don't have any modern black powder stuff... I hunt with all but the Springfield and have killed deer with all except the little .45... I did get a couple of squirrels but that's about it... Flintlocks are sort of hard to shoot because of the delay between pulling the trigger and the pan firing the round.... but you can get used to it.

Well, here are a couple of 'smoke poles' I have...
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<picture gone>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This is a .50 cal. Percussion Johathan Browning Mountain Rifle... very accurate, not too many around I think. Has a single set trigger which is pretty neat. Shoots a patched round ball with around 80 to 100 g. 3F... I am working up a load for Black Magic artificial black powder... still working on that.
<<<<<<<picture gone>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This is a .50 cal. flintlock Dixie Tennessee very accurate but hard to hold since the barrel is so long. Shoots patched round ball with about 80 g. 3F. has double triggers... set trigger. very light touch, really nice shooter and good quality.

Not sure what happened here but....... the pictures are as follows....


This is a .50 cal. Percussion Jonathan Browning Mountain Rifle... very accurate, not too many around I think. Has a single set trigger which is pretty neat. Shoots a patched round ball with around 80 to 100 g. 3F... I am working up a load for Black Magic artificial black powder... still working on that.


This is a .50 cal. flintlock Dixie Tennessee very accurate but hard to hold since the barrel is so long. Shoots patched round ball with about 80 g. 3F. has double triggers... set trigger. very light touch, really nice shooter and good quality

Not sure what is happening to the pictures from Photobucket... I think I have it fixed now... anyway...

I have been saying 3F powder... it may have been 2F... I think the 3F was used in the flash pan on flintlocks.. and the 2F was used in the charge. Some of the more informed on here can maybe correct me on this... I use Pyrodex or other artificial powder now... burns cleaner and less cleanup and fouls better. I might ask of the members...

>>are these propellants still about the only ones available? Swiss Blackpowder, Triple Se7en loose powder, or Black Mag 3??? I have used the Black Mag and it seems fine... just as an afterthought I wanted to pose this question.

AW man - now y'all got me thinking about building a Brown Bess.

Well, later.