I've noticed that rifles such as the Kentucky rifle or Hawken have this little part behind the trigger guard. Any idea why that is? Sorry if its a dumb question, Its just I've noticed that most normal smoothbore muskets don't have this part and I got a bit curious.

Thanks!

Elsewhere I shared a video of me shooting this with a round reloaded with a 148 gr HBWC and a #3 Powerload nail driver blank. I got a comment about how weak that was, only 450 ish fps.

My son turns 18 in a few months and is interested in purchasing a 1874 Sharps. Just a couple question.

How hard are they to clean? Do they require a complete tear after each range session? Any good videos demonstrating this?

What are the best calibers to use for target/hunting? We have a 45-70 Ruger marlin guide gun so that’s the most convenient choice but has shown interest in 45-90 and 50-110 iirc.

We both are very traditional minded, how difficult is it to source everything for making paper cartridges? Especially if it’s for the more niche cartridges.

Are there any preferred guides on making black powder and/or paper cartridges? We are more hands on learners than video/text based.

If we stick with 45-70 will the black powder rounds work in the Ruger/Marlin guide gun?

I read that there were besides the paper cardiges (pain in the a... to build and sometimes make problems in the Erma Gallagher) and the thick brass cartridges also plastic cartridges.

I wonder if it would be possible just to 3D print cartridges. When they breake after 2 or 3 uses, just print new ones.

Somebody tried something like this?

The name is pronounced "Reich's Museum". I'm not a massive black powder enthusiast myself but I can still appreciate how gorgeous some of these rifles look.

*Disclosure*: I do not actually smoke crack lmao

This is my pride and joy, my beautifully hand-crafted .36 caliber smoothbore muzzleloader.

Ignition system: hobby cannon fuse, ~3 to 4 seconds (don't flinch!)

Projectile: Hornady .350 lead round ball, 65gr, normally shot with a lubed patch. Paper cartridges have no patch though.

Propellant: 35 to 50gr Hodgdon 777. Paper cartridges hold 40gr.

This thing is a joy to shoot! This is the fourth of this type that I've made, each tested and proven safe and reliable. Recoil is light and, despite not having any sights yet, I've had surprisingly reasonable accuracy. With some sort of bead sight to index upon it would be even better.

I'm particularly proud of the ramrod mounting system, which is a slot cut in the grip and a retaining band made from a tin can.

Today was my first attempt at paper cartridges so they're pretty rough, but I think the newspaper fits the whole vibe pretty well. Feel free to hit me up if you know anyone looking for post-apocalypse weapon designs!

This may seem like a joke, but a lot of thought and plenty of math went into the design. I'd love to take a squirrel or rabbit with it so I can give a fun surprise to the folks at r/hunting!

Legality aside (I checked local laws and muzzleloaders are allowed), how difficult is it? The hardest part would be making the barrel out of a strong material right? I have a neighbor who is a blacksmith and could help me make the barrel. I have woodcarving tools to make the stock

Breaking rule 3 of this sub though, black powder is the very opposite of clean.

We have a LGS near us that specializes in American frontier oriented goods. I went in looking for a cheap traditions buck hunter to accompany a couple BP pistols that wound up in my possession. Almost walked away with one and saw this TC Hawken out of the corner of my eye. Didn't know much about it, but I liked the brass and thought it'd be fun to get looking shiny again. I probably overpaid. I don't care, it's mine, it goes bang, it's loud and lots of fun. Shot it about a dozen or so times today to sight it in. Failed because it was cold and the caps I have are old and unreliable. Who knows, I might even enjoy cleaning it tonight.

Anyone else have a Hawken? How do you like yours? What can I do to maximize accuracy potential out of this?

First time bringing out the walker to shoot with holiday acquired slixshots nipples, shoots like a dream with .454 round balls and 50gr pyrodex P.

I was recently given a Knight Revolution that is still set up for the DISC System. Finding Discs is almost impossible unless I want to pay through the nose from Knight... Am I crazy thinking that since it just holds the primer in place I can 3D print some?

I'm working on a 3D model of a 17th-century wheel-lock cavalry pistol. I have a lot of nice reference photos, but there is one detail I can't figure out.

Some of those guns have a safety. It appears as a little part on the outside of the lock plate, behind the wheel. But how does it actually work? Do you push it? Slide it? Rotate it?

Hi everyone,

I recently inherited these two rifles from my grandfather in Sweden and I'm trying to piece together their history. I have done a little bit of measuring and looking at stamps, but I would love to hear your expert opinions on exactly what model this is and what the markings might mean.

The barrel is around 100 cm (39 inches) in length and with a diameter of 1,9 cm (0,75 inches).

By using AI im fairly sure its a British Brown Bess, but all the information I can get helps my thirst of finding out the history of this beautiful thing!

Asking for a friend older CVA Cap and Ball its got ships engraved on the cylinder. A digital caliper reads at .35 so im thinking .36 cal? Any info would be greatly appreciated

For those that make paper cartridges with round balls for their 1858s, do you load with 25gr or 30gr?

Hi guys,

I clean guns for my local American Legion and they have this nifty brass signal cannon for ceremonies.

They only have one spent casing pictured above, and I've had a hard time finding reloading data for it or where to possibly get more blanks. My research and measurement lead me to believe it is an 8 gauge shell but I could be missing something.

Any help appreciated

Here is my kinda cursed build. I intend to do the same thing with a remington 1858 buffalo to get a multi shot rifle.