Blackpowder handgun

[oldschool88]

So due to the other thread about black powder guns not being considered "firearms" I have a few questions. (This is in reference to new black powder guns.)

1 Is it true that I could buy one from lets say cabellas and have it sent directly to my house?

2 Do you have to be 21 to purchase a black powder pistol?

3 Can I buy the powder for it and use it just like an ordinary gun or are there restrictions on shooting it?

4 Once I get it would I have to register it like a normal handgun or do I need a HSC?

5 Whats the catch? This seems to be too good to be true. I have always wanted a black powder pistol but did not know this was possible. Thanks for any help.

[CSACANNONEER]

1) Yes
2) No
3) Yes
4) No -No
5) No catch

This only applies to muzzleloaders and cap & ball firearms. Replica BPC guns seem to be considered modern firearms.

[oldschool88]

Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking to find out. Is there anything I should look out for in a BP gun. How are the quality of the Cabella's reproductions?

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking to find out. Is there anything I should look out for in a BP gun. How are the quality of the Cabella's reproductions?

Cabella's does not make reproductions. In terms of quality, Uberti seems to be towards the stop. Pietta is good too.

[Scarecrow Repair]

BP and muzzle loading are different

Make sure you get a muzzle loader. Colt 1873 SAAs are black powder cartridge guns and do not count.

You can get conversion cylinders for some (most?) black powder muzzle loaders but make sure you only shoot black powder cartridges from them. Even if the conversion cylinder itself can handle smokeless pressures, the gun itself probably can't.

The Remington 1858 New Army .45 is probably the strongest frame and (IMHO) the easiest to load and shoot.

[1859sharps]

I'm going to take flak for writing these two things from traditionalists, but as a beginner, consider Pyrodex.

Heretic

[Tallship]

Here's the thing to ask yourself about BP pistols: do I like tinkering with guns? Because, unlike modern guns, you have to take apart BP guns after every use and clean them within 24 hours, or you will end up with a hunk of rusted metal. And when I mean take apart, I take mine down to the last screw and put them back together again. So if you aren't prepared to spend 30-45 minutes after you shoot cleaning the gun, don't get it just because you don't have to register it.

Oh, and don't listen to the "Holy Black" crowd, Pyrodex works just fine!

[CSACANNONEER]

Pyrodex is a sin! Real BP is the only way to get the right smoke and smell from your gun! OK, since BP can be hard to find and it is classified as an explosive, you can start with pyrodex or one of the other BP substitutes. Just get a can of Goex when you can and try it.

[Scarecrow Repair]

So if you aren't prepared to spend 30-45 minutes after you shoot cleaning the gun, don't get it just because you don't have to register it.

That's the worst thing about black powder, how filthy it is. Pyrodex and such are somewhat better, but not clean. For long arms, not such a big deal to clean, but revolvers, yes, including unscrewing the nipples, soak them, run pipe cleaners thru them, and use an air compressor or a can of air to dry them, and then grease them up to put them back together. You don't shoot once and put it away.

If you aren't willing to do that, they will remain safe queens.

[1859sharps]

Oh, and don't listen to the "Holy Black" crowd, Pyrodex works just fine!

oh, alright for the sake of accurate info, your right.


BUT it just seems like such a sin to not run the real thing through a black powder gun. Whenever possible that is. I do understand the realities of supply, demand, and storage laws.

But when you can, the smoke, the smell, the knowing your actually shooting black powder through a black powder gun all enhance the experience in my opinion.

[Scarecrow Repair]

BUT it just seems like such a sin to not run the real thing through a black powder gun.

Might as well play a video game as use Pyrodex. What's the point of shooting a blackpowder gun without the blackpowder? What next, invent bullets which vaporize in the barrel?

[ratbush]

Controlled vaporization for quick unloading of unfired cylinders, sounds just fine to me. I don't think I'm turning my back on tradition by using Pyrodex, just moving along with a better way of doing old style shooting. I suspect once you work out the load differences from the propellent choices we have today, they all will prove to be easier than BP on the firearms.
This thread started out about percussion arms shipped to the house. What is really crazy about the Golden State is, that's OK but I can't order an air rifle, pellet gun, or double edged knife by mail. Go figure!
ratbush

[1859sharps]

I wouldn't bother trying to make sense out of all the oddities of California's gun/weapons laws. It can't be done.

[a.tinkerer]

On black powder VS black powder substitutes...


I've been doing this for a very very long time.
I own and shoot black powder antiques that value in the 5-figures and have very good reason to know for double damn sure the fine points on what I'm putting through my guns.

Real black powder is *easier to clean* than it's substitutes. The only solvent you need is water. Once clean (which happens amazingly quickly with simple water and brush/patches) it's also very easy to oil the thing and put it away.
Black powder residue is easier to clean than the residue of the substitutes such as pyrodex (and pyrodex will screw your gun up just as badly as black powder residue) or the residue left by smokeless powder in smokeless powder firearms. Smokeless powder residue requires solvents to remove, but you can usually get away with leaving it in your gun for quite some time without serious ill effects - but you don't run smokeless in black powder firearms anyway...

Real black powder burns more consistently (more consistent pressures) -- yielding better accuracy -- than the substitutes.

Real black powder ignites much easier than the substitutes.



It is definitely true that you'll need to completely clean your black powder handguns and long guns after using them.
You'll need to learn some things such as the need to keep petroleum lubricants out of the bore of your black powder handgun and long gun bores - or at least completely clean petroleum oil/grease residue out of them before you shoot or you'll end up with a horrible tar-like residue in the bore that IS very hard to remove.
You'll learn to handload (without a doubt) before you get the chance to touch your first round off (every round fired is loaded by hand after all!)
Doing so isn't difficult though, and if you're running real black powder it's quite easy.

There's a process to learn, and that's a good thing.
You'll have much more of a relationship with your guns and it's quite possible that shooting them will be much more rewarding than shooting smokeless powder firearms.



Furthermore, you can get into a brand new black powder handgun (flint lock or cap lock single or double barrel, or caplock revolver...) for relatively little money. You can even own a smooth-bore black powder handgun without special permits etc - there are even big-bore side-by-side caplock handguns that you could hunt boar/deer/quail/woodcock with - all in the same piece. My Pedersoli 20x20 Howdah pistol is a great example, and with big roundball and 70+ grains of Goex FFg it's very accurate and more than enough to take coastal blacktail within woods range.
A handful of #7 shot and 40gr FFg is excellent on quail at close range.
It'd make a very very effective self-protection night-stand piece too, as I can't imagine a crackhead surviving one of those .600+caliber roundball with 70gr FFg behind it.
The noise, flash, and smoke would send any surviving associates straight for the street!



Cheers
Tinker

[11Z50]

I currently own three BP revolvers and a rifle. While I certainly understand what traditionalists are talking about, I use pyrodex or whatever else I want. I also shoot sabot JHP bullets out of my rifle.

I have a Ruger Old Army, as well as 2 Piettas, a confederate .36 and a Spiller and Burr .36. The pistols are great fun to shoot, and I really enjoy blasting away with all three. I use Pyrodex P in all three, but I'm going to try some "7" in my Old Army. I am partial to the .36's right now, since they are very handy, elegant pistols. The Old Army is a cannon and like most Rugers will handle whatever I can cram into the cylinder.

I have found that while they must be cleaned soon after shooting, often I wait a day or two with no ill effects, provided I wipe the gun down well with break-free. I have also sprayed copious amounts of WD-40 on the piece and that worked well.

As for the BP v substitute debate, I say "who cares". I just go out and enjoy shooting.