Having Interest in Black powder

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shooterm

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Hi everyone I always had an interest in in black powder shooting (traditional)
I live in the edmonton area and got to shoot a black powder gun for the first time, and wow i really liked it .

-To get into this sport what are things I need mind you I would be just starting out so i wouldnt be looking to buy the best of the best

-Also were are some places i can look to buy an affordable rifle
(percusion cap)online or in area and other items i would need

any info on the sport would be great only things I know is how to shoot and the basics of the rifles nothing in depth about powder,wads caps, ball
all that good stuff. It maybe a lot to ask all at once but I def want to know what I am getting into before I do make the leap into this fun sport

Thanks
 
The Equipment Exchange (EE) on this site has lots of black powder rifles for sale at reasonable prices. I bought a new Kentucky Rifle kit for $150.00 spent a couple of weeks putting it together and now shoot it out to 100 meters.
You will probably find black powder substitutes easier to find in your area but go the extra mile and find some real black powder like Goex it works better. For rifles over .45 cal the grain size of the powder should be FFG for .45cal and under FFFG will work the best. Next you will need percussion caps most modern percussion rifles will use a #11 or # 10 size cap. Soft lead balls of the right diameter usually about .010 inch less than stated caliber, I have a .45 cal and it uses a .440 ball...this leaves room for the cloth patch.
The best thing to do is find black powder shooters in your area to give you a hand with all the many details that make this such a fun sport. You will find most black powder shooters very helpful and generous with their time,they can also steer you on to the "underground" where real black powder can be bought.
 
Make sure you have all the cleaning supplies before you go shooting, these rifles need cleaning at the end of every day of shooting. It dosn't take long to start rusting a barrel. Feel free to ask any questions.
 
I would stick with percussion in the beginning because there is less to learn. Almost all guns use #11 caps and almost all of the small caps you will find for sale will be #11. I would strongly suggest buying a copy of Lyman's Black Powder manual both for the pressures and velocities of given loads but the beginning is a how to section. Black powder is readily available in Edmonton, and I am pretty sure there is a black powder section in the fish and game club there. I would suggest meeting up with them to learn the ropes a bit more easily. You might want to get together with them before buying a gun, to get a better idea of what style you prefer. As mentioned above, be sure to clean with warm water and a bronze brush plus dry then oil the bore. You can buy diaper material by the meter in fabric stores and it is ideal for cleaning patches.
Almost forgot; I use 3F powder in all of my guns up to and including 60 cal because I get less fouling. For target shooting use a water based lube like moose milk again because it reduces fouling.

cheers mooncoon
 
Real BP is available in the Edmonton area. Contact the Sherwood Park F&G club, Edmonton House Brigade, Camrose Gun Club and I think there is also a BP group at Spruce Grove. Talk to some of those members before spending your bread on something you will want to replace in a year or so. Lots of good guns available on the CGN E&E Forum. Mooncoon's advice is right on the money.
 
What the other guys said, plus - buy a good quality "range rod" (a ramrod made of fibreglass or brass that comes with a ball puller). This will save you some grief when you put a ball down without powder. It happens!
 
thanks guys a lot of good info I beleive if i want to get into this sport there is going to be a lot to learn i have been lookiing at some rifles online mostly limans and tradtions there prices def seem right
 
It's a really really really good idea to get out to a black powder shoot and hang out with everyone there. By and large black powder shooters are the friendliest people I've met at the range, and are always happy to help a newcomer out.

First thing you'll notice with shooting black powder is that there are a lot more tools involved in getting the gun to shoot. Of all the tools I love having, a variable powder measure and a ball starter (little wooden hammer with a brass rod handle) are the two most useful. I only recently got a variable measure and my life is 100X easier than before. The ball starter just solves loading problems that I may not have gotten around otherwise.

As an explanation - the variable measure is a little tube with one end open and the other filled with a marked sliding rod. Slide the rod out and there's more room in the tube for powder, slide it in and there's less. This way you can carry one powder measure for all your guns and still be able to change the amount of powder you put in them (you never, ever pour directly from your powder container into the gun... there's no way of telling how much you're putting in, and there's a minor, but dramatic chance that it may flash up and into the container!)

The ball starter just gets the ball started in the muzzle. Sometimes a ball is tight, the patches too thick, your fingers too cold or the barrel too dirty to shove down with just your ram rod, so a ball starter is like a little hammer and very short ramrod all in one. It gets the ball into the barrel and a few inches down to the ramrod is easier to use. With the right ball and patches and some luck you won't need it, but sometimes you just do, and then it's great to have!
 
I am also starting in BP and love it.There are some good deals on quality guns out there in the clasifieds if you watch for them.
I have discovered Flintlocks, and they are it for me. I like my Percussion caps too but a flinter is just to cool. They are not as hard to shoot as people make them out. Good flints and a good lock make all the diference.
Cabellas in Edmonton stocks Goex black powder now, so it is readily available.
A good strong range rod is a must for pulling bullets that went in before the powder.
Pete
 
black powder

to PETW read the mantra again-POWDER, PATCH & BALL and you won't need the heavy rod for removing the ball. caught myself today at our range-was talking while loading, started to set the ball on patch and then unsure whether powder had been put in. removed ball and tipped barrel down and no powder.phew. have done this before and wasted 50 grains of fffg but it's far better to make sure. powder is cheap compared to the work to correct the problem. a heavy range rod works really well on a trail walk after about 15 shots or so when things start to coke up. a large wad of spit on a free patch rammed doen after the ball also works wonders to help break up the coke and it has no effect on accuracy.
 
The rod that came with my Kentucky style .45 cal is not long enough to reach the bottom of the empty barrel... when I drop it into the barrel it goes all the way in,when loaded it sticks out about an inch and a half.
I got distracted and couldn't remember if I loaded the rifle or not or if I had put the powder in but not the ball so I put the rod in and it showed that it was loaded but I still wasn't sure if I had put in a ball. An other shooter suggested that I put some spit on the end of the rod and lower it on to the charge and if there was powder on it when I pulled it out then there was no ball. There was no powder on it when I pulled it out so I knew that it was fully loaded.
I could have double loaded the rifle if it had not been for the rod, it is not just for ramming the ball down it is also a safety indicator.
 
Skinny 1950 said:
I could have double loaded the rifle if it had not been for the rod, it is not just for ramming the ball down it is also a safety indicator.
Click to expand...

there is a fair margin of safety using black powder in a traditional style rifle. I have shot double ball, single powder (make sure the ball is seated) as well as powder ball powder ball. Admittedly this was using target loads of 50 grains of 3F in a 54 cal rifle. You know when you have loaded a second ball because the trapped air makes the rod spring back up. Important to push the ball down and hold it down until the air leaks past the top patched ball

cheers mooncoon
 
bp shootin'

of course that counts. with this august company of enthusiasts you will also never be short of answers and opinions-that is what makes it so great. first thing is get a gun-i found two just looking back on page 2 of EE. try jeffy1 or citysfs offerings for starters and lets get going. both are priced about right and have some stuff with them. let me know how you make out. regards, bill
 
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