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n5lyc · July 14, 2013, 10:29 PM

Well yesterday morning, a friend and I went out and shot our cap & ball revolvers.
He shot his 1860 army he hadn't shot in over 20 years, and I shot my newest 1860 army, and my 1862 5.5 inch.36

Afterwards, we talked and cleaned the guns at the range.
(Some moose milk, some water, and bore butter) and a double check on the cleaning later that evening..

In tupelo, they had a civil war camp set up and invited the public after 3pm.

We went to see the camp, met some nice people.

From a black powder enthusiast standpoint, it was a very cool day.

I talked to the guys about their weapons, and they were more than happy to show them off and let you handle them, or try your hand at shooting them (with blank loads of. cream of wheat packed on the powder instead of wads, and I came to understand the reason.)

Most carried Remington's. (due to the ease of reloading charged cylinders)
There were plenty of the standard muzzle loading shotguns, and Enfields, and Zouave's.

But there were a few standouts.
I one guy had a 1863 Sharps Calvary reproduction in .54 caliber (not cartridge, but fired with a musket cap.) (over $1000 online, and it was beat to hell) he could only get it to fire about 1 out of 5 tries..

And one of them had a Smith carbine, I have seen photos before, but never handled one, very cool.. break open, breach loading rubber (yes rubber) cartridge with a flash hole in the rear to let the musket cap set it off. (the smith carbine was a 2008 Pietta) about $900ish from Dixie gun works and had very little bluing left on the barrel, and could get it to fire 1 out 10 times..

They had a 12 pound Napoleon there firing every so often, after talking with the crew, we had a great visit, they instructed me in the operation of the cannon.

Very cool, and very loud.
1 pound of powder every pull of the lanyard..
After the speaker finished they punctuated the end of the speech with a few single and double charges..

Anyway getting back to the topic.

Of all the guns I saw and handled... only 1 just one, was in what i would consider good shape.

The owner said it was a Walker, but it was a 3rd model Dragoon by Uberti..
He had bought it 3 months before, loaded it (powder &cream of wheat), put it in his flap holster, and had not had a chance to shoot it yet.

MOST of the others were similiar with their weapons... Only worse!

All were shooting real black powder, and some were having trouble getting their revolvers to go off when they would let visitors try to fire them.

Many of them were extremely rusted, I asked in passing how often they got cleaned, the most common answer was "when it quits turning, I just dunk it in some hot water, wipe it down, give it a shot of oil and go back to shootin"

There was a smattering of Uberti's, most were ASM or Pietta..

I buy black powder guns often enough I have a list of Italian date codes on my phone.
Most of the guns were 2001 or later...
Some as late as 2010, and were covered in rust.

You know the beautiful 1858 Remington from cabelas with the case hardened frame?, one was so rusted, you could barely see the case hardening..

Very few of the guys had EVER shot a real ball down the tube of their guns..

But the worst part was the safety, even though they were loaded with compressed cream of wheat over the powder, there was very little reguard for muzzle safety. Even at very close range..

Most of them seemed to reguard the weapon as a prop, and not a dangerous weapon.

But I can say the one group that operated with professionalism, and with the utmost concern for safety was the cannon crew.

They sometimes compete in live fire competitions, (2 1/2 lbs of powder per shot)
These were the guys that I migrated to, and had a very enjoyable time with.

I had to thank them for showing me how things worked, the operation, and care of the cannon, and allowing me to pull the lanyard on one charge.

Life don't get much better than that..

But I just don't understand how someone can make a substantial investment in a piece of equipment, and not take care of it.

Even if you do just use it as a prop.

45 Bravo.

July 14, 2013, 10:29 PM	#1
n5lyc Senior Member Join Date: February 11, 2009 Posts: 180	Reenactors vs shooters. Well yesterday morning, a friend and I went out and shot our cap & ball revolvers. He shot his 1860 army he hadn't shot in over 20 years, and I shot my newest 1860 army, and my 1862 5.5 inch.36 Afterwards, we talked and cleaned the guns at the range. (Some moose milk, some water, and bore butter) and a double check on the cleaning later that evening.. In tupelo, they had a civil war camp set up and invited the public after 3pm. We went to see the camp, met some nice people. From a black powder enthusiast standpoint, it was a very cool day. I talked to the guys about their weapons, and they were more than happy to show them off and let you handle them, or try your hand at shooting them (with blank loads of. cream of wheat packed on the powder instead of wads, and I came to understand the reason.) Most carried Remington's. (due to the ease of reloading charged cylinders) There were plenty of the standard muzzle loading shotguns, and Enfields, and Zouave's. But there were a few standouts. I one guy had a 1863 Sharps Calvary reproduction in .54 caliber (not cartridge, but fired with a musket cap.) (over $1000 online, and it was beat to hell) he could only get it to fire about 1 out of 5 tries.. And one of them had a Smith carbine, I have seen photos before, but never handled one, very cool.. break open, breach loading rubber (yes rubber) cartridge with a flash hole in the rear to let the musket cap set it off. (the smith carbine was a 2008 Pietta) about $900ish from Dixie gun works and had very little bluing left on the barrel, and could get it to fire 1 out 10 times.. They had a 12 pound Napoleon there firing every so often, after talking with the crew, we had a great visit, they instructed me in the operation of the cannon. Very cool, and very loud. 1 pound of powder every pull of the lanyard.. After the speaker finished they punctuated the end of the speech with a few single and double charges.. Anyway getting back to the topic. Of all the guns I saw and handled... only 1 just one, was in what i would consider good shape. The owner said it was a Walker, but it was a 3rd model Dragoon by Uberti.. He had bought it 3 months before, loaded it (powder &cream of wheat), put it in his flap holster, and had not had a chance to shoot it yet. MOST of the others were similiar with their weapons... Only worse! All were shooting real black powder, and some were having trouble getting their revolvers to go off when they would let visitors try to fire them. Many of them were extremely rusted, I asked in passing how often they got cleaned, the most common answer was "when it quits turning, I just dunk it in some hot water, wipe it down, give it a shot of oil and go back to shootin" There was a smattering of Uberti's, most were ASM or Pietta.. I buy black powder guns often enough I have a list of Italian date codes on my phone. Most of the guns were 2001 or later... Some as late as 2010, and were covered in rust. You know the beautiful 1858 Remington from cabelas with the case hardened frame?, one was so rusted, you could barely see the case hardening.. Very few of the guys had EVER shot a real ball down the tube of their guns.. But the worst part was the safety, even though they were loaded with compressed cream of wheat over the powder, there was very little reguard for muzzle safety. Even at very close range.. Most of them seemed to reguard the weapon as a prop, and not a dangerous weapon. But I can say the one group that operated with professionalism, and with the utmost concern for safety was the cannon crew. They sometimes compete in live fire competitions, (2 1/2 lbs of powder per shot) These were the guys that I migrated to, and had a very enjoyable time with. I had to thank them for showing me how things worked, the operation, and care of the cannon, and allowing me to pull the lanyard on one charge. Life don't get much better than that.. But I just don't understand how someone can make a substantial investment in a piece of equipment, and not take care of it. Even if you do just use it as a prop. 45 Bravo. __________________ I make 2 predictions: ON THE DATE WHEN US TROOPS ARE ISSUED AN Energy Pulse Weapon, 1. The US Soldier will have on his person a version of the Colt 1911. 2. He will be aiming the NEW Weapon at someone carrying an AK. Last edited by n5lyc; July 14, 2013 at 11:23 PM.