Black Powder?

[randyt]

Dad's old combo gun, 12 ga and 40 caliber. Been going to shoot it but sometimes think it should be retired.


target pistol made from scratch except for the barrel and trigger guard and pipes.


rifle and shotgun made back when I was a teenager.



My dads squirrel rifle which I don't have a photo of. He made it when he was a kid. A fella close by recut the barrel and then he made a new stock for it. I'll dig up a photo.

[kyratshooter]

Back in your Dad's day, which was probably also My day, There were very few of the preassembled "kits" that became popular in the '70s and '80s. If you built a gun, which was the only way you could own one unless you had a 200 year old origional, was to build from scratch.

In 1954 Dixie Gun Works opened and Turner Kirkland began buying up surplus trade gun parts from the Belgan companies engaged in the African trade. Not military surplus, trede surplus! The Colonial powers would not allow trade of modern guns to the African nations. Seems they had a preminition of modern Africa and knew what the tribes would do to each other with modern weapons.


http://www.ambroseantiques.com/flongarms/congo.htm

Anyway, he brought tons of barrels, locks and simple hardware to the U.S. market. you could buy a smoothbore barrel for $5, a lock for $5 and whittle a stock out of a 2x6 and have some kind of BP gun. They even made guns in-house from these parts and sold them for rediculiously low prices even for that time. I remember a caplock gun, just like the flintlock in the above picture, selling for $20 out of their catalog.

he was the start of the "kit gun" market when he began offering a lock, stock barrel, trigger guard, ramrod thimbles and butplate as a preselected parts kit with a chunk of beech 2x8 with a barrel channel groved down it you could turn into a stock. I bought the kit for $15 instead of paying $20 for the finished gun. I never finished mine and ofteh have wondered where it wound up. Probably in the trash.

[Old Professor]

Over the years I have had many different black powder rifles from flint locks to cap locks to my current in-line TC Omega, all in 50 cal. I have taken several deer over the years with them. My son-in-law uses my current one more than I do, because I have found that I really do not like shooting black powder anymore. I don't like the clean up, yet i usually windup doing I becase the SIL is too busy skinning and butchering the deer to clean the rifle. I would prefer the longbow to the black powder if i want primitive.

[hunter63]

Had the T/C Hawken flinter out yesterday, and no I'm not posting targets, but it shoots just fine, even though i was only shooting 50 yards, did keep it on the paper, trick is to not move in the split second of the "pheest...boom"....But I'm happy
.
Hunting partner shot a .50 CVA that belong to my BIL that has passed, I gave it to him as he helped out a lot in the cleaning of the "stuff" from the BIL's estate.

This rifle was a early 80's CVA, "kit" Hawken .50 cal, percussion as described, that I helped the BIL and FIL build back then, actually shoot real well.

That was the first time he had tried it and was happy as well.

Also shot the new Handi's and a couple of toys, including the NAA Mini revolver, .22 mag.....LOL, with a 1-1/2 barrel is pretty much a last resort "belly gun", bullet tumbles real well.
Was a good day.

[randyt]

My dad dealt with Turner back when he had a few parts for sale in the muzzle blasts magazine. In those days a fella dealt directly with Turner. Now days it seems like a big outfit. I was fortunate to have grown up with gun nuts. There was parts and pieces to pick through and granddad had planks of walnut, cherry and apple wood in the shop attic. Kits were available but a one of a kind was my liking. Good times.