Never came from a hunting family let alone a gun family. Im 32 and a friend gave me a rusted out muzzle loader. Told me I could have it just needs restored. Me being in the fabrication trade had all the means to restore this gun. So I did lol and wanted to show it to all my huntin buddies so here ya go. before shot it about 8 times before my shoulder was done lol. Quite the kick. We had it on paper at 75 yards but not tailed in yet. Still have plenty of time until gun week to do that. Br excited to actually own my first gun Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Matches my hunter orange camo coat! Lol if I can find another cheap muzzle loader I’d like to do one in snow camo too! Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
The inside was in great shape! Other then when I took the breech plug out to clean it the dang thing was loaded. The guy who gave it to me said it was given to him and he never did anything with it! I couldn’t get the plug out at first and almost took a torch to it…… that would been reeeeeeal bad Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Holy cow! That brings back memories of guys bringing there guns to gramps car repair shop. I was 8 or 9 at the time. Back then for some reason guys found it easy to get slugs jammed in their barrels. It actually happened a lot for some reason Gramps was the go to guy to dislodge the gun barrels. I remember the orders to stay away from the shop when he was helping these guys out. You did a nice job on that.
I'm very into traditional muzzleloaders, cap locks and patched round ball shooting specifically. One of the biggest things I read on muzzleloader forums is that it is very common for them to be left loaded. It is absolutely one of the first things to check. Glad you didn't apply any heat to it! Many folks find them still loaded when looking at pawn shops. You just hold the ramrod on the outside of the barrel with the end aligned with the start of the breech plug, then pinch the other end with your fingers right at the muzzle, and then run it down the bore and see if it goes all the way to your fingers or stops short. Many pawn shops can be convinced to come down on their price after you point out that its loaded. A tip for the breech plug. The fouling seeps into the threads as you shoot so anti-seize is recommended. I've read that putting a wrap of teflon tape around the threads makes them come out very easily after shooting, much easier than with anti-seize. Modernmuzzleloaders.com is a great resource for inline information if you struggle to find a load it'll shoot well. It sure looks a lot nicer now than when you got it, you did a great job making it into eye candy again.
Appreciate the tips guys! I’ll have to go see if there are any around our lawn shops! Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
