Found a Wesson replica muzzleloader rifle today...

Newbie here. Looks good on the outside, but could have been put together better.

Just read it's probably a Replica Arms/Dixie import and has a fast twist so not good with roundballs. Barrel stamped Italy and .45 cal, which could mean .440 to .451. Anyone know?

Needs new sights, but I can do that. Any recommendations on rear peep sight?

Wonder if I wasted my money, or if I got something good. Can anyone tell me more about it?

Be Well

You need to post some pictures of it.

I'd try a .440" PRB in your $73 rifle - Whaddya got ta lose ? :thumbsup:

picture... hope this works, right sized... have some .445s and a little fffg. I give it a try.
Be Well

My 2005 Dixie catalog shows the Wesson could be bought for $625.00. The 2009 catalog doesn't show it.

It came with a false muzzle for loading bullets or balls.

The barrel is a .45 caliber (.450 bore, .462 groove) with a 1:21 twist.
The sights are supposed to have standard 3/8 inch dovetails.

Dixie says a load for it is a .440 ball with a .015 patch and 40 grains of FFFg powder or, 70 grains of 2Fg powder under a .450 diameter conical lead bullet.
They mention the need to remove the false muzzle before firing but the muzzle has the typical sight blocker sticking up to remind the shooter that it is still attached.

The only fly in the ointment (in my opinion) is that it was made by Palmetto.
Again my opinion but, Palmetto's handguns rank at the bottom when comparing the Italian makers.
Perhaps they did a better job on building these rifles?

Because of the false muzzle, the gun it may have VERY SHARP edges leading into the barrels bore at the muzzle when the false muzzle is not installed.
These sharp edges would likely be in both the bore and on the rifling.

If you don't have the false muzzle and you want to load patched roundballs you should use a fine "wet/dry" sandpaper to round off all of the corners. Use your thumb for power.

Thats a sweet lookin rifle. If the round balls don't shoot well then try conicals. 45 conicals will recoil more but shouldn't beat you up like a .50 or .54 conical will.

Don

There are no holes in the muzzle for a false muzzle to attach, and the muzzle has a distinct crown. I'll see how it shoots with the round balls I have and try a thinner patch.

Someone said try paper patches on slugs. Never done that. I've seen two strips of paper cut to fold up and fit the diameter of the slug. Do these work on maxiball type slugs or something else? And do the maixballs load bare?

I've run patches up and down the bore alot, and there was rust as I figured. Still for the price I had to get it.

Rear sight is terrible. Loose in the dovetail and even canted to the left so I flushed off the top and filed another notch, then put in a set screw to hold it in place. Had to make an elevation slider. Considering a way to do an aperature rear with some sort of elevation screw off the back of the flat top action.

Getting closer... and it looks like I got a deal. Oh, when I bought it the double triggers didn't work. So when I got home I backed out the set screw and it works fine now. Maybe had something to do with the price.

I'll let you know how it shoots.

This was made to shoot a 450 grain Lyman #457121"PH" bullet of .454 diameter. I have the "false-muzzle" model that was made without rifling in the false muzzle. Nonetheless it will shoot but the original sights are manure and the thin, curved butplate is a shoulder-killer. A good vernier rear sight is a must. With load developemnt I have been able to get mine to shoot very accurately off the bench at 100 to 200 yards. A platinum-lined nipple is a smart investment as ordinary stainless nipples last about 20 shots with 70-80 grain loads with this heavy bullet.

These are interesting rifles. I remember I bought one at an Atlanta gun shop circa 1970-71. I just never could warm up to it and finally sold it.

Recently bought one thru GunBroker, # 11 cap does not seem to fit correctly, have yet to get off enough rounds to sight it in. Any thoughts on the nipple/cap size?

I'll look into the Lyman bullet and already considering an aperature rear sight. Any suggestions on one suitable?

My nipple takes is a bit small for #11 caps so I pinch them a little. Maybe shorten the nipple a little or get another one. I'll look for a platinum lined one somewhere, but have a regular spare.

Anything else please?

Thanks.

I would measure the twist before jumping to conclusions. You can't really go by catalog specs because those rifles were made over quite a span of years and are not all the same. I do believe the earlier versions were meant to be roundball shooters and being as yours has no false muzzle it may be one such.

Looks like one I bought from EMF out of California in the 70's. Cost about 125.00 and did not have any provision for a false muzzle. After I got it and tried to shoot it I gave it away and it is now a wallhanger. Sight would shake loose, nipple was odd and the WORST thing was that the drop/pull was so far off that I could not really get my head down far enough to see through the rear sight. Yours looks a LOT better assembled than mine and I hope that yours is a better one. Does it shoulder correctly so that you can sight properly? Good luck