New to me - Pedersoli Pennsylvania .50 percussion

Picked this up on my local gun classifieds for $300. New/unfired condition. Seller said his dad bought it and hung it in his den on the wall for a few years but had never fired it. This is my first percussion rifle. What caps would you recommended for this?

What a deal !! Most guys would love to buy one of those for that price ! It will take any of the #11 caps. Not much difference in brands, but CCI's are probably the easiest to find and work just fine.

What caliber is it?

Looks like you got a good buy.

.50 caliber.

I have a Blue Ridge flintlock already, so probably be able to use the same balls and patches I have already.

CCI #11 Magnums , you can buy them at virtually any outdoor or gun shop

I have it's twin. Mine shoots good with 60gr of Pyrodex and a .490 ball with .015 pillow tick for patch.

Do the Magnum caps cause any increased wear on the nipple or firearm in any way?

Thank you all!

Measure bore.
.490 maybe .495 ball. .015 maybe .020 patch. 60-75 gns fff good start. Work load from low end up till accuracy drops then back off 5%-10%.
If you can press the ball n patch in with thumb pressure it's too loose. Should start with moderate palm slap on starter and ram smooth.
Depending on bore minimum measurement a .575 or .578 hollow base mini. Lubed Mini shoots best with 60-70 gns. Too much over and the skirt expands too much when it leaves barrel and slows it and can cause it to walk.
Regardless what brand powder used don't wait to clean it. Treat all powders as corrosive. Soap and water and scrub good. Patch till no residue. Pull nipple and clean channel same. Pipe cleaners work good.
If you use Pyrodex get "P" considered same as fff.

hulk said:

Do the Magnum caps cause any increased wear on the nipple or firearm in any way?

Thank you all!

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Heavy loads under conicals will wear/enlarge nipple orifice. Not a big deal, a $5 expendable part. Not a bad idea to have an extra or two no matter what kind of load you shoot.

hulk said:

Do the Magnum caps cause any increased wear on the nipple or firearm in any way?

Thank you all!

Click to expand...

The Magnum caps do have a bit more flash than the regular caps but it is almost nothing compared with the burning powder gas that gets blown back thru the nipple when the gun fires. Don't worry about it.

These Magnum caps can be used with black powder but they were really made for use with the synthetic black powders.
Synthetic black powders like Pyrodex, 777 and all the rest of them have a higher temperature ignition point so they work best with the "hotter" Magnum caps.
Using them will greatly reduce slow or no ignition.

Stony Broke said:

What a deal !! Most guys would love to buy one of those for that price ! It will take any of the #11 caps. Not much difference in brands, but CCI's are probably the easiest to find and work just fine.

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Some of the best auction buys of muzzleloaders are guns that just hung in a den! I've bought a couple like that; they were "just" decorators!

Thank you all! Now to get out and shoot it.

Another question on this rifle I got, maybe someone knows... I thought this was a Pennsylvania model due to the double trigger, but it has the barrel length of what is listed on the Kentucky model, 35 and 9/16 inches. The Pennsylvania model has a barrel length of 41+ inches. Does anyone know if the Kentucky was made with a double trigger? All of them I see online have a single trigger.

That might be the Alamo. It has a barrel length oh 36" and comes with double set triggers.

Grenadier1758 said:

That might be the Alamo. It has a barrel length oh 36" and comes with double set triggers.

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Hmm. From Pedersoli's website, the Alamo appears to have a patchbox and silver lock parts, which mine doesnt. The barrel is also slightly longer than the stock. Would be nice if they had the model name on the gun hahaha.

GREAT find. I hope the two of you make good smoke for many years.

Don't sweat the model; you got a fine rifle for a teeny-tiny price. I'd be happy to add it to my stable any time.

hanshi said:

Don't sweat the model; you got a fine rifle for a teeny-tiny price. I'd be happy to add it to my stable any time.

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That's true... from what I can tell, it is a Kentucky but with double set triggers, or maybe a Pennsylvania with a shorter barrel, if that was ever a thing. Either way, I just got back from shooting it for the first time! It shot excellent, easy to load and accurate.

MAN you got a GREAT DEAL ON that rifle !!!

Great find! Go forth and enjoy!