looking for a 45 cal pistol

Hello all,

Could someone point me in a direction as to where to find an affordable 45 cal. caplock or flintlock muzzleloading pistol? I am not mechanically inclined, so a kit may be out of the question. I shoot a T/C Hawken 45 cal caplock rifle right now, and would like a pistol of similar make/style to go with it. Or, does anyone perhaps know who makes the barrels for Lyman's great plains pistol and can one be had in 45 cal? Any info would be greatly appreciated

Outside of wheel gun/cap&ball guns,
I have seen (and shot one)the traditions line of front stuffers in the Trapper and Wm.Parker models in .45
They are sold in the european markets and not in the US.
The US guns are .50
The Wm.Parker I had the pleasure to shoot belonged to a guy who came over from germany(was in the military over there) and acquired it there.
It was a true pleasure to shoot and would compliment a .45 long gune well!

Since the TC Hawken has brass furniture I think a Kentucky pistol with brass furniture would look pretty good...
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_92_187_189&products_id=968

here is a picture of mine but it is a flintlock .45 cal.

If you can find a good used Thompson Center Patriot .45 cal pistol, that might be right up your alley. The Patriot would go hand in glove with your rifle. It is a fun shooter too. :thumbsup:

The online gun auction sites frequently have cap lock pistols in .45. I have two CVA Kentucky pistols in .45 and both are accurate shooters. I've also seen quite a few TC Patriot pistols for sale on the gun auction sites lately. They are more money than the CVA's which can usually be had for much less than $200 in very good condition.

Don

Somewhere I recall reading that the TC Patriot pistols have a bad habit of cracking their stocks.

Replacement stocks are NOT available unless one wants to build one from scratch.

Buyer Beware.

Charley said:

Could someone point me in a direction as to
where to find an affordable 45 cal. caplock
or flintlock muzzleloading pistol?
I am not mechanically inclined, so a kit may
be out of the question.

Click to expand...

There's the Traditions .45 Pioneer percussion pistol.
One outfit that sells it is The Possible Shop:
http://possibleshop.com/pistol-traditions.html

I have the Traditions Pioneer and it is a light weight but very accurate pistol. The lock is a cheap POS and it took a lot of tinkering to get an acceptable trigger pull but it works and maybe I'm a bit too finicky about my triggers. :haha:
The photo shows the very first five shots ever fired from that pistol. I have since refined the load a bit and gotten smaller groups. Those first five averaged just over 900 fps with only 15 grains of 3f powder. Past experience has shown it takes more like 30 grains to get that velocity from a revolver. Oh, and I made a belt clip for it.

Thanks everyone for the responses. I found a Pedersoli Kentucky pistol in 45 caliber on Gunbroker. The seller doesn't live that far from me and is willing to do a face to face sale. I got it for $149, and pick it up on Friday. here's a link http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=273754695
There are also a few CVA on gunbroker right now as well. If this deal somehow falls through I am positive I can get one of the CVA pistols.

Also, just in looking at these two, it seems like the traditions trapper and the T/C patriot share a passing resemblance to each other, or could I be wrong?

You are correct about the Traditions Trapper looking like the T/C Patriot. CVA/ Traditions knew a good thing when they saw it... The Patriot that is. Cracked stock problems and all, it is hard to beat the Patriot. :thumbsup:

Don,t know if they still are selling them, but ccinsoutdoors had the kentucky style in caplock for about $160.00 new. (.45cal.)
:thumbsup:

The traditions trapper is a larger pistol than the Patriot. and seems to weigh about twice as much as the patriot.

As for the pioneer from Traditions, I suggested to them that they add the better lock with the fly and a single set trigger. Never even got a thank you for your letter communication.

That is a very good price for a Pedersoli Kentucky pistol, you will really enjoy it.

Congratulations on your Pedersoli Kentucky.

I recommend using a .440 diameter roundball with a .010-.012 thick patch loaded over 20-30 grains of powder.
Assuming it is a percussion pistol, you can use either 2Fg or 3Fg black powder or one of the loose grain synthetic powders.

If it is a flintlock, only real black powder will work well for loading or for priming.

The reason I suggested a 30 grain max load is due to the way the Pedersoli Kentucky holds the front of the barrel in the stock.

The nosecap is screwed to the bottom of the barrel and in doing so it traps a small extension of the stocks wood.

While this works OK with light to medium loads heavy powder loads or bullets can shear off the wood extension due to the heavy recoil.

Have fun.

As per the manual that came with my .45 cal Pedersoli Kentucky Pistol, 30 gr. is the maximum recommended load. :v

The Thompson Center Patriot pistol is hard to beat. It is my favorite iron. :thumbsup:

Try to make sure that the Kentucky is actually a .45.
The older Pedersoli Kentucky's were actually .44's which requires a smaller ball.
Does anyone know when Pedersoli changed their Kentucky pistols from .44 to .45,
or whether the older .44's are actually stamped ".44" or not?

As they say, this pistol can be built in any Caliber------------
http://www.avsia.com/tvm/pistol.htm

So think .45....

I have (2) TC Patriot pistols in .45 cal and also an extra .36 cal barrel. They go nicely with my TC .45 rifle. They are great shooters.

I had originally intended to get the Traditions Trapper, but a friend found a Patriot on the internet and suggested I buy that instead. Glad I took his advice.

I love the handle on those two pistols. I heard somebody refer to them as a 'saw handle'. I may still get a Traditions Trapper some day. Don't need it, just want one.

Here's a picture: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/266472/post/new/#NEW