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Is the black powder revolver industry dying out?

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Sorry - I know this is an oldish thread, but I only just spotted it and thought I'd put my two penn'orth in. Like all the rest of you here, me being a BP enthusiast sort of goes hand in hand with other hobbies that involve making or adapting stuff, or getting off one's arse to produce your own food. Personally, I don't think BP shooting is dying out any more than vegetable growing, motorcycle mechanics, model railways - sorry, RAILROADS - or aircraft, painting military figurines etc etc, spending time cooking proper food, or knitting, tapestry or sewing. ALL of this stuff is dying out to the same degree, mostly since the onset of the digital age, instant entertainment and video games, and is a symptom of instant entertainment being available at the click of a mouse. I believe also its related to relative prosperity.

A friend of mine from Poland, back in the days of the Iron Curtain and communism, used to buy cardboard model kits - of almost anything you can think of, and all his mates were doing it. They were just about the only affordable things which kids could buy which provided entertainment. You could even buy a 1-4 scale model of an American P 51 fighter plane or a Spitfire! (they didn't hate us as much as was made out). Once they shook off Communism AND the digital era took hold, all that inventiveness and informal, technical skill disappeared. Why spend a week making a cardboard model of a Sherman tank when you could spend a week on a computer doing all kinds of colourful, whizz - bang kind of stuff?

I'm not advocating for Communism here. But, Communism in Eastern Europe did create a boring, colourless world, and people brightened it up by making stuff, and being inventive. However... A few years ago in the UK before I moved to France, I was at a railway (sorry, railroad...) station and unexpectedly a steam locomotive came into the station. All the kids - and some adults - doing mindless stuff on their phones, suddenly perked up, and within seconds all the phones were photographing or filming the loco. Old, interesting stuff draws crowds.

Fast forward to my gun club a couple of years ago. First time I turned up with my 1858 Remington .44 - in my mind, a bit 'vanilla' - all these younger shooters, with their suppository guns which cost about three times more than mine - were entranced, and all asked to handle it, or have a go with it. My Polish friend I referred to earlier, whom I met via this club, has since bought himself a Pietta Colt 1851 and says he enjoys shooting it more than his S+W 38. He calls it the 'Steam locomotive' effect. People are drawn to old stuff that takes a bit of work to use, you just need to point them in the right direction. He's also started getting into model Railways too! (Sorry... model 'Railroads'. ) I think it is up to us to go to our gun clubs, even dress up in the period gear, and make a big song and dance about what we do. If we do it enough, we will attract newcomers.
 
It is true that model railroad shows draw many old men; at least the ones displaying layouts. The hobby is nothing like it was during the 60's baby-boomer times. There will always be people interested in the cap-n-balls to some extent, and model rail as well. Just not massive amounts. Good comments, Sir Knight!
 
It’s the shooters that are dying out.
And so is black powder shooting in general.
Yeah, the sad truth is hard to bare ! Almost all of the enthusiasts are long in the tooth now including me. I see very few young people excited about muzzle loading now days and with components being hard to find and expensive when they are, doesn't help matters.
 
Yeah, the sad truth is hard to bare ! Almost all of the enthusiasts are long in the tooth now including me. I see very few young people excited about muzzle loading now days and with components being hard to find and expensive when they are, doesn't help matters.
well there are still plenty of guys buying tons of powder and caps a week
 
Seems there's just not much interest especially online except in small websites like that. Really can't even find black powder revolver a in bigger outdoor stores either. I know it's real big in Europe because from what I can tell they aren't allowed much else. But here in the u.s it's a different story. Most gun owners i feel don't pay these things much mind. Responsible felons seem to like them to have something at least. Only a few places I feel sell replacement parts. So is it dying out or getting bigger? Or stagnant? I love black powder by the way
No, it is alive and well. The retail business, across the board is evolving. Specialty items: like BP pistols are particularly affected. Pretty much forget "big-box" type stores. Dealers in these items should be able to flourish if they know how to market BP related items.
 
It is true that model railroad shows draw many old men; at least the ones displaying layouts. The hobby is nothing like it was during the 60's baby-boomer times. There will always be people interested in the cap-n-balls to some extent, and model rail as well. Just not massive amounts. Good comments, Sir Knight!

I use to enjoy going to the model Railway shoes, Steam locos and ol time rolling stock was my main interest
One of the older guys had an impressive layout so I got talking to him, he told me that Model Railways/ Railroads were responsible for more divorces than anything else !
 
Everyone who can afford to is stocking up on shooting supplies, and firearms. They learned the lesson from last time. And are looking ahead in case of another epidemic, or gun hating president.
Don't forget the Terrorist living right under our noses that were allowed to just walk right into our country!
 
It may depend on the next presidential election. If a democrat gets in again, it will be 2020 shortages all over again.
If a Democrat gets in, the Republicans will say that the Democrats are going to cause shortages. The rash of hoarding resulting from the Republicans' clai.s will cause the shortages while the Democrats do nothing. That's what happened in 2020.
 
I think the "old school" shooters are thinning out as they age. Those of us raised in the bicentennial era, and with the love of the old west/history, are fewer and farther between. Folks just dont get involved in stuff as much anymore. Centerfire shooting is more care free, and tends to appeal more to the younger shooter. There are fewer craftsmen and "do it yourselfers", which are the breed black powder appeals to. I certainly think the sport took a hit over the past several years with the scarcity of powder/primers, etc. The casual shooters who used to show up at our BP club now dont...saying they cant get thier stuff. They just werent as dedicated to keep digging, find substitutes, and went to thier other hobbies that were lower maintenance.
Access to a place to shoot gets harder every year for a lot of shooters and potential shooters. Most younger people have little or no knowledge of history beyond the civil rights movements, slavery, and global warming because those are what the emphasis is on in our education system and has been for the last 20 years.
Not one in 100 could tell you who Wild Bill Hickok, Jim Bridger, Davy Crocket, or General Grant was.
 
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I see a LOT of younger people getting into firearms in general. Whether that is a reaction to the feeling of not being safe anymore or arming up for their Marxist overthrow, I don’t know….
 
Most folks blessed to live in rural areas still pass down hunting and shooting traditions, it may skip a generation now and then but many a grandfather or uncle has filled in for a non hunting or even just plinking Dad for interested youngsters :thumb: The appeal of black powder's slow and deliberate pace came to me after a half century of other things. As todays young AR15/AK47/Wonder9 shooters get older their tastes will change too.
 
Seems there's just not much interest especially online except in small websites like that. Really can't even find black powder revolver a in bigger outdoor stores either. I know it's real big in Europe because from what I can tell they aren't allowed much else. But here in the u.s it's a different story. Most gun owners i feel don't pay these things much mind. Responsible felons seem to like them to have something at least. Only a few places I feel sell replacement parts. So is it dying out or getting bigger? Or stagnant? I love black powder by the way

You are possibly thinking of Mainland United Kingdom, aka Great Britain, where, it's true, cartridge-firing handguns are rare. In all other countries of Europe, BP handguns are not only permitted, but, in many cases, totally free of any sort of paperwork, especially if you are over 18.

Your comment that Europeans are 'not allowed much else' is misinformation, to say the least. If Europeans can't have guns, why are there so many European gunmakers? True, I live in in UK, not Europe, but even I have 22 rifles and two handguns....that's a few more than 'not much' where I live.

Perhaps, as an average American with a couple of hundred guns of all kinds, to you that's a big 'so what', but we DO live in different places.
 
By the enthusiastic interest exhibited on this site for C&B pistols, I'd have to say it's not dying away, it's just that a small, very dedicated cohort of hobbyists is supporting it strongly. When I say 'small' I mean in relation to gunnies in general. Some of the revolver pros mentioned on this site are amazing!
Agree!
 
If you look at the offerings from Pietta, with their laser engraved percussions, and the guns offered by Cimarron and Uberti, the market seems to be pretty strong. The ammo shortage with the last election and the covid global panic, drove people over the top a bit; black powder shortage, now eased with the entry of the new Goex owners, all drove prices up to where Ruger Old Armies were and are around a grand; several years ago you couldn't give one away! No, percussion guns are here to stay! BTW, the press has been attacking modern ammo lately, so expect another' ammo panic' around the next presidential vote.
 
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