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Navy Arms Zouave
- Thread starter lapierre1
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zimmerstutzen
70 Cal.
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My zoli zouave came with both nipple and for most guns both are still available
My zoli has a hole in the corner of the patch box that the unused nipple screws into
My zoli has a hole in the corner of the patch box that the unused nipple screws into
This one has the hole in the patchbox but, being well used and mostly ignored, it is missing the other nipple. Guess I can order the missing one. Now to get the tang bolt to fit. It's a crime what isn't done to some of these guns. Thanks for the answer.
Most likely the Zouave has an 8mm thread nipple. That is close to 5/16" and screwing the wrong nipple in could cause some serious damage to the threads. If you can't ID the threads I suggest you pull the nipple and take the nipple and barrel to a local machine shop to have them checked.
I have had mine since 1960 and always used #10
Remington caps. Never had a miss fire. A patched
575 rb and 55gr ff. I have used mine in completion
for 15 years and done very well. Shoots mini's just as well but a fraction lower.
Wulf
Remington caps. Never had a miss fire. A patched
575 rb and 55gr ff. I have used mine in completion
for 15 years and done very well. Shoots mini's just as well but a fraction lower.
Wulf
Shot some minies from my Navy Arms and it did quite well but got ALOT of blowback (soot? crud?) from out of the nipple. I had to scrape the stuff off with a wet toothbrush and Simple Green. It really caked up around the nipple and in the open end of the hammer. Tried some .570 RBs and .015 patch and it was so tight I couldn't start the ball. Suppose I'll have to go to a thinner patch to get things down like they need to be. What thickness patch are you using?
longcruise
70 Cal.
That blowback could be caused by an oversize flash hole in your nipple.
The suggestions above are good ones. Remember that your Zouave from Navy Arms will be a Zoli made gun with the original style rifling that is shallow and designed for the Minie type projectile. You may have to go to a .010" or thinner patch to make that work easily. Back when these guns first came out in the mid/late 60's, Lyman didn't yet make a .570" mold and we had to make do with the .562" mold then available. Sometimes this meant using something almost canvas weight or old cut off jeans to take up the difference in bore and ball size. What we did find out was that you need a tight ball/patch fit in the bore to get decent accuracy with the shallow rifling. This is also the gun that gave the 1-48" twist a bad rap that continues till this day. Sadly, it wasn't the twist rate at all, it was the rifling depth and land width that made things tricky. When we figured out the tight fit and moderate charge combo, things improved dramatically. Good luck. There is a right combo out there but each gun is a law unto itself. One may shoot well with a .570" ball and a .010" lubed patch...the next may be lucky to hit a flock of circus tents! Well, maybe a bit of an exaggeration! :wink: :haha:
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Would all Navy Arms Zoli Zouaves have that type of shallow rifling, or was there a point in production where that changed?
To my knowledge, the Zouave's have stuck with the same rifling style since that's what the originals had. The M.1841 rifles started out using the same barrel in .58 but were eventually changed to .54 with slower cut rifling to more accurately resemble the originals. In actual fact, most Mississippi rifles were later converted to .58 bore to handle the standard U.S. Minie ball load just before and early in the Civil War. Technically, they had a change to the top barrel band and had adjustable "long range" sights added as well. Anyone with one of the .58 versions can buy the sights and barrel band from S&S and others to make a .58 Mississippi look right and accept the M.1855 sword bayonet. The Zouaves were all .58 production and the argument goes on about whether and to what extent they were even used.
I'd figured that the hole in the nipple is oversized because I can run a pipecleaner right though it with very little resistance. I've ordered a musket cap size nipple from TOTW and we'll see how that works. It shoots about 2-3" right with the load I am using now which is a minie ball from a traditional type mold and 70grs. 2F at 50 yards.
If you can run a pipe cleaner thru the nipple it is WAY oversize.
Replacing it is a real good idea. :thumbsup:
Replacing it is a real good idea. :thumbsup:
It is then WAY overdized. Thinks myself, "Self, Someone has done a bit of gunsmithinski on this poor rifle gun." We'll get it straight. Soon as I find out what straight is for this particular rifle. So many thanks to you guys out there.
