Shooter or Wall-hanger

[NickFlint12]

Hello folks,

First time posting to the forum. I am Iooking for some advice on a muzzleloader I was gifted. Several years ago a buddy of mine gifted me two of his uncle’s guns. His uncle was a skilled tradesman in Rochester New York and, from all accounts, was a detail oriented guy. The guns include a 1925 L.C. Smith 12 gauge and, what appears to be, a custom made small caliber (maybe .32) muzzleloader. My friend believes his uncle built the rifle. There are no marking on the gun. It appears that he removed the original open sight and added an aperture sight. The stock was carved with a beautiful wild boar in it.

I would love to try and shoot the gun. It appear that there are no old loads in the gun and that it was well cared for. I am looking for a process to inspect and potentially test-fire the gun safely. I have hunted with muzzleloaders (T.C. Hawken) in the past and just know the basics. What considerations should I make regarding this little treasure?

 

[russellshaffer]

I would shoot it but that's just my own opinion. It has a heavy walled barrel with a small bore and probably a large safety margin. It's too nice to be a wall hanger. Get some much more expert advice first, please.

 

[poker]

Its absolutely beautiful. Start with a light load. Maybe 30 gr. Anybody would be proud of a rifle like that.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Beautiful rifle and I would shoot it too.

 

[NickFlint12]

Thanks for the replies! I was hoping for some advice on how to safely shoot it for the first time. Conducting an inspection, etc.....

 

[Goose]

Maybe disassemble it and do your own visual inspection of the breech plug, breech of the barrel, and threads on the plug and the barrel. I might also inspect the nipple threads and drum threads if you can. The gun appears very well taken care of and I cant imagine any part of the inside looking worse than the outside. That with the afore-mentioned thick barrel walls would incline me to load up and give er a shot.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

I'd shoot it if the cap will light the powder . Nice rifle .

 

[Rifleman1776]

Nice rifle. If the bore is clear it looks like a shooter. Best advice is to find an experienced ml shooter to walk you through the loading steps. Lacking that, start with light loads. Pour the powder from a measure, not flask or can. If first shot goes well, swab, reload and shoot again and again until the sun goes down. Good luck, let us know what happens.

 

[dbowling]

make sure its not been left loaded also before firing..

 

[TFoley]

Post #1 - ' It appear that there are no old loads in the gun'

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

After inspecting, I would pop a few caps before loading. Beautiful looking rifle.

 

[Rebel]

Drop the ramrod down the barrel. If is bounces back up it is most likely unloaded. Also insert rod down barrel mark it at the muzzle and the pull it out, lay it along side the barrel and if it reaches the nipple you are good to go. Then load a .310 or .311 round ball in a patch over 25-30 grs of 3f or Pyrodex P and have some fun with it.

 

[NickFlint12]

Thanks guys. I disassembled the gun. Pulled everything but the breach plug. No load in it. All the threads look to be in good shape. I plan to give it a go in the next few weeks. I need to track down some 32 cal ammo.....

 

[fleener]

I assume you ran a tight lubed patch down the bore, that will help you identify any potential problems in the barrel. I would shoot it. I agree with the above post.

Fleener

 

[RiverRat]

Beautiful gun, shoot it in good health.

 

[dbowling]

Post #1 - ' It appear that there are no old loads in the gun'

Must of skipped over that.

 

[Dphar1950]

Note that drums that are made of cold rolled steel may break off and go flying. Had it happen to me about 1968 or so and another shooter told me a similar story. The only way to prevent this is to have the drum supported by the lock plate to keep the shock of the hammer striking the nipple off the drum its also a good idea to have a good radius where the reduced diameter of the threaded portion meets the section the nipple screws into. Look up Charpy Tests of steel for info. Cold rolled steels don't like impacts. I would not shoot a rifle with an unsupported drum. The one that failed for me went through storm door 15-20 ft away and into a porch.

 

[TFoley]

Note that drums that are made of cold rolled steel may break off and go flying. Had it happen to me about 1968 or so and another shooter told me a similar story. The only way to prevent this is to have the drum supported by the lock plate to keep the shock of the hammer striking the nipple off the drum its also a good idea to have a good radius where the reduced diameter of the threaded portion meets the section the nipple screws into. Look up Charpy Tests of steel for info. Cold rolled steels don't like impacts. I would not shoot a rifle with an unsupported drum. The one that failed for me went through storm door 15-20 ft away and into a porch.

At least it hit the porch. Reminds me of a Porsche joke for some other time and place........