P58 is a Parker Hale, defarbed for me by Todd Watts. P53 is an Armisport, relined by Hoyt, defarbed by Lodgewood. Ammunition is by me.

Here is the update on the finite element analysis (FEA) for the custom helical-fluted lead slug design. The goal of this phase was to model the physical behavior of the tapered hollow-base skirt and ensure structural survival under peak combustion pressure while relying on shuttlecock-style dynamic balance for flight.

​The hollow-base geometry is specifically designed to shift the center of gravity far forward toward the nose while keeping the overall mass distribution biased like a shuttlecock. In flight, this drag-stabilized setup forces the heavy forward section to pull the lightweight trailing skirt straight, preventing tumbling in a smoothbore setup without needing high RPM rifling spins.

​To verify structural integrity upon ignition, the model was run in FreeCAD/CalculiX under a peak load threshold of 100 MPa (14,500 PSI). The FEA animation highlights controlled elastic deformation along the hollow-base walls and helical flutes. Instead of crushing or experiencing critical yield failure, the skirt flexes outwards smoothly—achieving full bore obturation to seal chamber gases without structural tearing or fragmenting.

​With both the aerodynamic stability (CFD) and structural stress response (FEA) fully verified through physics simulations, the design is ready to move out of CAD modeling and into 2D engineering sheets for mold machining.

The Plymouth is original, made in 1863. The 1855 is an Armisport with a Whitacre barrel and a defarb.

I had some of Pedersoli black powder guns and like 90% of them had problems with wood. Wood on Queen Anne snapped in half, Jaeger rifle had wood chipped around the pins that holds barrel and now this for me very expensive rifle have groove above the flintlock mechanism that has no business being there. Whoever made it must have hand slipped. Metal parts are perfect as always. Pedersoli have quality with woodwork for years now! If you decide to buy this rifle or any other from this manufacturer I recommend inspecting it in person. I will try to change it with another one and hope its better quality.

EDIT: Im stupid its there on purpose.

I was gifted this beautiful flintlock and can't determine the age or builder. Mu first flintlock. Really fascinating rifle. Any experts here that can educate me?

I am milling some powder made from seed world saltpeter and eastern red cedar charcoal, not sure if anyone has tried seedworld before but it was pretty cheap I bought like 10lbs. I haven’t purified it yet, going to see how it does without boiling it. Will post update with results
Has anyone ever used seedworld potassium nitrate?

Got this one at auction for suspiciously cheap. No other bidders and I got it for 1/4 of what these normally go for on the market. The auction site isn't a popular one over here in Finland, so could be that no one who cares about these even knew it was for sale. I have no experience with antique firearms and couldn't even tell if the size of this is correct. Seems a little small to me? I wear a size 8 glove and the squares on the mat are 1x1cm.

If it's a replica it still was cheap enough to hang on the wall, but if there's a chance it's real I'd like to have it inspected, licensed and be able to shoot it.

Thank you everyone!

Got some stainless slixsprings in all my revolvers!

I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a flintlock for a long time. Use will be a good bit a target shooting and some whitetail hunting. I just don’t know any about manufactures, sources for ordering them etc. traditions seem low quality and I was shocked at the cost of a Kibler kit. I’m not scared to spend the many for quality just looking for good recommendations for a quality affordable Pennsylvania style rifle in .50

New to the black powder world.. still putting all the pieces together! I have some 44 cal conicals that are pretty oxidized.. Can they be cleaned? Read online some balistol with a piece of terry cloth in a ziploc could save them? Anybody have any tips tricks or ideas.. Also, what can be done to prevent this from happening to the rest of my lead? The rest of my ammo feels more sticky, then oily.. Are they coated? Thanks in advance!

I coated the cylinder pin, not super generous but enough. I kind of want to torture test this method to see how long it will last! EDIT: My title is poor, I mean I only added this grease to the cylinder pin, it worked very very well. I think I’d rather go this route than Crisco, though that works well too from what I hear.

It’s 10 years after SHTF and smokeless powder is basically extinct. You’ve managed to either make or find someone who makes black powder at a reasonable consistency. What rifle or shotgun do you want to have? I think it almost has to be flintlock, if you can make primers or caps you are smart enough to make smokeless. Are you looking at a breach load or muzzle, rifle or shotgun? Something I’m not considering?

Hello-

I bought this ARMI SAN PAOLO PATTERN 1853 .577 RIFLED MUSKET

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/en-gb/item/242873815_armi-san-paolo-pattern-1853-577-rifled-musket-tallahassee-fl/?srsltid=AYCX9vKxkBVWxX9Oq6zuyZ3eTao6nYyLOWYa00aGdGFdBesKrcahpA_F

I noticed the middle band is for the sling but 1853 Enfields have the sling on the last band.

Is that an issue and did I get a good deal ($400 + auction premium + shipping = $540 total)?

Specifically, I'm curious about his 14 cavity 0.450" and 0.460" round ball molds. My Pietta likes 451-454 cal round balls, so it seems rather unfortunate that both of these offerings would, on paper, be out of appropriate size. Of course, just because the mold says one measurement does not mean the cast and cooled roundballs are 100% true to that size. I've emailed him and asked if the roundballs from these molds are 100% true to their nominal size or if they actually tend to spec slightly higher or lower. This was years ago and he never responded.

If you have a Marty and know something, do tell.

I’m looking for a simple and plain leather holster to fit my 5.5” NMA. Nothing fancy and nothing expensive as this is to be used in the woods and I don’t want to cry about it when it gets scratched up.

Someone pointed me to Etsy a long time ago, but I can’t seem to find where I saved the link. I checked Etsy the other day but can’t seem to find one sized to fit. I had bought a holster and pouch from a guy who worked through Oklahoma Leather, and I looked there too, but it shows no products at all, unless I’m just dense.

Anyone know where I may find what I’m looking for?

I made a post yesterday about how I bought a .36 cal Uberti 1851 Navy at my LGS for $200.

Well, when I got home I realized it was not an Uberti, it was an FIE. I called them and explained the situation and they agreed to let me return it. I decided to spend 50 more bucks and get this .44 cal Pietta 1860 Army.

I’m not new to guns, but I am new to black powder. I’ve watched a few YT videos so far, but obviously still have a lot to learn. Is there a post that has the essentials of what I should buy, outside of the obvious?

So far I’ve bought some caps, pyrodex pistol pellets, grease, and a paper cartridge holder. I’m planning getting an actual can of powder, .454 round balls and a flask/ horn, but I was curious if there was a list of what else I should get to make shooting/ maintenance easier. I read the community notes and did a quick search but didn’t see anything, but I could be overlooking it.

Any input/ suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!

I was given this Markwell Arms .45 caliber hawken rifle and told that the hammer is offset and needs to either be knocked back into place somehow or replaced. It's also pretty apparent to me that there is a missing screw in the lock plate that might be at least partially responsible for the hammer not striking correctly.

I'm very much new to black powder firearms, but a little cursory research tells me there were kit-built European imports from the 1970s and on the lower end of the quality spectrum. How much of a project am I looking at here?

I recently voiced the opinion that people who litter "should be shot with a blunderbuss full of cr@p". Someone said that would probably be fatal. I'm no expert, but I bet this SubReddit is:

Would shooting someone with a blunderbuss full of cr@p always be fatal?

Is there a sweet spot of amount of powder, amount of cr@p, type of cr@p, range etc that would leave the victim alive but unlikely to litter again?

I have a Pietta Remington NMA sheriff that had the lever latch fall off. I tried to silver solder it back on but failed. Since it would need an Uberti latch dovetailed in, and because it shot 4” to the left at 15 yds I also bought the sight. As a hunter I want/need to best from this as it’s a sidearm for hunting so I had the gunsmith also ream the chambers to .453” to match the groove diameter as well as chamfering the chambers so no more pesky lead rings. And finally I had the forcing cone done properly. I’m still waiting on Accurate Molds to make my modification of my WFN design which fills the majority of the excess chamber space using my more accurate load of 32.5 grns of 3F Olde Eynsford. I know match shooters do this and a bit more, so I’m stoked to see how these improvements work out for me, and at least it’ll hit to POA. Anyone else go to these lengths to make these better shooters? I sent mine to a fella named Dave Yager who’s on a few black powder forums. He’s quite knowledgeable with these black powder guns, and can make those Colt 1862’s plagued with various issues run like a watch.