SHTF fall back guns?

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And 3f BP works great also in 45 LC. Which reminds me I just bought 2 lbs. of European BP for $13.50 a .lb. Haven't picked it up yet so don't know what brand it is. You can't have too much of this stuff but it's best not to store it all in one part of your house. In case of fire you want one end of your soon to be destroyed house to lift the same height as the other half.
 
Interesting thread. How long does black powder keep its effectiveness anyway? Like say I kept a few unopened cans of goex tucked away in a .50 cal ammo can somewhere?
 
So long as the can lid is tight, and no moisture gets in, BP will last many years. A man gave me a half can from his reenactment days, which he said was 30 years old. I used it, and when it was gone, and I opened a new can, I could not tell the difference in performance.
 
My answer to your question is yes, I purchased mine for this reason.

I purchased a Pietta '58 NMA about a year ago. My thought at the time was; what do I do when I have run out of case ammo?

I live in So Cal, I'm not old enough for the watts riots but lived through the "Rodney riots" and the every day thugs. I have seen enough damage to understand that I need to be ready for anything at any time. Now that I have a family any global or local "threat" worries me. Before I had a family I just partied, tried to avoid the road blocks, keep myself out of trouble and try to stay out of the wrong place at the wrong time.

I don't see myself as becoming a gunslinger, using a weapon to pave my way. It is more of a boy scout thing in always being prepared.

As I said above this was my reason for the purchase, however I have found it is my favorite weapon to shoot. I'm not sure what it is about the gun; the tremendous amount of smoke is spews, the sound or that it is just exciting shooting something that was developed almost 150 years old.

I am only sharing my story of why I wanted this gun. Now onto the particulars of my thought process for the fictitional breakdown of society.

What happens when I run out of my case ammo then out of my stash of Pyrodex? Well there are only three components to black powder: sulpher, charcoal and potassium nitrate. I can find sulfur and potassium nitrate at a local drugstore (If we run into this situation your average citzen would overlook these items and scanvenge the beef-a-roni). Charcoal can be made using a fire pit. Lead can be found almost anywhere.

What would be lacking is a firearm capable of using this concoction. Buying the BP pistol, I believe, was my most important purchase of the last couple of years. This is of course outside of first aid and water/food storage.

I'm not a survivalist or fantasy zombie killer (although the latter could be fun). Like I said above I just want to be prepared.
 
And if they take it so what, better my $250 Pietta instead of my $1000 Kimber!
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For those of you who may not be aware of it, if you use a firearm and they feel the need to confiscate it, they do NOT stop at one. Every firearm in your house will be taken. Regardless of age or ownership.
 
I am reminded of scenes from the movie "Red Dawn" as I read all your posts. It seems that a well prepared man can protect his family better than one who is unprepared. I also seem to remember a scene from the aforementioned movie where the invading forces knew they could find out who owned firearms by looking up the federal form 4473. I feel the fire building within my soul as I continue to think about the mess that this country seems to be spiraling towards. It is refreshing to find that there are more out there who share my sentiments and my patriotism. It will be our kind that will make a stand for those who are too meek or ill-prepared to rise to the occasion that may one day engulf the United States in what could be it's second Civil War. After all, we are talking about protecting the lifestyle of freedom that we enjoy, and this time it will keep the union from making slaves of citizens.

Make no mistake that a muzzleloader of good quality can make a killing, literally, but the shooter is more elemental to it's success. There are two kinds of people that will arise in the maelstrom that looks to be coming: trained and untrained. Remember, should it come to it, you are facing the best trained military in the world and while many among their ranks will likely fall out and join the patriots, there will be enough who will blindly follow our beloved Obama-mamba-jamba to make this country the socialist-nest that the rest of the world seems inclined to coax it into. IF you expect to live long with your muzzleloader (should that be all you can put your hands on) I would hope that you have become very proficient with it. Every gun shoots slightly different and when it comes to muzzleloaders consistency of loading is also key. I am reminded of the old axiom: beware the man who owns only one rifle...for he knows how to use it!

Best Regards!
 
No doubt a bullet fired from a smokepole will kill just as readily today as it did centuries ago. Therein lies the problem. They don't call them smokepoles for nothing. One shot and you're likely to be detected and then it's mortar fire, helicopter gunships, tank shells and maybe even a laser guided missle fired from some drone piloted from thousands of miles away.
 
They don't call them smokepoles for nothing.
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A couple of cotton balls and a simple nitration process would solve that. H2SO4 and HNO3 are pretty easily aquired as well.
 
Also, you'd have 1/3 of the requisites to manufacture fulminate for caps.
 
Leaving aside the whole I"m-gonna-commit-suicide-by-firing-on-the-military thing, and going with just survival, caps are the real bottle neck. Making your own powder and casting your own balls, is not hard. It's the caps, that are going to be in short supply. Luckily, they're small, inexpensive, and readily available...now.
 
As long as I can get cap gun roll caps at Walmart, I'll make my own caps. To me, it's the powder that's the hang up. I can char wood, I think I can get sulfur, maybe, at the feed store, but Potassium Nitrate is the killer if I can't order it in the future. I have a web site bookmarked where to get it, but not sure that'll be available. So, I guess I'll save some pee and do some research if it comes to that. ROFL!
 
While it is true that firing on the military would be suicide, in a society meltdown situation I have several defense skills to hopefully keep me healthy. The most I would use a BP for is to get myself something to eat, or maybe a better weapon if need be.
 
It would seem a better long range plan would be to experiment making BP cartridges for calibers that had their origins turn at the dawn of the smokeless era. Primers can be bought in the thousands relatively cheaply and are easily transported. A bullet mold for lead, and voila, BP without the muzzleloader or slow to reload SA revolver's limitations.

.45/70, .30-30, .38 Special/.357 Magnum. .44/40, 12ga., even .45ACP, can be loaded with BP and still get acceptable performance, though for the BP rounds, a lever rifle, bolt action, pump, or a DA revolver would be the best bet for function. Interesting topic.
 
It would seem a better long range plan would be to experiment making BP cartridges for calibers that had their origins turn at the dawn of the smokeless era. Primers can be bought in the thousands relatively cheaply and are easily transported. A bullet mold for lead, and voila, BP without the muzzleloader or slow to reload SA revolver's limitations.
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True enough, but you still need cases and primers. Cases don't last forever. Now, I can make my own percussion caps. I have a little tool that punches #11 caps out of coke cans and I stuff several roll cap centers into that. It actually seems to work BETTER than normal caps on my Ruger Old Army. Don't seem to have enough flame for the Hawken and I've spied a 50 cal inline I like that I might get, CVA Elkhorn, comes with a No. 11 nipple AND ability to use 209 primers, that might work better with my home made caps. It has removable breach plug and stainless barrel that attract me, too. I like the ol' Hawken, but inlines have their advantages. Besides, I'm running out of excuses to buy new firearms and this is as good as any at this point. :D

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/s..._64181_425010001_425000000_425010000_425-10-1
 
Mcgunner, where'd you get that punch for making caps? And what size do they seem to be? Thanks.
 
The punch is the Forster Tap-O-Cap and it is not the best option for most aplications IMO. For the price of the thing you can get 1000 caps and squirrel them away. It may or may not work for your guns/nipples. If there was a reliable way to make an impact sensitive explosive in home, then it would be great. But seeing as you have to use toy roll caps...good luck. I have one but am not done goofing around with it, else I'd cut ya a deal you couldn't refuse. I got mine form Lock, Stock and Barrel http://www.lockstock.com/prodinfo.asp?number=FRTC1000. They fit real good on #10 and #11 Nipples as they are kinda folded into shape.
 
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