Recent content by Grey Wolf

correction/retraction Sorry to ruffle your feathers fedaircop. I'm a native Texan who is rabid about our state's history. In fact, I belong to three different groups who reenact the encampments and battles for independence from Mexico. My choice of words was poor. Texas Rangers were never...

Reports of failures I have heard that all 1,000 Walers were probably not issued. It is possible that there were not 500 members of the U.S. Mounted Rifles, later to become the Texas Rangers. These statements are paraphrased from R.L. Wilson's "The Book of Colt Revolvers". Hays's Texas...

Early Old Army I treasure an early production one with the brass trigger guard and grip strap.

1. Buy a wide-brimmed hat. 2. Carry the rifle with the muzzle down. 3. If it's a flinter, prime the pan downwind. 4. Carry dry rags in a dry place. 5. Carry the rifle with the lock covered, not enclosed. <grin> I've shot matches in the rain, sleet and snow shooting percussion...

The Lyman Great Plains is the closest mass produced rifle to the original plains rifles of all mfrs, not just Hawken. I will be stepping on toes, but most "Hawken" rifle copies are much smaller than the originals. It's no big deal if you don't get into historical events. Rifles in the...

guns in the New World These are generalities with some specifics. English settlers brought matchlocks, then the flintlock we shoot today. Dutch settlers brought snaphaunces, an early flintlock design. Spanish brought miquelets, another early flintlock design. French brought flintlocks...

swivel gun/carriage gun If you shoot with a group, buy a case of 25 1 lb cans of powder. You can mix the granulations. You only have to pay one $20 Hazmat fee. As noted before, look up a Goex distributor with the best price. Here's my swivel gun / carriage gun that can be configured to suit...

For those who like to reenact US history before the Wild West period there are mountain man rendezvous. They recall the trappers and traders annual gatherings in beaver country. The originals were from 1825 through 1840. Our events are usually Thursday through Sunday in weather cool enough for...

Articap, I should have written that the second reference is a bit off. About your previous reply. Many years ago there was an auction house in Houston that had a monthly auction of estate items and consigned items of all kinds. Halfway through that auction there was an auction of Texana. Most...

The first source is a bit off. The Patersons known as Pocket and Baby Models in calibers .28.31 and .34 had the centaur scene. The Belt Models had the stagecoach robbery scene. This is according to R. L. Wilson's 600 page book on Colt Firearns. There was even confusion at Colt about what the...

Some shooters use windshield washer solution. I put 1/4 cup of dishwashing liquid (some use Murphy's Oil Soap), 1 cup of household ammonia and 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol in a gallon milk jug and fill it with water. The soap and ammonia cut the crud and the alcohol helps speed the drying of...

warning It appears that the gent with the unorthodox shooting stance on the left doesn't have a flash guard on the pan. It's rude and a bit unsafe to fire a flinter with a fellow shooter on the lock side of the gun that's being shot, especially if he's aiming and unaware of the coming hot...

I don't understand why you are all shooting these huge loads. Metallurgy was poor on the originals, but I think that the scaled up size of the Walker, making for the capacity for a lot of powder and having thin walls between the bores were causes for the failure of so many of them. It...

lyman You didn't mention what style of gun you want. If you are looking for a plains rifle the Lyman Great Plains is the most authentic factory made replica of a half stock Hawken. They make left and right hand in percussion and flint in .50 and .54 caliber. My favorite caliber is .54...

my range rods The one on the left is a GI .50 cal machine gun cleaning rod. The head swivels and it breaks down into 4 pieces. They used to be common at gun shows. Next is a 3/8" brass rod. I use it the most as it doesn't rust and get my hands filthy when I use it. I keep a .58 caliber...