Who made this Zouave replica ?

AF is 1980.
Gardone V. T. Proof house

Double R, Ranson Remington.
If I'm right it's a 3 groove.

Ranson is said to gone out of business in 1980/81. Mine, a 1975, is marked Ranson Italia Spa. There may be more markings under the wood.
Mine shoots good. Measure the bore. Mine is a tad under size. Had to go with a .562/0.015 patch and a .575 mini. Recommended military charge is 60 grains. The front sniper sight is a good add on. I found the ram rod tension lever spring to be a bit weak so replaced. I put a # 11 primer nipple on it and it fires fine. There is also a 209 adapter available too. Nipple thread should be 8 x 1.75mm. Main spring were typically weak but I've found still reliable.

On the MLF Barz51 also stated about his Zouave that: "...on the barrel it says "RANSON ITALIA spa made in Italy..." --->>> https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/intro-and-a-question-about-ranson-rifles.24679/

Here's a clearer photo of another Zouave that has the same logo. --->>> https://civilwartalk.com/threads/question-on-italian-repo-markings.143225/

44 Dave said:

Looking at the price of buying min balls I can buy a Lee mold for less than the price of 100 minis

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Minies can be tricky to cast on some designs. I find the pot has to be fairly hot for a good fill as well. It seems lots of people find Lee minie molds work well. You'll likely need a sizer too unless you get lucky and it drops a thousandth or two less than your bore diameter.

If you're buying check out this guy. Lots of good things said about the bullets he casts.

http://www.lodgewood.com/Bullets_c_7.html

Yes. The lead needs to be 800 minimum. The wax should flame shortly after you put it in. The mold must be good and hot too. Soot the mold very heavy especially the base plug. Minis are a large volume. Pour fast. First 10-20 cast will go back in the pot. I've used a propane torch to get the mold hot enough. A little too hot better. It will cool off. Puddle on cutter will take around 5-8 seconds to solidify if mold is hot enough. Drop on soft cloth. They are heavy and can dent. Resoot the mold often.

44 Dave said:

Looking at the price of buying min balls I can buy a Lee mold for less than the price of 100 minis

Click to expand...

Lee molds are sketchy for the most part in regards to minies. I shoot N-SSA competition with minies and you have to make sure of several things that have been posted before and I'll cover them again-

1) KNOW your bore size. the marking from Luigi are often suspect
2) Use PURE lead for minies, most commercial ones are suspect in both size and alloy
3) Size minies to .001 under bore size for best results if you don't, don't blame the gun for your inattention to details
4) Use REAL black powder in moderate charge levels. 3f is fine.
5) Use good lube. Crisco is "ok" but there are far far better.

Back to Lee molds, and I don't care who thinks they're the shnizzle, they ARE made to a price point. There ARE far better molds out there. I have a couple Lee molds. Of them, only ONE will shoot to what I consider acceptable accuracy in any of my 9 58cal muskets and that one is discontinued by Lee. Way to go Lee "Precision"! That one, I've bought a couple back ups as Lee molds are of suspect durability. Buy once, cry once, get the good stuff.

SlowFuse said:

Minies can be tricky to cast on some designs. I find the pot has to be fairly hot for a good fill as well. It seems lots of people find Lee minie molds work well. You'll likely need a sizer too unless you get lucky and it drops a thousandth or two less than your bore diameter.

If you're buying check out this guy. Lots of good things said about the bullets he casts.

http://www.lodgewood.com/Bullets_c_7.html

Click to expand...

Fully agreed on Pat aka Civil War Bullet man. He's a N-SSA member and knows what is needed to make these guns shoot well.

When casting minies, run the pot hot, like 800+. Folks who have problems are stuck on the idea that the lead only needs to be molten at 700F. Many problems also stem from the pot going empty, base pin being colder than the mold, and use of WW or other hard alloys.