Anyone else agree that the price of black powder guns is waaaaay out o' line ?

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This is wrong. Any gun that has a drop in center fire conversion is considered a firearm and requires a background check as if they were buying a center fire firearm.

This is NOT wrong, it's how it really is. You can buy a C&B revolver with NO background check, and then order a drop in center fire cylinder any day of the week. Put them together and you have an 'under the radar' center fire handgun. Is this a great country or what? :evil:
 
Ive got to say for the convenience of being able to send and receive them through the mail and not having paperwork they are a steal.
 
This is wrong. Any gun that has a drop in center fire conversion is considered a firearm and requires a background check as if they were buying a center fire firearm.

You are either misinformed or simply didn't understand the reference. A reproduction cap-n-ball revolver, such as the Pietta 1858 Remington can be purchased OTC or by mail. No background check. An additional cylinder for that revolver may also be purchased OTC or by mail, that allows the use of .45 Colt cartridges loaded with BP or smokeless "Cowboy" loads, and no background check is needed. These cylinders drop-in, or after a few minutes of filing on the revolver receiver, drop-in. Thus the revolver is converted at home to a center fire handgun.

The simplest form one adds the ammunition to the cylinder, then adds the cylinder to the revolver, but there are other types out there that convert the cap-n-ball revolver to a revolver with a gate to allow reloads with less mechanical manipulation. These, though, require more modification to install. The saving grace of these conversion cylinders is their price generally makes the cost of the combined revolver very close to a factory made "conversion", and the revolver is still single-action and thus are not flooding the streets with cowboy guns as Badguys seem to prefer more modern designs.

Whether or not this conversion is legal in one's state is another matter, but it's not illegal to own either, so long as one is not a convicted fellon. If it is illegal, it's only when the cylinder is added to the revolver frame, in most states. They are available for Colt and Remington repros.

LD
 
I think Piettas are great in my experience, I got my brass framed Remington on sale for $179 dollars. It has lasted me at least 1500 shots, still tight as a drum even with 30 grains being my standard load. The action is as slick as glass due to brass being a natural bearing surface, it feels just about as good as my S&W. The action is buttery smooth and the trigger pull is excellent! The timing is excellent, the accuracy is phenomenal, and the reliability is so good that I trust it as my home defense revolver.

I think the price is right on this one! Any cheaper and they'd be giving them away! :D
 
The action is as slick as glass due to brass being a natural bearing surface

Every part that moves in a brass framed revolver is moving on steel, not brass. The trigger and bolt are steel. The screws that they move on in the frame are steel. The steel cylinder rotates on a steel pin, and the steel hammer rotates on a steel screw. And, oh yes, the springs are steel too. So just where is brass an advantage? Huh? :banghead:
 
They may appear slicker because the steel innards grind away the high spots quicker on a brass frame than steel. ;)

As for the OP, it makes no sense whatsoever.
 
Because a C&B revolver is not chambered for a cartridge. A drop in cylinder is only a gun part. Under federal law neither requires tracking.

Shhhhhhhhhhh...don't tell the feds! :cool:
 
junk.. neither is the frame on my cva.. but because there are centerfire barrels, the frame is considered a firearm, regardless if there is a CF barrel with it or not. Wonder if its because the gun was designed with that function in mind.. and ships as a CF rifle from the factory some times where the conversion kits aren't usually produced by the same company (are they) and they require a modification to fit them to the gun? Are there any truely drop in conversions?
 
Too Expensive?

Compared to what? That 1858 Remmie repro I just got cost about half what a comperable centerfire Single Action Revolver might cost. If some brand of a single shot rifle cost too much for you, look for something else or look for used locally. I got my first BP rifle not that long ago call it ten years for $20 at a yard sale. Needed some TLC, but I just pretended it was a kit gun that needed everything done to it and did. Most have spent oh all of another $20 on stains sand paper and browning solution and had a ball doing the work.

my last three BP revolvers before this one were all used and cost $75 (plusabout $10 in parts as it was not working when bought), $100 and works darned good and $150 or about sixty bucks less than if new. All three together are less than my last centerfire revolver which was also used( all be it a desirable one).

-kBob
 
I completely disagree with the OP....no disrespect intended.
Anyone can buy a $100.00 BP revolver on Gun Broker or the other gun auction sites any week of the year if you're not too picky. A little spit & polish and you have a $200.00 gun. Done it five times already this past year.
I agree with Busyhands; again, no disrespect, Junkman, but all my brassers are smoother and easier action guns than their steel brethren. Maybe less drag by the hammer on the frame? I dunno, but every brasser I own is a sweetheart. I have six at present, sold three others this year but they were just as nice.
Something about brass....:D
 
all my brassers are smoother and easier action guns than their steel brethren. Maybe less drag by the hammer on the frame? I dunno, but every brasser I own is a sweetheart.
Something about brass....:D

I'm thinking you are right about the frame acting as a bearing surface for the hammer. Brass is a natural bearing surface as I mentioned, I like how smooth my brass framed Pietta is. It's buttery smooth and crisp, I like it a lot.
 
If anything, I think centerfire guns are overpriced compared to how inexpensive good BP guns can be made.

The ROA is a good example. It's got more complexity and more machining and it's just as tough as a Blackhawk, but a Blackhawk costs more. They made a lot more Blackhawks than ROA's when the ROA was in full production, but most of the time the Blackhawk sold for $100-$200 more.
 
I concur with Slamfire1 in that our money does not command the purchasing power it once did. $350 back in the '70s bought a lot more than it does today. You could buy a HK-91 or an AR for that kind of money back then.
 
Geesh, Mrs. mentioned wanting to see a movie last weekend. Checked the prices, since we hadn't been to a movie theater in ten years. $10.50 a person for the evening shows. And it is not the highest priced theater. Although with the European debt thing, it seems the Italian revolvers have been stable for the past three or four years. By now, the tooling set ups should be paid for.
 
It might not be completely in line with the OPs rant, but...
My complaint rests with the skyrocketing prices for ROAs after the replacement parts are no longer produced, and the available supply of said parts dried up completely.
I was most fortunate to have purchased two unfired examples last year, but am somewhat fearfull of a point in time where I would need a repair part.
What does one do? Buy a complete gun to canabalize, and consequently drive the prices up even higher.
Come on Ruger, service your customer base.
 
Black powder guns are not too expensive at all. The problem is my paycheck is too small!
 
CraigC said:
Sounds like somebody is falling into Obama's war on the rich and capitalism in general.

Actually there was an extension of the 2 percentage point Social Security payroll tax cut that was passed by both the House & Senate and signed by the POTUS back in Feb., 2012.
The result is that everyone continues to receive a larger paycheck through the end of 2012. :)

Payroll tax cut is back

http://www.bankrate.com/financing/taxes/payroll-tax-cut-is-back/
 
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Doesn't really address the silly sentiments expressed in the OP (like the notion that S&W is "selling out" to the anti's by overpricing their products) but okay. ;)

PS, all that bill really did was change where that 2% came from. It's a feel-good illusion.
 
Anyone one complaining about import prices should look at the dollar. Congress's spending excesses have run the dollar into the ground. Any country operating on totally borrowed money effectively RUINS their currency. Welcome to the real world. I don't think Obama plotted to raise the prices of black powder guns, but I could be wrong.....:neener:
 
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