black powder firearms "to buy" list as well as a couple of future firearm builds.

[Busyhands94]

hello everyone! i have decided to add another BP firearm to my list of guns to get! i will be buying myself an 1851 navy with a brass frame (.44 caliber) this summer. as if my list of guns i want could not get any longer so what guns are you guys seriously interested in getting? so far here is mine

classic arms pepperbox (no practical purpose, i have always wanted one, lol)
classic arms terrible twister
1863 Remington pocket (if the price is right)
Pedersoli Derringer Liegi (kit form because i like building things and it costs less)
classic arms snake eyes
NAA .22 LR companion (if i find one for a great price)
Philadelphia Derringer pistol kit (i have always wanted one)
Kentucky pistol kit
Remington old army with a brass frame in .44

here is a list of some future builds i am considering/planning. i need some barrels though, so i will probably start right as soon as i get my barrels.

single shot muzzle loading .22 rifle (percussion)
a .22 pinfire derringer
a 50 caliber BP cannon
a .177 caliber rifle that is styled after the Remington rider derringer. the reason i want .177 instead of .17 is so i may fire lead BBs out of it.
a side by side .22 muzzleloader with one smooth bore and one rifled. one will be for bird shot and one will be for ordinary bullets. this rifle will be for hunting rats and snakes, and maybe the occasional rabbit.
a .22 caliber side by side pistol. it will be much like a miniature howdah, but it will just be for plinking and maybe a snake gun for my tackle box.

 

[ontarget]

Dang Busy, sounds like you are going to be up to your arm pits in projects. Keep us posted.
My next buy will probably be a 58 Remington.

 

[ElvinWarrior]

Hey Busy !!!

I am very impressed with you in general, and your skills as a home builder especially.

I have a proposition for you.

I also would like the CA kits you mentioned, but, I have so many projects stacked up, I don't have the time to build them...

How about this...

I buy TWO CA pepperbox kits, and have them shipped to you, YOU build BOTH, and ship one back to me when completed. (I will provide the shipping) ....

We could do this about once a month, till we both run out of kits...

Sound like a deal?











Sincerely,

ElvinWarrior... aka... David, "EW"

 

[Busyhands94]

that sounds perfect! although it might be a good idea to test fire them to make sure you're getting a quality product! i am starting to really like those pepperbox kits!

 

[Busyhands94]

although i love the snake eyes pistol! i think i might buy one, build it, and load it with bird shot, and see how effective it is as a little scattergun! probably might be good for snakes too.

 

[ElvinWarrior]

Busy,

Email me your address. At the begining of next month, I will purchase from Dixie two Pepperbox kits, and have them shipped to you, at the same time, I will send off a letter, to you, with $40.00 in it, to cover shipment back to me, and a couple supplies. I would like my handle, finished in a plain white laquer finish, then overcoated with a pearl overcoat, which I will also send to you.

Deal is ON kiddo !!!

And I would appreciate a test fire, just don't do an overload test more than 150% of reccomended max load, I don't want a hysterical phone call from your mom...

By the way, do you have any plating supplies? Some of the guns I would like nikcel plated. If not, we can email about that too. Some small, hobby plating kits are not too pricey, once you have done a couple for me, I just might set you up with a couple of those kits.









Sincerely,

ElvinWarrior... aka... David, "EW"

 

[Busyhands94]

lol, i meant with a normal load, not a super mega ultra powerful proofing load! that would be a huge drag having to go to the emergency room! besides, i have had my thumb nearly cut off and they still take hours to finally pay attention to you, and by then I was nearly bled out. i will talk to my papa first thing in the morning tomorrow, i should probably run it by him first. please remember to include any kind of bluing or engraving you want done! stay safe and God bless America ~Levi

 

[ElvinWarrior]

No, I don't want you to do an overload test of any kind, just a normal load test would be fine. The only reason I mentioned that, is because I thought you might be thinking it in the back of your mind.

And certainly, discuss with your Dad, if he approves, then we will proceed on. Although, you earning a few extra bucks as a builder, wouldn't be a bad thing for you to be doing with your "Busy Hands", I doubt whether he would have any objections at all.

Sincerely,

P.S., Okay, I will include all supplies needed, with each build, no biggie, the blueing and browning, and blacking is so cheap, and available from Dixie as well, you can specify a preferance for your own copy of the builds, and I will just send it along.

ElvinWarrior... aka.. David, "EW"

 

[Busyhands94]

well thank you! could we negotiate some sort of trade instead of cash? i have plenty of bluing stuff so that is no problem at all for me, as well as plenty of gunbuilding supplies and accessories. i am pretty sure he will be fine with it, he loves to see me build things and make money doing things i love, so it is a very good chance he will say yes!

 

[Busyhands94]

by the way i recently made myself a bullet mold! it casts .22 caliber 30 grain bullets! i have casted exactly 57 so far. they are for my NAA super companion cap n' ball i ordered. (when the dang thing gets shipped, i hate backorders)

 

[Jaymo]

I'm on the same page as you two. Those are on my want list, too. I'd love to build them, but don't have the time or patience. If the Snake Eyes is smooth bore, it should be just fine as your mini Howdah snake gun. I can taste the fried rattlesnake now.

 

[ElvinWarrior]

Busy,

You made your OWN bullet mold?

Now, I am really impressed !!!



ElvinWarrior... aka... David, "EW"

P.S., A low cost source of lead is to go to an actual, real, plumbing supply, not the mega-corp ones, but a mom and pop specialty hardware/plumbing store, they generally will carry 10lb or 20lb blocks of what is called "plumbers lead" for soldering large pipes together, or repairing very large, very expensive to replace, cast iron or cast brass pipes. My local store carries the lead at about $12.00 for a 20lb brick of PURE lead, NO ADDITIVES. (Soft lead, or pure lead is best for muzzleloaders.)

Even cheaper yet, go to the local tire outlet, where they mount and balance tires all day long, ask them if you can purchase the used, beat up balancing weights laying all over the workshop floor. Generally they have a barrel where they put them in after sweep-up at night. When I was a kid, I used to do that, I would offer them 10 cents a pound, and I had my mom's bathroom scale in my pack... Generally, they would let me just have, 5 or 10 lbs for free !!!

 

[ElvinWarrior]

Jaymo...

Don't try an a wrangle my builder aways frum me !!! We's hasin already ah spat and a shook on the deal !!!

LOL !!!

You can of course, negotiate with him for a build if you want to, he is a good lil builder, and his Dad approves of this as a good project for him to make a little extra on the side.

But... good luck in finding the snake eyes pistol kit in stock ANYWHERE !!! It seems, the manufacturer, CA, Classic Arms Inc., was bought out a while ago, and the new owners are running the outfit into the ground, with constant stock shortages, out of stock situations, crashed web pages, and long delays in filling orders.

I checked Dixie, Traditions, CVA, Cabela's and several others who carry a few kits here and there... and NOBODY, NOWHERE, has ANY of the CA kits in stock at this time !!! NONE !!! I did find one, a pepperbox kit, for sale on Ebay, but it had already sold.

Busy and I are going to have to start out with a more tradtional type of pistol build, to start with, until we can locate some of the other kits somewhere.



Sincerely,

ElvinWarrior... aka... David, "EW"

 

[Busyhands94]

lol, i usually walk by the highway and find all my lead in the form of wheel weights. it is pretty easy to do and i am removing lead from the side of the highway so i guess it is productive to do so! i will call it "community service" free ammunition by doing "community service" sounds like a good idea to me!

 

[Jaymo]

I see in busyhands, a career in gunmaking. I'd like to get the twister and the Pedersoli screw barrel pistol, too.
Maybe I should get a couple of pistol kits to send to him.
I'd like to see what he could do with some of the Green River knife kits.

 

[Busyhands94]

well that is a nice thought! I am starting to think i could fund my gunsmithing hobby by completing pistol kits for other people, it seems like a pretty good idea! i have never made any kind of custom weapon for anyone else except making a custom set of aluminum knuckles for a certain lady to protect herself with, so i think i could probably have a nice little business!

 

[StrawHat]

In the first post, quite a few of the firearms listed are under .30 caliber. Have you ever tried to use a .22 caliber black powder rifle? I built a .22 underhammer percussion rifle and I also use a .22 WCF chambered Ballard rifle. Of the two, the Ballard is the easier to use because I can swab the bore from the breech. Black powder fouls the bore very quickly. The smallest common bore I would build anymore would be 32. Until the makers can market a cleaner black powder for a reasonable cost, I suggest you stay with a larger caliber. Even 32 fouls a bit easier than my larger bored rifles.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

In the back corner of my shop is a 62 caliber muzzleloading rifle barrel. It is 1.25 inches round and 44 inches long. I bought it in a package of new old stock stuff from a gun shop that went out of business back in the 1970's. I have gathered up a perc lock and a slab of cherry and some fancy Tyrolean schuetzen style diopter sights. I thought about making a massive half stock gun just to take to the range for a wow factor. Might name it "thumper."

 

[ZVP]

Cabelas has a heck of a sale going on!
Might be able to buy a competed pistol or revolver you'd like?
HTH
ZVP

 

[StrawHat]

zimmerstutzen ...In the back corner of my shop is a 62 caliber muzzleloading rifle barrel. It is 1.25 inches round and 44 inches long...

What is the rifling twist in that barrel?

Regardless, it certainly is not for a rifle to be used inside a house.

 

[Busyhands94]

i might have to check out Cabelas! they had an .44 1851 navy on there about a week ago for $120!! you can't find any cartridge gun in .44 for $120, regardless of the quality as far as i know (unless it is used) that is one of the things i think i love most about black powder! it is so inexpensive but it is the most bang for your buck. it seems like nowadays you get less bang for more buck, however with BP it is so inexpensive and fun!