Hopefully this isn't too stupid a question, but I'll start by admitting straight up that I know next to nothing about black powder firearms and other antique styles- only real firearms I own are modern (870, Steyr M40, Browning .22).
My non-firing or blank firing replicas waaaay outnumber the real guns though, since most of what I do is theatrical and indie film work. That's how I got started, and that's the part that at least comes close to paying for itself.
On to pirates. Ah yes, trendy trendy pirates! Can't escape them in movies or plays these days! I just came back from a week long stage combat workshop where they had a couple of folks from the Historical Maritime Combat Association teaching classes on boarding actions, tomahawk and knife (fun stuff!), cutlass, and a bit on pistol, rifle, musket, etc. Seeing has how the Pacific NW has a number of tall ships and pirate festivals, I'd like to try pitching a couple show ideas to them now (I've done RenFaires and the like before, so this isn't very big a stretch for me).
But I'd really like to be able to use things that go boom, and I haven't gotten to do that in outdoor period productions before- the last RenFaire I did specifically prohibits any firearms replicas.
I know with replicas there's a difference in the laws regarding antiques versus modern replicas- older styles don't need the orange plugs when they're sold, things like that... but I don't know much about the laws regarding real black-powder firearms.
It seems I have two options (although you guys might be able to come up with more):
*Use a real black-powder firearm carefully packed with a bit of powder and maybe some flash-paper wadding, using all the proper safety regulations, and figuring out what laws are applicable since I may well be doing these shows on public property. What part is considered the receiver on a flintlock? Could it be replaced with something to make it a non-gun?
*Get a cap gun and modify it to be able to fire .22 crimp blanks or something similar, ideally with at least a partially open muzzle for that bit of smoke. I have a friend who's modified cap guns to fire black powder, but that makes me a bit nervous about things like exploding pot-metal and the like.
Anybody have any experience with public demonstrations involving black powder at re-enactments, etc? Being in Seattle, we don't have the wealth of civil war and western re-enactments that exist in some other parts of the country. I'd love to know what the usual practices are, and the pros and cons.
Thanks!
-Kevin
My non-firing or blank firing replicas waaaay outnumber the real guns though, since most of what I do is theatrical and indie film work. That's how I got started, and that's the part that at least comes close to paying for itself.
On to pirates. Ah yes, trendy trendy pirates! Can't escape them in movies or plays these days! I just came back from a week long stage combat workshop where they had a couple of folks from the Historical Maritime Combat Association teaching classes on boarding actions, tomahawk and knife (fun stuff!), cutlass, and a bit on pistol, rifle, musket, etc. Seeing has how the Pacific NW has a number of tall ships and pirate festivals, I'd like to try pitching a couple show ideas to them now (I've done RenFaires and the like before, so this isn't very big a stretch for me).
But I'd really like to be able to use things that go boom, and I haven't gotten to do that in outdoor period productions before- the last RenFaire I did specifically prohibits any firearms replicas.
I know with replicas there's a difference in the laws regarding antiques versus modern replicas- older styles don't need the orange plugs when they're sold, things like that... but I don't know much about the laws regarding real black-powder firearms.
It seems I have two options (although you guys might be able to come up with more):
*Use a real black-powder firearm carefully packed with a bit of powder and maybe some flash-paper wadding, using all the proper safety regulations, and figuring out what laws are applicable since I may well be doing these shows on public property. What part is considered the receiver on a flintlock? Could it be replaced with something to make it a non-gun?
*Get a cap gun and modify it to be able to fire .22 crimp blanks or something similar, ideally with at least a partially open muzzle for that bit of smoke. I have a friend who's modified cap guns to fire black powder, but that makes me a bit nervous about things like exploding pot-metal and the like.
Anybody have any experience with public demonstrations involving black powder at re-enactments, etc? Being in Seattle, we don't have the wealth of civil war and western re-enactments that exist in some other parts of the country. I'd love to know what the usual practices are, and the pros and cons.
Thanks!
-Kevin