I have a .50 caliber Blazer that was made in 1985 that I bought used. It's an early inline design with a simple external hammer directly in back of the 28" barrel, and if I recall it has a 1 in 38" twist. Mine has a 14 inch LOP, a plain curved wooden butt, and it weighs 7 lbs., so it's not the boy's model like yours. It does have 2 fine line cracks located directly behind the barrrel's breech end though.
I haven't shot the rifle much at all because the replacement front sight on it is too low for the Remington style adjustable rear ramp that was installed by the previous owner, so it shoots high at 50 yards with round balls and Ball-ets.
Also, I noticed that the nipple wasn't designed to be centered inside the barrel breech, but is offset on the top side. I experienced slow ignition with it too, possibly from the old sub powder I was using or because the old open base nipple on it needs replacing. I thought that maybe the loaded patched ball was blocking the cap flame from igniting the main powder charge which was settling into the lower side of the breech, opposite the nipple entrance. But other powders should ignite better, along with installing a better nipple.
When I took the unitary design trigger unit apart for cleaning and removed the pin that holds the trigger blade, I found that it wasn't a solid pin, but was actually 2 small half pins that one has to be very careful not to lose. I even taped over the outer ends of each one when they were reinstalled so they wouldn't get lost when it's taken out again.
After I bought the rifle, I became a little concerned about the integrity of the nipple due to it's location right in front of the shooter's eye with only a relatively weak hammer separating the two, and the chance of the nipple blowing out under a heavy load. So it's my guess that it's not the best designed rifle to use with heavy powder loads & conical bullets. My oldest son didn't want to even consider shooting hunting loads with it for this very reason.
Got bit by the black powder bug years ago and bought bought bought, but lately am thinking of getting rid of my three .50 caliber rifles and just keeping my old .45 caliber "cheap"[think I paid $65 for it new in 1986] spanish CVA Blazer "boy's rifle". At less than 4.3 pounds it is what I really want to reach for if I want to go hunting, sure beats carrying the eight pound monsters the bp industry keeps turning out. The short stock sure fits a hellofa lot better with the heavy clothes needed durring the BP season here in Michigan too. I never saw another of these mini rifles and don't think they made very many of them. Not much bigger than one of those Chipmunk 22's. Has anyone else had any experience with them? Had some stock cracking with heavier loads at the rear of the barrel, so now I use 158 grain sabots in front of 60 grains of fxxx bp for, I'm guessing, around 1725 fps and good groups. Should be in league with the 357 Remington Maximum. The only buck I shot with it, at 40 yards dropped in it's tracks as the bullet broke ribs going in, took out the bottom spurs of the spine and broke ribs going out. As a poorboy hunter here in Michigan I have to go into the thickets to get my deer, and though I dream of "beanfield" shots, not many will ever present themselves on public property, where I have to hunt. Out of 23 deer I have killed in 42 years of hunting, only one has been much beyond a hundred yards; the average around 40 yards. Would think of buying a "better" higher quality still hunting rifle, but I have never heard of anything under 6 pounds.
