Lorenz Rifle by Pedersoli

[Panzerschwein]

Guys I don't know if you don't not know but Davide Pedersoli of Italy will be making a reproduction of the Lorenz rifle. The Cap and Ball YouTube channel uploaded this video:



Guys this was a heavily used rifle in the U.S. Civil War. Well over 300,000 of these guns were used on both sides. They are a very significant and underrepresented long arm of our war.

It is so nice to see a quality company like Pedersoli making a repro of this rifle, and it appears to be a very very close copy to be sure. Just thought you all might be interested. Take care!

 

[sharps59]

only thing in the video i see wrong is. Someone needs to teach the the guy how to safely load a musket. you never ever put your hand over the muzzle when loading powder. good why to get tattooed if you have a cook off..and you never thumb a ball good way to loose your thumb if you have a cook off.

 

[Panzerschwein]

only thing in the video i see wrong is. Someone needs to teach the the guy how to safely load a musket. you never ever put your hand over the muzzle when loading powder. good why to get tattooed if you have a cook off..and you never thumb a ball good way to loose your thumb if you have a cook off.

Okay, thanks for the safety lesson.

 

[CraigC]

Rifle looks good.

I'd love to know how you load any muzzleloader without putting some part of your body in line with the bore. First of all, it's not a laser rifle. If your hand is anywhere near the muzzle it's going to get "tattooed". Secondly, I'd love to know how one starts a bullet or ball without having some part of their hand in front of the muzzle. And even if it does cook off, a charge at the breech is not going to launch the bullet with sufficient force to even damage the thumb, let alone removing it.

But it's nice to know the safety police are always vigilant, ready to critique at every opportunity and derail any good discussion.

 

[MEHavey]

I didn't see any flagrant safety fouls except as noted hand-over/"thumbing" the ball in.

FWIW: Use index finger/thumb on the bullet sides to initially seat the ball.
Damp-swab the bore/keep the fired cap on to reduce risk even further.

 

[D. Buck Stopshere]

In defense of both the feller in the demo and the feller here on the forum, the demo is geared toward precision shooting at a table using a benchrest to shoot at a paper target, and likely he will be cleaning the bore between shots. The gentleman in the demo is my friend, Balazs Nemeth from Hungary and competes in International Muzzleloading Matches representing his country. "4v50Gary" has likely competed against Balazs. Granted, it would have been better for the rifle to be resting against a loading bench so the muzzle would be angled away from one's face. But it is difficult for a competitor not to have his hand over the muzzle. He used thumb pressure to start the mine ball. His hands will be holding the ramrod in line with the muzzle. A competitor shooting a round ball & patched rifle will always have a hand over the muzzle if he is using a ball starter. Both types of firearms will have one or two hands gripping the ramrod in line with the muzzle.

Our friend here on the forum is evidently a North-South Skirmish Shooter and is involved in a "horse of a different color". In N-SSA team shooting, rapid-fire is the name of the game, cutting a stake in half, or busting hanging clay pots. I suppose "cook-offs" are more likely with that type of competition. I remember my years in the N-SSA back in '62 to '65, and safety was (and still is) paramount. I don't remember doing much in individual competition as opposed to team shooting, so I don't remember if I was allowed to clean between shots.

Balazs, however is a member of the International Muzzleloading Competition fraternity, and cleaning between shots is imperative for him for paper target group accuracy. For this type of shooting, a "cook-off" would have to be a rare occurrence. In my years as a national-level competition shooter at the NMLRA Championship Matches from 1972 to 1999, I never heard of one's rifle or s/s pistol "cooking off".

I appreciate our friend here pointing out possible infractions. Vigilance and concern for one's safety with muzzleloading firearms is aways worth noting.

 

[Jimster]

Makes me miss my Civil War reenactment days.

 

[bonza]

Balazs, however is a member of the International Muzzleloading Competition fraternity, and cleaning between shots is imperative for him for paper target group accuracy.

Not quite correct, MLAIC competition does not allow for wiping between shots in events for military arms, or at least they didn't when I was on the USIMLT from 1999 thru 2009.