Traded Into a Zouave Today

[Dave Markowitz]

I shot it today with .562 and .570 PRBs, and a few .575 Minies. Just some offhand shooting from about 35 yards. The first three shots were on top of 50 grains of Goex FFg but after those I bumped it up to 60 grains. For ignition I used Scheutzen musket caps.

The .562 load easily with a .020" patch while the .570s are a tight fit with the same, but once started seat easily on the powder. The .570s were noticeably easier to load with 0.018" pillow ticking patches.

I lubed the patches with Hoppe's No. Plus and the Minies with Bumblin Bear Grease that I smeared on with my fingers. I didn't need to wipe the bore until after I was done.

I'm used to shooting rifles with set triggers so the military trigger of the Zouave took some getting used to, but overall I'm really happy with the gun. Offhand accuracy was good but of course I'll both bench it and shoot it offhand at 50 yards to see what it's really capable of. But it's looking promising for use during the early antlerless deer season here in PA.

 

[hawg]

It should be a fine rifle. Once you bench it you may have to play with patch thickness and powder charges to get the best accuracy. With round balls you'll probably need to bump the powder charge up to get the best hunting load.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

I'm going to try it with 70 - 80 grains of powder, mainly to flatten the trajectory a little bit. Max charge per the manufacturer is 3-1/2 drams or 95.7 grains.

I figure a .562 - .570 PRB on top of 60 grains will shoot clean through a PA whitetail, but the trajectory will probably look like a rainbow.

 

[.455_Hunter]

A Zoli Zouave is my muzzleloader for elk hunting here in CO shooting standard OTC mil-spec conicals purchased from Cabela's back in the day. I don't do modern in-lines.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Got an October Country lace-on sling for it. Not HC but it's not like I'm reenacting with this, and it looks primitive.

 

[hawg]

The sling on my repro 3 band Enfield isn't HC either.

 

[AlexanderA]

My slings are all "historically correct."

 

[.38 Special]

My slings are all "historically correct."

View attachment 1141722

Sir, I would like to sign up for your militia.

 

[hawg]

My slings are all "historically correct."

View attachment 1141722

No enfields?

 

[AlexanderA]

No enfields?

I had one, when I first started doing Civil War reenactments. Later, I narrowed down to just Springfields. I sold the Enfield to a fellow reenactor. The idiot stored it in a shed in his backyard, from which it was stolen.

That rack of muskets in the picture (all reproductions) represents a value of about $10,000, at today's prices. (Most of the bayonets are originals.)

 

[hawg]

I had one, when I first started doing Civil War reenactments. Later, I narrowed down to just Springfields. I sold the Enfield to a fellow reenactor. The idiot stored it in a shed in his backyard, from which it was stolen.

That rack of muskets in the picture (all reproductions) represents a value of about $10,000, at today's prices. (Most of the bayonets are originals.)

I gave less than 200 for my Enfield in the early 80's and less than 1000 for my original in the 90's.

 

[AlexanderA]

I gave less than 200 for my Enfield in the early 80's and less than 1000 for my original in the 90's.

It's shocking how expensive the repros have gotten. And they're not even as good as they were in the 1980's. A couple of my CW muskets are Japanese-made Mirokus, which are long a thing of the past. These are probably the closest to the originals, of any reproduction ever made. Anything I ever bought, was bought primarily with an eye for authenticity.

 

[hawg]

Mine was made by Armi Sport(Chiappa). It's pretty close except for the rear sight. It's extremely accurate tho. My original bayonet fits it better than it does my original.