Can you cite any examples of crooks using BP guns? I mean, not crazies, but scheming crooks? ...and in this century...
SURE
Locked some juveniles up about 10 months ago with a Remington 1858. You think crooks are stupid... the average citizen in a liberal area will cough up their wallet on a bright sunny day at noon to some 12 year old schmuck with a painted water pistol, so flash a CW repro revolver in somebody's face, and they will comply without worries in almost all cases.
The funny thing was they called me to look at this thing to make it "safe" as I'm the only BP guy in the whole freakin' department where I work... it was loaded and capped... so we got rid of the caps, submerged the cylinder in water, then pulled the bullets. The fool had loaded the thing with blue dot shotshell powder.
We asked the knuckle headed robbers where they got the powder, and they stole it from one of the houses they had burglarized when they stole the gun....thought gunpowder was gunpowder and the can said "shotshell and hangun" powder.
The juveniles had no idea they were carrying a handgun shaped "hand grenade".
Another problem, and back on topic, with prices for used black powder is some folks have no idea what the going price is for some of the used guns, and think an older version is somehow "collectable", and think that knocking a couple hundred off the SRP for some expensive repros is a deal.
For example, with NEW Italian made Bess muskets going from $1300-$1500, you see used Italian muskets being offered from $900-$1200 dollars, AND even some of the Japanese muskets folks ask more than $800.
REALLY? They don't understand that 1) when the kit guns go for around $900-$1000 (which gives the buyer an "unfired" musket when finished) then you're talking $850 for an unfired, previously owned,
Italian musket... but for a used musket... $750 unless it was seriously customized. 2) Like it or not the Indian origin muskets have really compressed the prices for the used Bess muskets. As I mentioned, one fellow in Wisconsin wanted $1200 for his bess... when you could spend less than $100 more and get a new one under warranty... and couldn't "get" why the auctions didn't go above $800 and his reserve was never met, so it didn't sell.
LD