BrushPopper

I picked this one up at a hock-shop for $100... it's .45 cal and was made in Italy I would guess in the 70's. Appears to have never been fired and I'm wondering if anyone knows the twist on these?

I'm planning on shortening the barrel and making a light gun for my young son to grow into, and maybe I'll beusing it on hogs in the brush. I'll be able to try it on maxi's and round balls next week, but was hoping someone here might have some experience with these... this forum has been extremely helpful in the past.

I'm hoping to work-up a medium powered load with the 250 gn TC maxi's that I cast for my other .45 sidelocks and maybe let my son bag his first deer with it when he learns to shoot it well, but I need to work up a load first.

Any information on twist/loads for these? If it won't shoot it'll still look good on the wall!

BrushPopper

cayugad

F.I.E. (Firearms Import Export) company were never much for real quality in the firearms I have seen from them. In fact I own a F.I.E. .45 caliber long colt derringer. It will shoot a .410 shotgun shell out of it. Not the nicest looking piece in the case, but it does shoot and do what it was intended to do.

You will have to test the barrel to see what twist it has. That will help you decide what kind of projectile it should be shooting. As you pull up a tight fitting patch on a jag head, the rod will want to spin. Make note of how far it spins in relation to the distance the patch travels up the barrel. This will give you an indication of the twist. I would personally guess it is a roundball twist.

If the rifle is as old as you suspect, it is probably a 1-66 to 1-80 twist. Most of the old rifles came with roundball barrels. Also the older rifles usually had a max load of 100 grains of 2f black powder, so keep that in mind when loading the new powders on today's market. I personally would not use Triple Se7en in that rifle. That powder had a different pressure level then other powders. Your rifle being a .45 caliber would probably like 3f powder better then 2f, so I really have no idea what the max charge would be.

I would try it with 50 grains of 3f and a patched roundball (and work my loads from there). It will be interesting to hear from you on how the rifle shoots... Good luck with the rifle.

BigSkyBound

That is just like my first muzzleloader. Bought it in 1971 and used it on Arkansas' first "primitive" gun season in 1972 (I was 15 at the time). Brings back some great memories. Thanks for sharing.

smokepolehall

My cousin had one of them back in the mid 70's. It shot prb's ok but surprised us. We got a box of maxi-ball & it mayhave been 60 gr or so of ff goex. It shot well enuff at 50 yds to put 5 shots into a playing card & wasn't with-in an inch of the edge. Think it clustered all 5 in an 1 1/2" group