le page

[Frag Muppet]

Finally got to the range today to shoot my new Le Page .44 cal
Norman Clarke Gunsmith removed the broken nipple without damaging the thread on the barrel (see previous post), got the Firearm back after 6 days & £18 charge.
I have now got two new nipples from Henry Kranks.

See attached photo of target with five shots in it & the Pistol.

http://imgur.com/a/L8J2L

I am really impressed with the Pistol it shoots really well, not much recoil & is very accurate.Love the finger loop underneath the trigger guard.
The target was shot at 20 yards
The photo does not do justice to the Pistol the Maple wood is beautiful & the engraving on the metal work all over the Pistol is sublime.
I used 18 grns of Henry Krank's Fine Black Powder & 15 grns of Semolina with a 10 thou patch & 435 ball.
She fired without fault, I only needed to swab the barrel out once half way through 24 shots.
The biggest problem I had was separating the lubed patches so I only loaded one with the ball.
You really are only limited by your own ability and a steady hand with this pistol, much more accurate than my Black Powder Revolver.
How they fought Duels with these back in the day is beyond me, as long as you kept your nerve & had a steady hand I cant see how you could miss!
I need to make a tiny adjustment to the rear sight elevation as she is shooting slightly high, & I might also adjust the trigger to make it a slightly lighter pull.
When I got home cleaning was a doddle. Put the Pistol on half cock, tapped out the wedge with a brass drift & the barrel just lifts up & out. Unscrewed the nipple & dropped it in a bucket of hot soapy water, then after a few minutes ran a brass brush & some patches through it with Muzzle Magic & gave it a wipe with a patch of Brunox before reassembly.

If your thinking about getting one of these I cant recommend it enough, cant wait to shoot it again!

Stuart