Smoothbore muzzle loaders.

[markH]

When I first started shooting in the late '70s it seemed every man and his dog owned a smoothbore muzzle loading "Rifle". Usually .45 cal, usually Italian and styled after a Hawken or Kentucky rifle.

I've been looking out for one for months now but have only seen one (last week on guntrader)...... missed out on it.

In the '80s they used to sell them at Trago mills.

As far as I know they were the usual suspects, Pedersoli or Armi Jaeger but if anyone can suggest any other manufacturers it may help my search.

I also seem to remember you could buy a kit and finish yourself, although I doubt those are still available.

Anyone got one they no longer shoot?

[svincett]

Hi ,

Aaron Wheeler at Brighouse, West Yorkshire usually has a selection of reasonably priced muzzle loaders in stock

Obviously, a long way from you but rfd to rfd is an option if the rifle is cheap enough to start with

I bought a Parker Hale 2 band Enfield smoothbore musket for £200 there last year.

Regards Stephen

[acmsarh]

I remember when I was an R F D de-activating load's of Ami Jager .45 smooth bore from private customer's for use as wall hanger's , So many that i made a jig up to fit on the miller to cut the barrel's so I did not have to set the miller up for each individual barrel .

[markH]

Aaron Wheeler has an Investarms Hawken but it doesn't specify smooth or rifled. Wish I'd seen the PH for £200.00, would have snatched his hand off. Have e-mailed as they are closed today.

I don't remember Armi Jaeger doing them, all I remember them doing was a .22LR "M16" smoothbore with a 24" barrel. Might they have been Armi Sport?????

[BaskervilleDog]

I've got an Army Jaeger 'Kentucky' lookalike. It must have started life as a rifled specimen and was later bored out to smooth (ish). When you drop a bore light down the barrel there are still faint traces of rifling although it was bought in auction as a 'shotgun'. What makes it different from the Pedersoli repros is that the barrel is 36' long (Pedersoli are generally 32") and it is held in with 3 wedges as opposed to pins. Also the patchbox is quite different.
It keyholes at 25 metres with a .450 ball and 010 patch, which is as far as I have ever tried it out.

By the way, CVA, Traditions, Ardesa all did 'Kentucky' kits in the 70's, I still have the majority of one that was bought from Major Noel Corrie of Steeple Bumpstead. The police later seized the barrel as it was deemed to be sold as a wall-hanger but was in fact a Part 1 firearms, un-proofed! Those were the days....

[markH]

'Aint it always the way... I eventually found an Ardesa .54 "Kentucky" on Gunstar for £200.00 which I bought..... RFD to RFD. Whilst sorting the transfer The guy at the dispatching dealer said "I've got one very similar (Turned out to be an Adler "Hawken" style .45).

It was actually a Hawken I was looking for as that was the first proper gun I ever fired back in 1979, so of course I bought both.

Seems like muzzle loaders are like buses, you don't see one for ages, then 2 come along at the same time.