Smoothbore muzzle loaders.

[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.

[BC312]

I had Kentucky either a Armani Jäger or Ardesa Flintlock in 54 bore back in the 1980-90- it had the rifling bored out to smoothbore. It shot very well. Wish i still had it, very nice gun.

[Peter Dunkley]

Hi did you get sorted? I have a near mint Armi Kentucky .45 I bought on impulse. "it's so pretty" and I have not shot it yet. As I have been banned from shooting black powder from my local grounds i cant see my guns ever being used again. Problem is you are down there and I am up here.

[markH]

I did actually end up buying a Kentucky using the RFD transfer system...... then the guy who worked at the Dealer said he had a Hawken so I bought that as well.

[steve medlock]

These crop up fairly regularly in Holts auctions - usually going around the £100 mark. I bought a couple a while back, one 50 one 45.

Steve.