Black Powder Cartridge News Winter 2017

It can truthfully be said that Steve Garbe and I have lived the American Dream. We came from very different backgrounds. Steve grew up on a ranch near Big Timber, Montana. I was born and raised in Mingo County, West Virginia, where coal was the economy. (It is also the site of the infamous Hatfield/McCoy feud.) Regardless, the primary focus for us in our youth was firearms with an emphasis on historical types. By early adulthood, we dreamed of somehow making our life’s work center on guns and shooting. ...Read More >

 I reckon time flies when you’re having fun.It surely doesn’t seem like that long ago when we decided to go down the black powder magazine road. Now we are at Issue 100 and hoping for another 100 issues.We look a little different than we did ... ...Read More >

We ran across an interesting notice in the January 9th edition of Shooting And Fishing magazine and thought to share it with our readers. After the excellent article by Leo Remiger on the muzzleloaders versus breechloaders match at Vernon, Vermont, in which was 1886 featured in BPCN No. 99 (Fall 2017), we have heard from several riflemen who have had their curiosity piqued by this type of competition. ...Read More >

A few years ago, I became interested in black powder cartridge rifles. Since the Tucson Rifle Club has a scheduled Black Powder Cartridge Rifle silhouette match the first Saturday of each month, I began to look for a suitable rifle with which to shoot silhouette. Before long I found a Model 1874 C. Sharps in .40-70 Sharps Straight and began learning how to load patched and grease-grooved bullets with black powder. ...Read More >

What comes to mind when one hears the finale from the William Tell Overture? “Hi-Ho Silver, The Lone Ranger Rides Again!” Okay, another expression. What about the term “Trapdoor”? Maybe to a few, it conjures up an image of a secret passageway. To those who shoot rifles from the late 1800s, though, Trapdoor is the nickname of the models of the .45-70 Springfield rifle. ...Read More >

In this article, some aspects of competing will be reviewed in what may be the most challenging of all rifle disciplines – long range muzzleloading at distances from 300 to 1,000 yards. The key is consistency, which comes from discipline in all facets of shooting. While every element of rifle shooting won’t be covered, some salient points will be reviewed: equipment needs, plumbing and zeroing sights, paper patch versus grease groove bullets, and more. A lot of what will be covered in this article is directly applicable to cartridge shooters as well. ...Read More >

It had been shooting side-by-side muzzleloading hammer shotguns for a number of years when I first visited the Southern Side-by-Side Championships and Exhibition at Deep River Sporting Clays near Sanford, North Carolina. In addition to the shooting matches, there were three large tents and an 18-wheeler full of exhibitors from the United States and Europe. There was no admission fee to visit the exhibitors and do some shopping on the side. ...Read More >

Rath and Company (represented by Charles Rath, Robert M. Wright, and James Langton), Myers and Leonard, and the Cator Brothers filed suit in the U.S. Court of Claims for the recovery of losses they suffered during and after the battle of Adobe Walls. Their sworn depositions contain interesting information regarding the actual battle of Adobe Walls and the immediate events afterward. Other individuals who provided sworn depositions either in support or contradicting previous testimony concerning the events at Adobe Walls were Andrew Johnson, William “Billy” Dixon and W.B. “Bat” Masterson. ...Read More >

Back in 1961, when Colt allowed announcements to leak out about a new target-sighted single action it would soon release, I was hoping for a return of the early “Flat­-Top” target model of their famous Single Action Army. Then, the New Frontier model was introduced, and while that is an exceptionally fine revolver, it really didn’t appeal to me and my traditional tastes. ...Read More >

We stopped by Montana Vintage Arms the other day and Jim Gier showed us the newly updated A Model scope that is now in production. These scopes are being offered in the 23-inch length in 8x and 10x. This is quite a step up from the 5x maximum offered on the B Model scope. ...Read More >