The Black Powder Cartridge News Spring 2025

As I write this editorial, I have just finished reading the January, 2025 issue of the American Rifleman – the flagship publication of the National Rifle Association. Before I go any further, let me make two qualifying statements. Firstly, I want the reader to remember that this is an editorial, which, by definition is merely one person’s opinion and secondly, I am not currently an NRA member. I was for many years, but when I began to detect an unhealthy smell from within the organization, I ceased to renew my yearly membership, sending my money to other pro-Second Amendment groups instead. The fact that ultimately my sense of that situation was correct is not something that I’m proud of. ...Read More >

The issue’s cover photo was submitted by our contributing writer, Leo Remiger, courtesy of Robert Summa. It features N. C. Nash in his somewhat unorthodox offhand position with the Maynard rifle. ...Read More >

Too many shooters spend a bunch of money on a best-quality rifle and then clean it with a cheap cleaning rod that will likely damage the chamber/throat area of the barrel from flexing, all the while thinking that they have saved some money. “Penny-wise and pound foolish” really applies here, so it behooves one to get a top-quality cleaning rod, especially since the BPCR competitor spends much more time cleaning than a smokeless shooter does. Years ago, military .50 caliber machine gun cleaning rods were preferred by many riflemen, myself included, but we have moved far beyond that now. ...Read More >

Like the great preponderance of magazine display advertisements, the Savage Arms Corporation advertisement appearing in the June, 1922, Saturday Evening Post was given an instants’ cursory glance before its reader moved on. Eminently overlookable in a general interest monthly magazine, we might suppose that the same advertisement in that month’s number of Field & Stream might have gotten a slightly better reception than the typically dismissive “just another ad” assessment. ...Read More >

Weather conditions were fine this year at Canal Fulton for shooting at 100 yards, though not in favor of attracting public interest. Wind was 0-10 mph, skies were cloudy, and the air was humid with some light rain. Overall attendance was down, with 11 shooters competing. Four entries were slug shooters, and the remaining seven were shooting black powder cartridge rifles. The slug gunners reigned supreme this year, and Carl Nelson shot a very high score, indeed. ...Read More >

Alaska •Alaska Rifle Club: Contact Somerset Jones at 907-688-6892 or cid1893@mtaonline.net Arizona •Phoenix Ben Avery Shooting Facility: Contact George Taylor at lhepburn@outlook.com ...Read More >

We begin our article with the following letter, which N.C. Nash wrote to the Massachusetts Arms Company. It was consequently used as a testimonial in the 1886 booklet/catalog titled, The Maynard Rifle. ...Read More >

I recently attended the 2024 BPCR Nationals at the Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico. The matches were held in early July, and the range fully lived up to its reputation of hot and dry conditions, with no shortage of mirage and rapidly changing conditions. In contrast, there was a 22 BPCRA match before the black powder big bore match. Thunderstorms occurred daily, and there was enough moisture to grow mosquitoes in the desert. ...Read More >

We have received so much comment on the last issue’s article (No. 128, Winter, 2024) on string-measure benchrest matches that we thought a follow-up would be welcome. I’ve combed through a few issues of Shooting and Fishing magazine and came up with a few more references on rest rifle matches at 40 rods. The first is from Dr. E.H. Pardee, who gives an address of Oakland, California, in February of 1890. I had to really sharpen my editor’s pencil because, frankly, where one word would suffice, the good Doctor is prone to using 100. After sorting the “wheat from the chaff” I included his description of three matches he shot sometime in the late 1860s, or early ’70s. Pardee was shooting against three different Billinghurst rifles, while he used rifles made by G.H. Ferriss, another well-known maker of super-accurate, heavy benchrest rifles. You will soon see that these private challenge matches had the nature of a duel, with judges and seconds, or assistants present on the grounds. Very serious money was involved and so the competitors left no stone unturned in their efforts to shoot a short string. ...Read More >

Mainly to satisfy our curiosity, some friends and I tried shooting several 44-40 rifles and one revolver with black powder loads to see what effect barrel length had on the velocity of the bullet. To do this, we gathered the 44-40 rifles, which gave us a barrel length spread of 14 inches. The result of our testing went as we expected, that the longer barrel would have the highest velocity. So, how much higher and at what barrel length was the greatest gain in velocity became our real questions. ...Read More >

Judging from reloading manuals and factory ammunition catalogs of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, revolver loads utilizing roundballs, as well as reduced loads were quite popular with shooters. This period covers from the 1880s, to the 1930s. What do we mean by “Gallery Loads”? In this instance we are referring to lightly loaded (reduced power) cartridges with usually lighter than standard weight bullets for use at shorter distances. With reduced power, the noise, recoil and muzzle blast are minimized for the shooter. This is easier on the novice, preventing them from developing bad habits. The reduction of noise also makes them more suited to use in indoor ranges. ...Read More >

Some days in rural Arizona begin particularly well. At the intersection where I turn to go to work, I was greeted by the sight of a bald eagle perched in a cottonwood tree. Those big raptors nest up by the high mountain lakes, but a few spend the winter down here at 7,000 feet. In a pasture just west of my home, I’d seen one feeding on a dead elk and I was surprised to see its presence tolerated by the three coyotes that were also there. ...Read More >