The Black Powder Cartridge News Winter 2023

t was reported by several news agencies, most notably The Times of Israel that in the wake of the terrorist attack by Hamas, National Security Minister Ben Gvir said that his ministry will buy 10,000 rifles for civilian security teams. Along with this, the governmental red tape that has discouraged many Israelis from owning a personal protection firearm will be simplified, at least in the short term. This is all in an effort to provide a means of personal defense during the violence that is expected to continue in Israel. Many kibbutzim were attacked by the terrorists and those that were unarmed predictably suffered terrible depredations. ...Read More >

Unfortunately, we don’t have much information on Dick Brown, other than he was a trapper who operated near Knowlton, Montana circa 1904, when this photograph was taken by Evelyn Cameron. On the other hand, Evelyn Cameron is quite well-known and lived a fascinating life in the vicinity of Terry, Montana. One of six children, Evelyn Jephson Flower was born on August 26, 1868, and grew up in sophisticated society. In 1889, she married Ewen Cameron and they took a honeymoon trip to Montana where they obtained a guide and explored the eastern badlands. They returned to Montana to establish a ranch and raise polo ponies in 1891. ...Read More >

Some time ago, I heard that Larry Baker at SPG Sales, had developed a bullet lube to be used in warmer climates that would stay on the bullet at 145 degrees Fahrenheit. I live and shoot in southern Arizona in the heart of the Sonoran Desert and felt shooting here would be a good test of this new lube. The new lube is dubbed “SPG Tropical.” I had already been using the Buffalo Arms Company Bore Wipes in our .44 and .45 caliber rifles but just used patches in the .40 caliber rifles. I decided to try both the SPG Tropical and the .40 Caliber BACO Bore wipes together for an entire shooting season (in a known accurate rifle) to evaluate that combination for competitive midrange target and BPCR silhouette competition. ...Read More >

I have been shooting the 38-50 Remington Hepburn (38-50 RH) cartridge in its black powder format for approximately 25 years. Along the way, I feel like I have had some success and would like to share what I have found works (and what didn’t) as well as details of my loading process including bullets, powder, case forming, cartridge case management, fouling control, wads, and primers. These details generally apply to all black-powder cartridges. ...Read More >

There is nowhere else in the world where the black powder cartridge rifleman and long-range muzzle loading rifleman can come together to shoot everything from silhouette to .22 targets, to midrange and long-range targets on arguably the best ranges in the world at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Ten consecutive days of “shooting nirvana” sponsored by the Arizona Western Independent National Shoot, (AZWINS). Two days of Silhouette, one day of .22 Target, two days of Mid-range Target and five days of Long-range Target. The sole purpose of this event is to provide a high-quality shooting experience that is fun and meaningful for these riflemen to participate in. ...Read More >

Rifle Club information. ...Read More >

Most of the readers of this magazine are familiar with the Maynard target rifles of the late 1800s that were used by a number of renowned shooting champions; however, some might not be familiar with the early percussion carbines that helped make Dr. Edward Maynard famous. Of course, he was also known for his rolled tape priming system, which was incorporated into many military gun locks before the Civil War, most notably the Model 1855 series of firearms. In this article, we will shoot an original Maynard military carbine using historic loading techniques to answer the question, “How accurate were they, really?” In addition, we will explore the reasons why the Maynard was one of the very few successful carbine designs to survive after the Civil War, while over a dozen other brands slipped into obscurity. Finally, we will see that the Maynard carbine ammo is easy to make, requiring no special skills or equipment. You can reload a batch in an hour or less, or you can do it right at the range. ...Read More >

Jim Foral’s article on John Bodine and the early International Rifle Matches was both interesting and informative (BPCN Summer 2021, Issue 114). Our very good friend and enabler of 45 years, gun dealer and collector Ron Peterson of Albuquerque, New Mexico, owns three of the long-range target rifles used in some of those matches and agreed to share them in this issue. Here is a look at Irish Team Captain Arthur B. Leech’s Rigby muzzleloader, American team member Major Henry Fulton’s Remington, and American Team Member George Wooster Yale’s Sharps. ...Read More >

The vacant niche in the mid-1890s magazine market was a purely sportsman’s periodical. There was Forest and Stream and Shooting and Fishing, but these were a long way from the necessary general interest, hunting and fishing magazine that the sportsman didn’t yet know he needed. There would be a market for something like this if someone would come along and create it. The newsstands would make room for it. ...Read More >

Tom Rowe and Ralph Hemstalk have authored a new comprehensive history of Joshua Stevens, the J. Stevens & Company 1864-1886, the J. Stevens Arms and Tool Company 1886-1916, and the J. Stevens Arms Company 1916-1942. Stevens Target Rifles also provides some historical information on the Stevens-Duryea Company 1901-1915, and 1919-1927, as well as the turn over of the Stevens-Duryea and Stevens firearms manufacturing facilities to New England Westinghouse for wartime production. The Stevens story continues with the acquisitions of Stevens by the Savage Arms Company in 1920. ...Read More >

The old 44-90 Sharps bottleneck cartridge is certainly a favorite of mine. The rifle I have for it, a 13½ pound 1874 Hartford by C. Sharps Arms, has given me better scores and more wins in our short-range matches put on by the Black River Buffalo Runners (with targets at 100 and 200 yards) than any other rifle. It has also been the best for me at long-range and it is one of only two rifles I have with long-range sights; the other gun is a Rolling Block in 44-77. Also, that 44-90 rifle gave me many hits on the buffalo silhouette out at 1,200 yards, down on the range near Bend, Oregon. In addition to that, my 44-90 was my choice for use at the big Quigley Match for several years and I used it more than any other rifle or caliber. The only reason I quit using it was simply because of increasing interest in other guns or cartridges. ...Read More >

The following account of James Graham is from an interview conducted by a reporter from the Emporia Ledger, Emporia, Kansas in 1878. The interview was conducted when Graham was passing through that area. It is so interesting and written in the language of the time and place that we have decided to make very few changes. We only wish the reporter had identified himself so we could credit the article to him. We do not know what changes he made to James Graham’s narrative or if he put the story down on paper exactly as James Graham dictated – but it’s a wonderful story of just some of the experiences of a trapper and wolfer on the frontier in those days. ...Read More >