Used black powder guns

Any recommendations for place a guy could check out online for used black powder guns ?

Modern or traditional?

Traditional, eveyone keeps telling me I need to find a beat up little traditions.30 cal squirrel gun to play with so

Btw I've been following all your black powder posts and you sir are and AMAZING craftsmen !

My dad gets the credit for the guns.

You are looking for a Traditions Crockett rifle. That was my first muzzleloader, they are a ton of fun. Accurate as can be. Easy on powder and lead. Good luck finding caps, they are out there somewhere.

As to where to look? I'd try the big gun sites. Most of the dedicated traditional sites trend towards custom pieces.

Or go the American Long Rifles forum, sign up and post a want ad.

Thanks. Dad builds the guns, I do the rest.

I wouldn't go too beat up

barrel is everything everything else is basically support to barrel

Black powder guns tend to come in 3 types
1 never shot

2 shot but reasonably well cared for wear on wood , finish wear on metal , screws with slightly chewed heads , basically some wear from use

3 sewer pipes

the difference between a 1,2 or 3 is failure to clean

I have a coffee can full of old muzzeloader locks, patchboxes and parts. I am not a muzzlestuffer guy but if you are in need of parts I have some.

If you get a cap get anything you find for a good deal. In fact, you should build a kit gun. Your handy enough and it a fun project

If your going to go full trad and get a flinter get a good gun. Dont skimp. The lock, touch hole, and breech set up all have to work together. That starts with a good lock. You just dont see great ignition from cheapy flinters. You can get them close, but put them next to a lock with reputation like a Chambers, L&R, Silers. Do you research. Get a good lock

Try Track of the Wolf

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/

Great place to do business with

I've actually been looking into it for a while now. Saw that American gunsmith flick a while back where the reenactor built one from LITERAL SCRAP! And I've been in love with the idea ever since but man they ain't cheap ! I would like to do a kit build first but have really found something that is what I want. The 32 cal crocket is ok but I want something a little more elegant like a Kentucky. Those are just some sexy guns !
I hope to be able to be a out as good as k snow one of these days

I love my kibler southern mountain rife. Little pricey but I had it finished in less than 1 week.

This is a.45 CVA kentucky of my grandfathers I restocked from a walnut tree cut down in town. I got the 2x8x8' and widdled it into this. This gun did well this year. A bear and two antelope at 77ish paces.

Get a kit. So gratifying to shoot

https://www.dixiegunworks.com/index...dersoli+Kentucky+Rifle+.32+Cal+Flint+Kit

I have heard nothing but great reviews about Kibler's offerings. His kits are true kits, they go together very easily. Unlike the other "kits" which are more just a box of parts needed to build a gun and require a lot of work.

Wolfie, good flinters are pricey, but they are worth every penny. There is nothing worse than a flintlock that doesn't want to work half the time.

Muzzle loader . Com
They have a classified section , lots to pic from ..
Join and learn

Kibler kits and Chambers kits are good. Kiblers go together more easily. Neither are cheap to buy new. Lots of folks have bought Chambers kits and then gotten intimidated by the challenge of building it, so the kit sits in a closet. There may be an opportunity to buy one of them for an attractive price.

DT gave great advice. If you go flint I would not reccommend the Pedersoli products. The locks DT mentioned are typically used on custom and semi-custom guns, not Traditions or other mass produced guns.

TVM (Tn Valley Muzzleloading) makes a quality product for a reasonable price. They are semi-custom pieces that are true to traditional style and design but less expensive than a full custom piece.

Track of the Wolf allows you to inspect a gun for a week or so and send it back if you don't want it. That's great if you know what to look for. Having both bought and sold thru Track I can tell you their markup is significant. You should be able to find something equivalent for 1/4 less.

There are sometimes BP rifles on the racks at gunshows or the used racks in your local gun shops. Again, you need to know what to look for.

I suggest you stay away from the really small calibers (.32 and .36). Go .40 or higher. You may want to see what the minimum caliber is for deer in your state and go at least that big. Barrel outside dimensions tend to be standardized for a range of calibers so the largest caliber in the range will be the lightest rifle.

You could check to see if there is a BP club in your area. It is a dying hobby because very few younger folks are interested. That means there are a lot of old guys with BP guns they are probably willing to sell, and would likely provide advice and help.

When I started shooting BP 20+ years ago I had a safe full of modern rifles and pistols that I hardly touched for the next ten years. BP, flints expecially, are a lot of fun.

I would go to Traditional Muzzleloader Forum and Post a want ad. There are some rules about numbers of posts and time on Forum but someone on the forum will usually have something for sale that they have not posted. I shoot 32 caliber cap and ball guns a lot and you wont be disappointed once you start, A 36 Cal TC Seneca may be right up your alley also. As for Kit guns I think a Kibler would be my choice.

some good used guns come up on muzzleloader forum for sale , decent price for typically well cared for used guns

www.muzzleloadingforum.com

I have a 36 and love it but I recommend getting the minimum legal caliber for deer in your state.

I would agree if its your first muzzleloader. My first was a 32 and I sold it in 2 years to finance a 50 caliber to deer hunt with (and make the switch to a flinter). You can hunt squirrels with a 50, just need to take head shots only.

I have a 50 and a 54, so the 36 fills the small game slot nicely.

If you were strictly plinking with the rifle, then a small bore would be fine. But if you think you might want to deer hunt, get a 40 at minimum (depending on reg's).

Don't buy a used one. Too many guys that own them neglect to clean them properly and promptly after using them. There is a very good chance that if you buy a used one you will find that the bore is rusted beyond reasonable use.

That's a pretty broad statement. I have seen plenty of high quality used blackpowder guns for sale, even bought a few myself. Just know what to look for, or ask someone who knows to have a look.

Kinda like buying used vechiles.

^^^^^^
Just speaking from my experience. Assuming the OP is unfamiliar with black powder guns and their unique characteristics; used black powder guns are much more likely to be found with rusted bores than modern firearms. Buyer beware.

Waggler is right in that a rusted bore is much more likely in a BP gun. On the other hand throat errosion is what afflicts cartridge guns but not MLs. Like K snow said, you have to know what to look for. It is a lot easier to take a look down a ML bore than to run a borescope into a cartridge gun to check the throat.

I know guys that clean their guns at rendezvous before a shoot because it was never cleaned after the last rendezvous shoot. (Smoothbore shooters mostly.) I also know guys, me included, that always clean the same day the gun was shot.

it is very much like buying used vehicles you have to know what you can fix and what it will cost and leave yourself budget for the unexpected you couldn't see
carry a flashlight and know what your looking for it wouldn't hurt to carry a few patches in your wallet.

some people do need to stick to buying cars with warrantees because they don't even know what they , don't know.