Northwest Tradegun Project

[tacklebury]

I've posted a project I've begun to make a Northwest Tradegun styled H&R which can be used as a BP muzzle loading shotgun or smoothbore BP roundball thrower.  I am about to make my own first batch of BP and wanted a firearm which can test many different forms of projectiles.  I've long heard the Northwest tradegun was about as do all as you can get.  I'm going to test it using home made wads and hopefully balls molded by me.  I'm going to be testing .610 caliber Round Balls, .457 Round balls (as buckshot), .22 Cal Round balls (smaller buckshot) and a few different types of std shot.  Wasn't sure if everyone down in this section checks in up there, so thought I'd link to the progress as I can take pics and such. 
 
http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,257073.0.html

[spooked]

I've posted a project I've begun to make a Northwest Tradegun styled H&R which can be used as a BP muzzle loading shotgun or smoothbore BP roundball thrower.  I am about to make my own first batch of BP and wanted a firearm which can test many different forms of projectiles.  I've long heard the Northwest tradegun was about as do all as you can get.  I'm going to test it using home made wads and hopefully balls molded by me.  I'm going to be testing .610 caliber Round Balls, .457 Round balls (as buckshot), .22 Cal Round balls (smaller buckshot) and a few different types of std shot.  Wasn't sure if everyone down in this section checks in up there, so thought I'd link to the progress as I can take pics and such. 
 
http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,257073.0.html

Often open me mouth when I should keep quiet as I'm no x-pert on anything, but I think .27&.25 ball is about it fer buck inna .62..same same as 20ga. methinks...very interesting project ya got going...I think of my Tracker 1, 20ga. as my modern day trade or canoe gun...

[tacklebury]

Yah, I purchased about 3000 .22 round balls designed for air guns though and will probably never use them all up.  Unless I start shooting them!  hehe  Figured they might do good for small game too, so not so many small pellets to chew through. 

[Bugflipper]

For a ramrod at home to just target shoot with, a wooden dowel that will just fit down the bore is good to have. I cheat quite a bit and use plastic wads, so no over powder card. But getting those over shot cards buttoned down is a pain in the butt with a tiny ramrod. It's a cinch with a stick just smaller than the barrel diameter. Out hunting I just keep the barrel up in the air after I fire the shot prepared at home. It makes you a good snap shooter when you level up for a shot and you hear the pellets start running down the barrel. 


For the sustainable tie in how about a simple black powder recipe? http://bisonsurvivalblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/simple-black-powder.html I have used this recipe for a number of years. We used to not have to make salt peter until the tree huggers got bars put on the salt peter cave for some type of endangered bat. Just the same this method does work and stores well in plastic milk jugs. So not overly sensitive to the humidity in the South. And here is the legal provisions so folks wont have to search for it. http://www.civilwarartillery.com/atf/

[Lloyd Smale]

can salt peter be bought? Also i see in here http://www.civilwarartillery.com/atf/ that your allowed 50lbs of black powder but it does say comercialy made. Is the batf going to knocking on a guys door for manufacturing it?

[tacklebury]

Thanks for the thoughts Bugflipper.  I am in the process of starting to make my own BP now.  I have made a retort and gotten a pretty good supply of Willow, which in my research in N.A. is about the best for making your charcoal.  Potassium nitrate is available in pure form from several different chemical companies nation wide and is also the primary or sole ingredient of several types of stump remover.  I got a lot of info on several different styles at Cast Boolits Forum and thought I'd post the cross links so others can check it out.  My dad has a trash incinerator we made from a 100 gal. fuel oil tank and it has a small shelf and door that I can use to set my retort on.  Hopefully by mid-summer I'll be shooting my own BP instead of Goex, which is nearly impossible to get here now. 
 
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=131827
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=103852
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=150693
 

[Bugflipper]

There are quite a few provisions. http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5400-7.pdf Also there may be state and local laws prohibiting or regulating, so make sure it's legal where you are. The letter I got from the ATF stated under 50 lbs and no resale. If over 50 a permitted, approved storage magazine was needed. And to resale a manufacturers license was needed. As long as you are using it for a legal use and can legally have it, not barred in 845(a) it is legal on the Federal level. I am not a lawyer so would suggest you contact the ATF with a letter describing your specific intent of use and make sure. It's always better to have an ATF letter saying it is legal, instead of trying to explain on the spot to a local LEO that it is legal when he doesn't have a copy of US code. Nor the ability to interpret the vagueness they love to leave so every case can be open to interpretation.


For the salt peter http://www.pyroguide.com/index.php?title=Black_Powder_Manufacture_-_Questions_page
 Kpower is a local brand of fertilizer. I would imagine it changes by region. You could call around your area and see who stocks it. If that is to much, strawberry fertilizer is usually kno3 and sold in little boxes. Asian markets sell it as pickling salt. Butcher stores sell it as a meat preservative. And livestock places sale it as a diuretic. I have never used it but the specter or specrta(spelling) brand at walmart is supposed to be the best source from the stump removers.