rifle and shotgun for black powder

[RDavidP]

Well, I just found out that I have a SASS club just a few miles North of me, but in order to go to the event place you must be either a member of the range's shooting club or a member of SASS.  I am going to go ahead and join SASS before my first event because I know I am going to enjoy it anyway.  I may go get another cap and ball pistol this weekend, sure do like shooting it.  Now to my question.  What brand and model rifles and shotguns go good with black powder cartridges?

Thanks,
David

[Cuts Crooked]

Almost any SxS scattergun will do fine with BP shells, same is true fer lever gunz.

However in the lever gun you might want to take into consideration the "bottleneck effect". That's because bottle necked cartridges like the 44-40, 38-40, and 32-20 will not foul the actions as badly as straight wall cartridges. The thinner case necks seal the chambers better, preventing blow back into the action!

Having said that, I shoot .357 and .45 Colt in my lever gunz (92 Rossi's) with excellent success using BP. The trick being to load heavy slugs with a full charge of powder and "neck size" the cases. This leaves the rear of the cases at chamber diameter, affectively sealing the chamber off and keeping blow back out of the action! And the heavy slugs (255 grainers in .45 and 166 grainers in .357) give the shell walls a millishake longer to expand into the chamber walls before the slug and gasses exit the case mouth.

I do ok with these in matches too....2003 Frontier Cartridge Duelist State Champion!  :grin:

[Singing Bear]

Like CC said.  I shoot 92's and 73's in 45 Colt and I don't have quite that good a crimp/load for them.  I do get fouling in the action.  The 92's are a bit harder to clean and dissassembly for thorough cleaning can be tricky.  The 73's and 66's have side plates that can be removed to facilitate cleaning.  Much easier.

If you follow CC's advise on loads and crimps, the issue is moot.  Any lever gun will be fine especially the 92's at less than half the price for a brand new 73 or 66.  The 92 may need a little tweaking to run smoothly.  You can talk to Nate Kiowa Jones about that.   But the overall cost would still be less and they do have some really nice models of the 92 out these days.   Their looks can rival the beauty of the 73's and 66's.  I like'em all.  :grin:

[Prof. Fuller Bullspit]

A hammered double would seem to fit best to me.

I really like the Baikal hammer double that I have although I've heard recently of a Chineese made colt double shotgun clone that seems to be generating quite a buzz.

If money isn't an object I would go with the 66 or 72 clones for the rifle. Probable in .38-40 or the 44-40.

If money is an object I would get a Marlin in any caliber. They are the easiest to take down for full cleaning.

[Sweetwater Jack]

As the other guys said,  bottleneck cartridges and Winchester '66 or '73 clones for the least amount of blowby and crud in your rifles.  All I shoot these days is .38-40 and .44-40.  As for the scattergun, I have the Biakal Bounty Hunter II, both real hammers and hammerless, a Liberty II hammer gun, a couple of '97s and they all stay in the truck or gun cart while I shoot my new favorite, the TTN imported Chinese copy of the 1878 Colt. The "Colt's" hammers are closer together, as on the original, and with the springs now coming in them I can sweep both hammers back to full-cock at the same time with my weak thumb. It shoots to point of aim with both barrels and "mounts" to the shoulder better than any shotgun I have, including all my '97s.  This is just MY experience, of course, but as the 3 clubs I belong to's "gun-runner" (Class 01 FFL), I've ordered 12 of these shotguns for members. (At about $380 out my door)

[Snake River Cowboy]

I'll be different. I have Marlin 94's in .45 Colt. Marlins are easily disassembled to clean. I use 250gr LRN bullet in an RP case. RP brass is a little softer than Starline and Winchester is even softer. The heavy bullet and soft brass seal the chamber very well.