"Big Bores" put into perspective

[JonnyReb]

 Red Feather.. your not a onetime B.S.A. (Boy Scout)Range officer who taught in N.C. in the summers of 86 and 87 are you? William Smith was his name and i was his assistant. He was a lifer in the Navy and had seved in the Army in VN before that.  Some of the guns you've mentioned he had as well, he was a blackpowder fanatic, mostly into flintlocks. His zouave was one of the hardest guns to learn to shoot that i've ever held. A huge flash, the lag time, resulting flinch and the slow steady recoil that only a big heavy musket can replicate. He could put out matches with it on our rimfire range. Guess who was lighting them and running? His Brown Bess was about the same but it was a bigger caliber... either .68 or .70 i can't remember. These are the guns  that taught me that blackpowder doesn't kick near as bad as smokeless magnums or even heavy shotshell loads. I think it's the smoke, the flash and the noise that gives the impression they are harder kickers than they really are. Just my opinion of course.  J

[Gary]

I guess I am underguned with my puny little .45 cal CVA Mountain Rifle, but it has taken a few deer.
Gary

[RedFeather]

Nope, the "RedFeather" moniker is actually from Indian Guides, not Boy Sprouts.  Gary, you will never be under-gunned with that .45 Mountain Rifle.  In fact, my reason for going to the show where I picked up my T/C was to see if a seller had returned with one of those.  Real nice, early kit gun.  Does your patch box have two screws at the top or one?  If two, you have a made in USA gun with a Douglas barrel.  Great shooters.  The later guns, as well.  I think it was CVA's very best gun.  No, the seller never showed.  (Also had a circa 1902 H&A .22 rifle I was interested in.) 

[yote300wsm]

Red, what a blast from the past!! YMCA Indian guides! My Dad was Red Fox. I was Little Red Fox. A lot of good times.

[RedFeather]

Little Red  Fox,

Great minds think alike.

RedFeather
Blackfoot Tribe
Fair Oaks Lodge
Occoquan Nation
Virginia

[Gary]

Red, not sure what is meant by the two screws at the top. Mine has 4 screws total. One at the point , closest to the breech ,then two about an inch back from the point  then one at the butt end of the patch box. I guess it really doesn't make a difference since it will do quarter sized groups at 50 yards. At least it did the last time I shot it with 50 grs.fffg and .440 round ball and patch.
Gary

[RedFeather]

You, sir, have a Made In USA Mountain Rifle.  Congratulations!  The four-screw patchbox is the clincher.  Your barrel should also say Made in USA.  Word has it that Douglas made the barrels for the original guns and then CVA moved production to Spain.  Those have two-screw patch boxes.  Your gun probably has octagonal thimbles, too.  Keep that baby.  When they come up for sale, they don't sit around long.

[Gary]

Thanks for the info Red, hadn't planned to send it anywhere, but I have had a few offers over the years. It shoots to good to let go. My son or one of the grandsons will end up with it but not for a while, I hope.
Talking about this rifle made me stop a think back to when I got it. Picked it up at the fall National Muzzleloader @@@. shoot at Friendship In. in the mid 1970's. Got a different rear sight, primitive instead of using what came with the kit. After I got it finished the first trip to the range along with powder, ball and caps I took a small hammer, brass drift punch and a file. That rifle has always done what was expected of it as long as the shooter did thier part. Can't ask for more than that.
Gary