Other Black Powder Items

Businesses serving muzzle-loading hobbyists developed very well beginning in the Sixties and continuing throughout the following decades. Dealers could outfit a shooter with all sorts of useful accessories. Specialized arms-related merchandize helped enthusiasts complement interest in a favorite historical period. From sleeve protectors to pliers, the well-supplied dealer had everything at hand to make customer wallets thinner.

Now that we have discussed powder flasks and cap tins, we can consider some additional items.  Wadding, as it was known in shooting circles, one could buy as an expensive packaged product or simply use a punch to make some from an old felt hat brought back years ago from a vacation in Bavaria.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                Felt wadding offered by Bärbel Harlos

Meanwhile, there were so many different felt wadding brands available, they form a supplemental area of collecting. 

                                            Also the Frankonia firm offered assorted felt wads.

Prepared powder loads enjoyed considerable popularity among muzzle-loading arms enthusiasts. Theses generic pellets could be bought over the counter by any person over 18 years of age. The purchaser needed neither permit nor instruction

                                            This convenient packet held also the wadding 

Manufacturers of muzzle-loading ammunition packed it in color-coded boxes to aid ready identification of the contents by caliber.  Caliber .36 loads came in a brown coded box, caliber .44 in blue

Another manufacturer of prepared ammunition was Ruggimille.  Headquartered in France, the company supplied both .36 and .44 caliber loads.

Helmut Hofmann offered also prepared ammunition

After shooting a revolver all day, cleaning it provided the proud owner some evening entertainment. This task had to be done both soon and carefully to prevent the combination of burned powder, lubricant, and ambient moisture from turning into “Naval Gold” rust. The chemical process can take place almost right in front of your eyes. One anecdote tells how some black powder revolvers brought back from the United States went to the German Proof Office and returned to their owners with very rusted barrels.  This points up how fast rust forms and the absence of cleaning services at the Office.  Cleaning kits were abundant on the market then, so collectors soon starting buying up the neat sets.  A nice small set cost less than two dollars (7 DM) back in the Seventies.

                                       Simple set with cleaning road, brushes, and wipe. 

Various cleaning aids for firearms are available in stores  today. Everyone seems to have a favorite brand.  I like this simple four-step approach: wash the revolver in very hot water, clean the bore with a brush, dry the piece, and apply hot mineral oil. The oil helps evaporate any remaining moisture and binds with the sulfur residue to forma near perfect conservative. External wooden and metal parts soon begin to show their appreciation for the classic Ballistol oil.

                                                            Ballistol from the Seventies           

CVA offered in the Nineties this magic bore cleaner. It belonged to an extensive cleaning set.

Hege offered Smoke Ex cleaner. It looked quite milky.