Model12Win
Moderator
Hello everyone!
I am in the market for a black powder rifle, I have the list narrowed down, but am currently torn between two different ones. These are:
Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken in .54 caliber w/ maple stock:
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Pedersoli-Rocky-Mountain-Hawken-Rifle/706019.uts
Pedersoli Springfield 1861 Rifled Musket:
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Pedersoli-Springfield-Caliber-Musket/1389473.uts
Concerning the Hawken, I LOVE the looks of this rifle. I handled one of these with maple stock at a local Cabelas and the fit and finish was simply jaw dropping. I may well have bought it right there if it weren't .50 caliber and was instead a .54. I intend to get the .54 caliber version as I will be shooting patched round ball through this gun and it'll be for target shooting, plinking, and maybe just maybe whitetail hunting. I like the fact that it takes #11 percussion caps as these are much more available in my area vs. the musket caps the Springfield 1861 uses. The .54 round balls are also cheaper than the .58 Minie balls the Springfield uses. I know you can shoot roundball through the Springfield, but I'd want to shoot proper Minies in the 1861 and would have to take up casting to make it affordable. Seems like the .54 round balls wouldn't require that, I can find Hornady swaged .54 balls for relatively cheap online.
So, the Hawken seems like the practical answer. The components to fire it are both more available in my area and are significantly cheaper. It's a notably shorter rifle, more handy, and just more versatile all around. I greatly appreciate the Hawken rifle history and heritage and thing this iteration is outstandingly beautiful at least in the specimen I handled. Movies like Jeremiah Johnson sure can make a man pine for a Hawken!!
But...
Then there's the Springfield 1861 rifled musket!
Talk about history! I'm a very big Civil War enthusiast. I don't do reenactments or anything like that, but feel a deep connection to the war and have read numerous books on the subject, including several autobiographies of soldiers on both sides. It's a truly fascinating subject, and I have always wanted a Civil War rifled musket since I was young. If I got this gun, I'd want to shoot it just like the real soldiers did: with paper cartridges out of a cartridge box with accompanying cap pouch. I can easily imagine how fun it would be to do rapid reloading of the gun with cartridges, maybe tramping around with it in the creek back home. Seems like it'd be incredibly fun! I'd also just love to stretch it out on the 300 yard range I occasionally go to here in Kansas.
As fun as all of this would be, the necessity to find musket caps and Minie balls (at least for the true experience) would be a logistical challenge. The musket caps I suppose I could get online, but pre-cast Minie balls are very expensive. If I got the Springfield, I'd also be buying a casting pot and some pure lead ingots to go with it!
So, basically, I want both of these guns very badly to say the least, but my funds could hardly allow getting both of them. I need to choose between these two rifles, but the choice is hard.
What would you pick between these two for the purposes of recreational target shooting/plinking, and why? I'm very interested to hear your comments and to learn more about the great sport of black powder shooting, which is a microcosm unto itself among the shooting sports.
Thanks so much for your time, and your help is greatly appreciated!
I am in the market for a black powder rifle, I have the list narrowed down, but am currently torn between two different ones. These are:
Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken in .54 caliber w/ maple stock:
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Pedersoli-Rocky-Mountain-Hawken-Rifle/706019.uts
Pedersoli Springfield 1861 Rifled Musket:
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Pedersoli-Springfield-Caliber-Musket/1389473.uts
Concerning the Hawken, I LOVE the looks of this rifle. I handled one of these with maple stock at a local Cabelas and the fit and finish was simply jaw dropping. I may well have bought it right there if it weren't .50 caliber and was instead a .54. I intend to get the .54 caliber version as I will be shooting patched round ball through this gun and it'll be for target shooting, plinking, and maybe just maybe whitetail hunting. I like the fact that it takes #11 percussion caps as these are much more available in my area vs. the musket caps the Springfield 1861 uses. The .54 round balls are also cheaper than the .58 Minie balls the Springfield uses. I know you can shoot roundball through the Springfield, but I'd want to shoot proper Minies in the 1861 and would have to take up casting to make it affordable. Seems like the .54 round balls wouldn't require that, I can find Hornady swaged .54 balls for relatively cheap online.
So, the Hawken seems like the practical answer. The components to fire it are both more available in my area and are significantly cheaper. It's a notably shorter rifle, more handy, and just more versatile all around. I greatly appreciate the Hawken rifle history and heritage and thing this iteration is outstandingly beautiful at least in the specimen I handled. Movies like Jeremiah Johnson sure can make a man pine for a Hawken!!
But...
Then there's the Springfield 1861 rifled musket!
Talk about history! I'm a very big Civil War enthusiast. I don't do reenactments or anything like that, but feel a deep connection to the war and have read numerous books on the subject, including several autobiographies of soldiers on both sides. It's a truly fascinating subject, and I have always wanted a Civil War rifled musket since I was young. If I got this gun, I'd want to shoot it just like the real soldiers did: with paper cartridges out of a cartridge box with accompanying cap pouch. I can easily imagine how fun it would be to do rapid reloading of the gun with cartridges, maybe tramping around with it in the creek back home. Seems like it'd be incredibly fun! I'd also just love to stretch it out on the 300 yard range I occasionally go to here in Kansas.
As fun as all of this would be, the necessity to find musket caps and Minie balls (at least for the true experience) would be a logistical challenge. The musket caps I suppose I could get online, but pre-cast Minie balls are very expensive. If I got the Springfield, I'd also be buying a casting pot and some pure lead ingots to go with it!
So, basically, I want both of these guns very badly to say the least, but my funds could hardly allow getting both of them. I need to choose between these two rifles, but the choice is hard.
What would you pick between these two for the purposes of recreational target shooting/plinking, and why? I'm very interested to hear your comments and to learn more about the great sport of black powder shooting, which is a microcosm unto itself among the shooting sports.
Thanks so much for your time, and your help is greatly appreciated!