Cheap Spanish and Italian replica flintlock firearms have a rather poor reputation among serious black powder shooters. The frizzens are not properly hardened which results in little or no sparks, which again leads to misfires. This article shows my experiences with an Ardesa flinlock pistol kit...

The percussion revolver, also called cap and ball revolver, is perhaps the most common black powder weapon in use by modern black powder shooters. It was invented in the 1830s and was extensively used during the American Civil War (1861-1865). This article focuses on the history of the percussion revolver and shows you how to load and shoot it...

Percussion revolvers, also known as cap and ball revolvers, were made by the thousands before and during the war, but the principle of muzzleloading started to become obsolete when the new metallic cartridges became common after the war. This article shows you how to convert a percussion revolver to fire metallic cartridges...

It has long been an established fact that so called multiple discharges or chainfires in percussion revolvers originates from the chamber mouth of the cylinder. But, is this a myth, or are there other explanations? This article seeks to prove that multiple discharges may just as well be caused by loose fitting caps...