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Anyone know about these rifles i hear they make the lyman rifles. I have been offered one looks like a modle 130b like new but estimated at 30 years old. Anyone know what they are worth ? and if you think it would make a good entry level gun for someone just getting into muzzelloaders
Thanks for the help guys
Bruce
I did a quick "Yahoo" search on "Investarm muzzle loader" and came up with a lot of info. One place had one for sale for $165.
My first muzzle loader was an Investarm Hawken. It was a decent quality gun and I had a lot of fun with it at the range for years. I eventually got a TC Hawken which is a definite step up in quality but also a big step up in price.
The Investarm was under $300 new back in the mid 1990's and I sold it about 8 or 9 years ago for $200. Traditional style muzzle loaders have been on a steady decline in popularity for years now (sadly) so I'm going to guess at $150-$200 maybe $225 depending on condition. I think it's a great entry level gun. Mine was very reliable and reasonably accurate. I wish I'd have kept it as a back-up gun.
I shoot Lymans and they are reasonably acccurate. My 50 flinter is pie plate accurate at 100. A caplock should do that easy. I searched the internet too and like the fella's said, 200 would be upper end for it.
Make sure the nipple will unscrew and if you shine a light through the nipple area you should be able to see it from the muzzle.
Good luck.
HA
I have two investarm guns, a short barrelled hawken in left hand percussion and a gallyon shotgun. The hawken is seems well made, fit and finish are good. I have only shot it once but it will shoot as well as I can and is a nice little carbine. It is marked safari arms as well as the investarms symbol. It seems as well made as a TC rifle but i would take the tc renegades etc over it, they just seem to fit me better. The Gallyon is a beautiful shotgun, and seems much better made than the hawken, it only has the investarms symbol on it.
So i bought the investarm hawken from a guy on CGN flintlock 50cal should see it some time next week. So my Next Question is what else should i be purchasing to get started? I have been looking at TOTW website but what would you guys recommend as required items?
For shooting:
- Whatever projectile you want to use. (patched ball, conical)
- Powder, I use Goex FF
- No. 11 percussion caps
- adjustable powder measure
- powder flask (for easier dispensing into measure)
- brass funnel for pouring powder down bore
- patch lube
For cleaning:
- nipple wrench
- nipple pick
- patch jag
- worm pick for removing cleaning patches that get stuck in the bore
Lots more accessories you can add later but off the top of my head that should get you started. I can post pictures of the cleaning sequence I use for my Hawken if you'd like. Should be the same process for yours.
If you're serious about black powder shooting I would suggest that you buy a copy of Sam Fadala's book "The Gun Digest Black Powder Loading Manual".
To add to TPM's list: - a ball puller for the inevitable time when you forget to put the powder in the barrel.
- a "short starter" to push the ball down the barrel a few inches so that you can then use your ramrod.
- a "capper" to hold caps and to put caps on the nipple.
- lots of pipe cleaners.
- hornet or wasp nest material to act as a buffer between powder and patched ball.
- a "possibles bag" to hold everything.
- a brass or fibreglass "range rod" (for when your wooden ramrod is not strong enough).
Quote:
Originally Posted by TPM
Post away any help is great and if anyone has a copy of Sam Fadala's book "The Gun Digest Black Powder Loading Manual". that they are willing to let go send me a pm
Thanks Pete, I was typing from bed and I knew I'd forget a thing or two. A short starter should have been high on my list and a capper is very handy too. Gotta ask, what do you use the pipe cleaners for?
Moose1, Sam Fadala also has a book called "The Complete Blackpowder Handbook" which I still use as my main reference book. Well worth looking for. I'll do up some pics of the cleaning sequence I use in the next couple of days.
To ream out the nipple and also to clean out the flash hole.Quote:
Originally Posted by TPM
Pete
and if think it will never happen to you..... you might want to think again! LOL:DQuote:
Originally Posted by GoldenLakePete
HA
I'm probably jinxing myself but seventeen years of muzzle loading and my ball puller still sits unused in my gear box. :ashamed:Quote:
Originally Posted by huntaway
Now you've gone and done it.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by TPM
The few times that I've dry balled usally involved talking to someone while loading.:party:
HA
Sorry to interrupt Gentlemen,
But Moose1 did you say the gun was a flintlock???
if this is correct, then he doesn't need a capper or caps
he needs a separate powder horn for priming powder and extra flints as well as the other stuff that TPM and Pete said.
Cheers
6506
I should have read that later post more thoroughly. So, a flintlock: what you also need then is a little flashhole pick and a litttle flash pan brush.
Also a little flint knapping hammer - if you're into that.
Thanks for the info guys i am going to shooters choice on friday with a list of what i need they are the only place around here i can find that carries goex and a selection of gear
Well i picked up everything i need to get started yesterday and looking forward to getting out tomorrow to try her out. I tryed some dry fires and some with just a prime to get used to the lock and flash. I am still going through the book i got written by Sam Fadala as was suggested its a good read i should be ready to take her out back tomorrow and try it out.:thumbup: But i have a question the guy i got the gun from says he used a .495 prb with a .018 patch and 80g of 3f goex but all i can find for load data with goex uses a .490 rb with a .010 patch it only list a .495 rb when useing pyrodex and a .010 patch am i safe to use his load or am i looking at trouble?
Attachment 13314
Attachment 13315Hi Bushbaby...I see you have a Invest Arms Gallyon, I would really like to know what you think, know about it, how much it cost, what you load it with, and how you aquired it. I have been muzzleloading shotguns for quite sometime and have a nice arsenal of Navy, Pedrosoli, and Dixie Shotguns. Many years ago the Dixie Arms Catalog carried a Euroarms Magnum Cape Gun, a single barrel 1850's english style shotgun that I thought was very nice, and received good reviews in Rick Hackers "The Muzzleloading Hunter" By the time I was ready to buy one they were no longer available. I never personally saw or handled one. About a month ago I advertised in a couple of muzzleloading forums for the Euroarms Magnum Cape Gun, and was offered an Invest Arms Gallyon. The seller claimed it was the same gun and it appeared to be the same gun to me. Have you ever heard of or seen a Euroarms Magnum Cape Gun? I corresponded with one other fellow who stated it was one of the first muzzleloaders he had, still owned, and was not for sale. Upon further investigation he said the barrel was 30 inches long, engraved Blackpowder Only, Made in Italy, the lock was engraved "Gallyon"
Long story short...I bought the gun. It is a very nice and I am pleased with it even though I paid a premium price for it. I would appreciate any information you can share with me.....Thanks Tommy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushbaby
That will be a tight to load but fine. Make sure to check your patches for cutting or burning. There's a section in the book that shows you what to look for in a patch. Any I have loaded with .535 and 0.18 in my Lyman cut patches but are generally more accurate.Quote:
Originally Posted by moose1
Go to Track of the Wolf to order bulk flints and other supplies. http://www.trackofthewolf.com/
or October Country http://www.octobercountry.com/
There are other's but they don't come to mind at the moment.
HA
Hi Tom. I have never heard it call a cape gun. I bought mine from a local gun store ( it was advertised as a gallyon and that was what i called it) for approx 300 if I remember correctly. I bought it sight unseen and was very pleased when I picked it up. It was full of grease and I am sure it had never been fired. I would not part with it now. It looks identical to yours, just darker finish and hardware.
I shot a bunch of sharptails with it this fall. With 80 grains 2 f and 1 1/8 shot it worked great, although it is extremely slow to load. Recoil is light and it is easy to carry. Check the nose cap, mine had a short screw in it and it almost fell off. Perhaps the mixup in the name was part of the reason I could find so little info about it on the web. Welcome to the forum!
Hi BB,Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushbaby
Thanks for the quick reply. I have not yet shot my Gallyon but I agree with you, this ones a keeper. I can find very little information on either Invest Arms Gallyon or Euroarms Magnum Cape Gun but I believe they are both the same gun brought to market by different importers. In the archive section on "Track of the Wolf" web page they picture the Gallyon in an ad from several years ago. It sold for $449 on 10/12/2004. I had to give $650 for mine, about $100 more than I had planned on, but I have been looking for years with no results, and shotgun prices have gone thru the roof. Two more questions for you, 1. What size and combination of wads do you use, ever use plastic wads? 2. Have you ever shot a round ball in your gun? I have never shot a ball from any of my shotguns but I am going to get a micrometer and give it a shot, pun intended...Tommy
Hi Tom. I just use a standard load, 90gr 2f, 1/8 overpower wad, 1/2 lubed cushion wad, 1 1/8 5 shot and a light overshot wad. I have never used a plastic wad in it, or a lead ball. When you try the lead ball let me know how it works out. There are various 72 cal rifles on the market, and unfortunately I can't afford any of them.
I've shot both round ball and hollow base shotgun slugs from my 12 ga SxS. The round ball with 80 grs of FFg is a very powerful load. The velocity is not that high but the great mass of the ball is deadly.Quote:
Originally Posted by tommytoonice
The hollow base slug with 90 grs of FFg was a good load too. I shot an old Volkswagen door with one and the exit hole was amazing! It was surprisingly accurate at 50 yds.
BTW: you mentioned the Euroarms Magnum Cape gun - in his book "Black Powder Loading Manual" Sam Fadala test fires one with both shot and round ball. 70 grs FFg with 1 oz of shot. 80 grs FFg with 1 1/8 oz shot. 90 grs FFg with 1 1/4 oz shot.
Pete
Hello TPM
I know this thread it old but
Looking for some information on the cleaning process for a Hawken.
would you be able to post it?
Thank you