What to do with inherited muzzle loaders?

[ezrydr]

My aunt gave me my uncle's guns after he died a little while ago. There are 5 that are black powder muzzle loaders. I'm not into this type of gun and not really interested but I don't know if there is any value in these particular guns. Should I just hang these on the wall or find would it be worth trying to find someone to sell them to. The two hammer cap locks are made by CVA. One is 50cal and the other is 45cal. The camo is 50cal made by Knight. The side hammer pistol is 44 or 45 cal made by Dikar Spain and the revolver is 45cal or 44cal (can't remember) made by Navy Arms. There is some surface rust that I need to attack with steel wool and I need to clean them up. I got some powder and balls with them but have no knowledge of how much powder to use or exactly how to load them. I could probably look it up but I don't know if I want to take the time. I know that selling is not allowed in the general forums so I'm not asking if anyone is interested; I just want to know if they would be worth trying to sell. If the post is on the fringe of breaking the rules, please remove it.

[10-Ring]

If you have no sentimental ties to them there is a few hundred dollars there between them. I'd put each of them in the $100-200 range depending on condition. Not a ton of value in reproductions, but those look like they are in decent shape and serviceable.  Someone else may come along and contradict me, and I wouldn't argue with them.  

[xsubsailor]

The value of used muzzleloaders are determined almost entirely by the condition of the bore. They're a pain to clean so many have very rusty bores and the fact that you can't "see" through them makes it hard to determine the condition.

[gregintenn]

I think they’d average a hundred bucks apiece or so, as they are all modern. The Knight would bring a bit more. They’d sell, and they’re just like selling a car wheel....no dealers, background checks, etc.

Why don’t you read up on them and shoot them a bit before parting with them? A lot  of us really enjoy shooting them, and they can be about as accurate as many modern firearms. Their utility afar outweighs their current value in my opinion.

Just he sure to thoroughly clean and oil them after firing, as powder and caps are corrosive!

P.S. Make damn sure he didn’t leave any of them loaded before attempting to load them.

Edited September 11, 2020 by gregintenn

[nightrunner]

I echo Greg’s sentiment.

Try shooting them. Especially that cap and ball revolver. But if you are dead set on selling them, legally they aren’t firearms.

They are worth more with what they can do than the money they are worth. If nothing else hang them on the wall if you don’t care to shoot them. Family guns can’t be replaced.

[gregintenn]

There may come a time you wish you had them back.

[peejman]

What they said. Don't be in a hurry to part with them. I'm guessing this aunt and uncle didn't have any kids of their own?  

Personally, I think the reproductions are neat but have very little interest in "modern" muzzle loaders.  

[RED333]

I have a few, fun to shoot, more fun to watch kids shoot. The look on their face is priceless!

[ezrydr]

The only one that I am really considering shooting and perhaps keeping is the revolver. I'll run my borecam down the barrels and see what they look like and do some clean up on them. I may be posting them in the buy, sale, trade area of the forums soon. I'm wanting to add a Ruger GP100 of S&W 686 to my collection so maybe I can gain a few bucks to go towards a 357 mag from the sale of these. There were no children between them that these could go to and I was helping my aunt clean up and sale the house so she wanted to give me the guns. I also received several older model .22 rifles, a Thompson Contender with a 32/20 barrel and 22lr barrel, a Savage .270 bolt action, and a 22 mag revolver.

[RED333]

1 hour ago, ezrydr said:

was helping my aunt clean up and sale the house so

Good on you

[gregintenn]

The 32/20 Contender barrel sounds interesting.

[ezrydr]

46 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

The 32/20 Contender barrel sounds interesting.

Thank goodness that he also had reloading dies, brass, and bullets for it. I haven't tried looking for .32-20 in stock anywhere but it may be difficult to find. I haven't shot it yet. I'm waiting on a pistol scope that I have ordered for it. Apparently he shot it with a rifle scope. He must have done pretty well because he had lots of shooting trophies.

[gregintenn]

1 minute ago, ezrydr said:

Thank goodness that he also had reloading dies, brass, and bullets for it. I haven't tried looking for .32-20 in stock anywhere but it may be difficult to find. I haven't shot it yet. I'm waiting on a pistol scope that I have ordered for it. Apparently he shot it with a rifle scope. He must have done pretty well because he had lots of shooting trophies.

Sounds like a cool old man. It would be neat to find some of his notes regarding loads.

I expect you can find the ammo, but it won’t be cheap.

[ezrydr]

I didn't find any notes or even the type of powder he used for it. I'm pretty sure he didn't use the 3f black powder, lol. That's all the powder that I ran across. I do have some of his loaded rounds though.

[RED333]

32-20 load data

http://reloadammo.com/3220.htm

[Mowgli Terry]

If that's a T/C Seneca don't let it go until you do some home work. The last one I saw went for $350.00. Mine on GB went for only $500.00. Point being don't let anybody low ball you on your guns. There are some nice pieces there.

Edited November 9, 2020 by Mowgli-Terry

[Joshosh]

I agree with everyone 

[Redarrow6]

The one with the camo stock looks similar to one of mine.  You will get a lot of attention at the range before hunting season.  A good way to meet new people.

[Darrell]

I really enjoy my BP firearms. Did you get any BP and percussion caps with them? If so, consider giving it a shot. (pun intended)

As others have mentioned, cleaning them is a CHORE, but it's worth it to me. Nothing like pulling the trigger on a damp morning and being unable to see through the smoke for a second or two.

The surface rust you mentioned could be a concern. Again as others have mentioned, they're hard to clean and with surface rust the bores could be in bad shape. Run a solvent-dampened patch down the bore, then follow up with a few dry patches to see if the bores are clean and not-rusted. You can probably unscrew the breech plug from the Knight pretty easily to see what you have.

Edited September 3, 2022 by Darrell