The Black Powder Cartridge News Fall 2026

Our cover in this issue was sent to us by our good friend Mike Gibson from New Zealand. This photo of Conrad Hodgkinson, who was an early-day deerstalker and guide in New Zealand. ...Read More >

Just when one thinks that you cannot hear anything more ridiculous in the news, something comes along that truly gives you pause about the future of the human race. I’m talking about the recent proposed legislation in Oregon to ban hunting, fishing, trapping and farming. ...Read More >

Fredericksburg, Texas (June 2026) – Five years after Lexington and Concord, the British Army began its Southern Campaign, starting in South Carolina. But it was on October 7, 1780, that British Major Patrick Ferguson, a favorite of Cornwallis’, me... ...Read More >

Roy Marcot, Ron Paxton, and Edward W. Marron, Jr. have done it again! / Recently, Steve Garbe and I were talking about knives; folding knives to be a little more specific. ...Read More >

Standout episodes in the history of America’s shooting sports are few enough. Heading the short memorable list (for guys like us) is the 1873 fairy tale victory of a handful of New York riflemen over a squad of haughty Irish shooters – the newly crowned Champions of the British Isles. ...Read More >

Surprisingly, for both matches, the weather was mild with temperatures in the 70’s and mid 80’s with some intermittent light showers and variable winds from 5 to 10mph. / Weather was perfect, bright sunny day with little to no wind, 70-75 degrees which is nice for Wyoming in early spring. / This day, six intrepid shooters stepped forward and slapped down their hard-earned “Green Backs” on the table, which was the prerequisite to register for the First Northern Plains Schuetzenfest held at the Billings Rod and Gun Club. ...Read More >

... ...Read More >

On our cover this issue is an old photo picturing New Zealand deerstalker, Conrad Hodgkinson and in his hand a fine Marlin Model 1893 rifle. ...Read More >

Quigley 2026, is basically a copy of the previous year’s doin’s with the same targets and course of fire, as well as many of the usual shooters. However, this year there was a large number of first-time shooters. I don’t have an accurate number of those first-timers, but I did notice that the “first-timers meetings” were generally full, which was very good to see. In addition to that, no two Quigley matches are ever exactly the same. ...Read More >

I was intrigued by the 10-shot, 200-yard black powder group challenge presented by Editor Steve Garbe in the 2026 Spring Issue #133, of the Black Powder Cartridge News. When time allowed, I retired to my reloading room and found some ammo for my so-called 38-50 “bench” rifle. This outfit is a CPA Stevens 44½ with a heavy RKS gain-twist barrel and a wide forend to fit a front bench rest. The barrel ends with a 14-twist, and I have no idea what the starting twist might be. I used a 12x Unertl scope for testing. ...Read More >

For those interested in the 22 Long Rifle cartridge and the accuracy rifles for the same, .22 Caliber Rifle Shooting by C.S. Landis is a necessary read. ...Read More >

Emanuel Dubbs was born in Stark County, Ohio. He served in the First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company I during the Civil War and was wounded at Stone River and at Resaca, Georgia. In the spring of 1871, Dubbs and his wife took a covered wagon, a pair of mules, small tent, camping outfit and arrived at Newton, Kansas. They had taken a contract to grade the bed between the Little and Big Arkansas Rivers near the town of Hutchinson, Kansas. ...Read More >

For 13 years the Carbon County 4-H Shooting Sports program has been setting targets for the Big Whiskey Invitational BPCR Silhouette match. CC4HSS, is a safety and competitive shooting program. Kids will start with BB Gun, where time is split between the class room and the range. ...Read More >

My reflections on the 44-40 continue. In Part I, the history, popularity and variety of the guns and loads for the 44-40 were discussed, including the smokeless powder cartridges which expanded the variety of ammunition for this old black powder cartridge. Now, here in Part II of this tale, I want to talk more about the new firearms made for the 44-40, as well as shooting them with black powder loads. ...Read More >