The Black Powder Cartridge News Winter 2025

I was in conversation with another black-powder rifle enthusiast a short time ago and the topic of 22BPCR came up. More specifically, the discussion centered around 22BPCR’s amazing growth. ...Read More >

I would like to put forth another theory regarding the 32 Special in the 1894 Winchester (What’s Special About the 32 Special, Issue 130, BPC News.) Let’s think for a moment in financial terms if you were in charge of penny-pinching back in the days when Winchester had a bunch of unused barrels in 32-40 caliber sitting on the shelves. The modern smokeless “fancy” was over taking the industry, so how would you make use of the left over 32-40 barrels? ...Read More >

There are two new faces at Wyoming Armory in Cody, Wyoming, who are helping produce the best in vintage and modern gunsmithing. Todd Tucker from Littleton, Colorado, a recent graduate from Colorado School of Trades, has signed on with the crew and is apprenticing under Keith Kilby, with special attention to color casehardening and bluing, as well as general gunsmithing. ...Read More >

Ever since 2014, I’ve been using the wad punches from Buffalo Arms, in calibers from .40 to .50 and I really can’t say enough about them. Let me admit that having 10 years of experience with one or more of these punches has certainly given me something to say. ...Read More >

Publicly declaring a person – in print – to be a gunman, may or may not amount to an offensive accusation. It depends on the context. If the subject being branded were an exhibition shooter and a product of the nineteenth century American West, such a finger pointing would be a high compliment. ...Read More >

After all the dust settled and the smoke cleared, the 22BPCRA crowned four new National Champions. Congratulations to Kenny Tebbe (High Overall Iron Sight: 141), Rick Moritz (High Overall Scope: 159), Shelby Ross (High Overall Woman: 143), and Alexis Malespini (High Overall Junior: 121) on some excellent shooting. ...Read More >

... ...Read More >

It all started with a Daisy Model 25 pump action air rifle, but the “neighborhood mafia” referred to them as “BB guns”. The Model 25 was accurate and propelled a round BB at about 350 feet per second, which was about 100 feet per second faster than other BB guns that were on the market at the time. It was pretty lethal for a BB gun and also shot to the sights. The Model 25 had a tedious-to-load tubular magazine that held approximately 50 BBs. ...Read More >

The “Express Rifles” name was created by James Purdy in the late 1840s, that was synonymous with the new “Express Trains” being built to cross Africa. It was Alexander Henry of Edinburgh, Scotland, who seem to take things to a new level after he patented his Henry-style rifling in 1860. These weren’t Express rifles with only two-groove rifling, shooting “sugarloaf” or pointed winged bullets; these were long, sleek, paper-patched conicals and Henry’s rifling was designed to shoot those paper patched bullets. ...Read More >

mericans have been fascinated by long-range shooting since the Irish challenged them to the first international long-range rifle match, held in September, 1874. The Remington and Sharps rifles used in the competitions were the first Creedmoor rifles. The word “Creedmoor” is not a recent creation by marketing wizards promoting contemporary cartridges and associated bolt-action rifles. Mr. Creed was kind enough to permit the construction of a 1,000-yard range on his Long Island, New York, property in 1872. ...Read More >

A variety of rifles achieved virtually iconic status in the history of the nineteenth century American frontier. Such firearms as the Hawken, Sharps, Remington and Winchester became common tools of survival in the West while making household words of their namesake inventors. One popular rifle of the day, the Ballard, claimed admirers among scouts, emigrants and buffalo hunters alike, yet its designer remained sunken in obscurity long after his handiwork had emerged as one of the premier single-shot arms of the day. ...Read More >

This is an extract taken from “Autobiography of a Pioneer” written by Floyd B. Small in 1916. The book records some of his experiences on the Plains in various occupations. The book is a fascinating read and instead of rewriting his narration, we have chosen to present it as he wrote it. It would be most disrespectful to Mr. Small if we were to attempt to improve on it. After all, it is his story, not ours. ...Read More >

Getting started to load one round with the old powder charge taken from the 44-90 Sharps cartridge that was featured in What’s Inside an Old 44-90, was a bit different from how things went when the same thing was done previously with the powder from the 44-77. For one thing, the 44-90 used a .441 diameter bullet and I had no previous experience with 44 Sharps bullets that were that large. However, I was determined to find out, so the process began with finding some .441 bullets. ...Read More >