FIE 1981 Circa Kentucky Rifle

[MMA1991]

All:

Last week, I found a BP Kentucky rifle on consignment for $75. Let me state up front, I am a NEWBIE to BP rifles so please bear with me.

The bore looked rough and there was some minor surface pitting on the barrel in way of the nipple but all in all she looked pretty good. I was told it is a .45 caliber but I really don't know.

I offered the guy $60 and I walked out the door with it.

The barrel is made by Pietta and the AH on the barrel indicates it was manufactured in 1981.

If I want an owners manual, the barrel indicates I am to contact FIE in Miami...other posts on this site indicate that company is now defunct.

So I get it home and break it down.

I cleaned the bore with Hoppes No. 9 and the solution was very rusty with the first swab and not too bad on the subsequent swabs. Looking in the barrel, there does appear to be some pitting but hard to tell how bad.

I sprayed the barrel out with brake cleaner/degreaser and then ran several patches with bluing solution down the barrel to arrest any possible issues with rust.

The nipple would not budge. I heated it with a propane torch (the same type a plumber uses to sweat copper pipe) and was able to get the nipple off.

I stripped the wood, stained and sealed it with teak oil, polished the brass fittings and lubed the lock action. I also wire wheeled the lock (think Dremel) to remove some light surface rust and reblued the whole mechanism. Did the same with the minor surface piping at the rear of the barrel in way of the nipple.

After reassembly, I noted the the trigger is loose when the rifle is not cocked and rock solid when cocked.

All in all she looks great.

I need to know:

Is she is safe to shoot? I assume I need to get a real gunsmith to inspect the rifle.

Is the rifle a clunker or is she a decent inaugural rifle to start my foray into the world of BP long guns?

Where can I find an owner's manual?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thx

MMA1991

[Darryl]

Jim (JYD) will be along shortly, but this is a typical reproduction Kentucky rifle. Truth is, they are probably a dozen times stronger then the "originals" were. Some had troubles, but for the most part they are stronger.

You have to figure out the size of the bore. .45 sounds typical of the reproduction Kentucky. Just get some loading instructions and start with a small load (powder) and let it fly. As long as there is nothing "obvious" wrong with it like a crack, or damage, It will be OK to fire.

I have made many of them just like this from kits. If you are afraid of firing it, load it up, place the butt in the inter part of a old tire (with out the rim on it) and tie a string to the trigger and get away. But you will not have any problems with a light load in it. Finding the proper ball and patch and lube (like spit patch or something along those lines) it you first coarse. Then the proper powder, and a new nipple and caps.

When you fire it, you will be hooked and wonder why you never got one of these before. They are simple the most fun to fire (to me).

JYD will chime in here I'm sure and give you more detailed information.

Dolk

[MMA1991]

Thanks Dolk...great insight. I have since ordered three new nipples...one steel, one stainless steel and one with the vent holes to see which will give me the best performance.

What are your thoughts on flash cups...I am thinking about getting an iron one or a German silver one for the rifle. The only location I have exterior pitting on the barrel is in way of the nipple and it looks like over spray from the caps. See attached pic.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Good News, Pietta is alive and well, and a major seller of black powder arms in the USA, and the world.
http://www.pietta.us/whoare/index.html

They are one of the largest makers of reproduction back powder arms in the world, and if you contact them I am sure they can help you with an owners manual. Their products are well made, and not cheap, this rifle would cost you $500 or more today. Cleaning the bore should start with boiling water and soap in case BP residue is stuck in there. BP fouling is very corrosive, and filthy , it must be cleaned with hot water right after use. Oil and a bore brush will aid in removing the rust. Pitting is not as much of an accuracy issue with these, you will be shooting a patched ball, the patch material contacts the rifling to impart spin on the ball, it will not notice some light pitting.
If this is your first time in the black powder world there are things you need to learn, many of them will be in the rifles owners manual. Shooting a front stuffer you are loading with loose components, kind of like reloading for a Mosin but without the use of a cartridge case. Your rifle uses black powder, or a black powder substitute like Pyrodex, never, ever, use a smokeless powder in such a rifle it will explode. The powder is measured by volume, not weight like smokeless. You will need a black powder measure, they are sold by Dixie Gun Works. You will need caps, the manual will tell you the size, it will be #10, #11, or musket size for something like this. You will need a powder flask, never charge the rifle from the flask even if it has a measure on it, one ember down in the pipe from the last shot and you are a human bomb. Always pour into the measure and then pour the measure into the pipe. You will need patches, they come in various thicknesses, but T shirt material is common, light cotton, experience and experimentation will show what your rifle likes. Grease the patch with Crisco, or one of the many available black powder patch lubes ( Dixie again) the patch must be lubed. Now the ball, a round lead ball, I am guessing it's .440 size, this is common for .45 ML's, but check with Pietta. You can go two ways here, cast your own, or buy them ready made by the box. I already cast for many other rifles so I just bought a Lee bullet mold and cast my own, but if you are not set up to cast it might be easier to buy a box of bullets. ( Dixie again) Cleaning, you need a small piece of leather, place it under the hammer and lower it down on the cone. Fill the bore with hot water 3/4 of the way, cap the bore with a tompion ( a wood plug, Dixie) or stuff a rag in it, shake it up and down for a minute, pour out water, repeat a few times. This looks like a pinned action, avoid pulling it out of the wood or soon enough it will be loose on it's pins, this is meant to be cleaned with the barrel in the stock, pull off the lock for separate cleaning with water, get a bit of plastic tube, the stuff made for a medical IV would work, or the black automotive vacuum hose in the appropriate size from the auto part store, Stick one end of the hose on the cone, the other end in a bucket that has a couple of gallons of hot, soapy, water in it, hot tap water is fine. Fit a patch on the cleaning rod, it must be a tight fit in the bore, dip it in soap so it will start a syphon action in the bore drawing in water from the bucket. Churn it up good, you will see the water turn color, you got most of the salts with the first water bath, not you are scrubbing the thick black fouling. After a bit dump the bucket, refill it, get a clean patch, soap it and do it again, don't worry about spilling water on the outside of the barrel, the metal is hot, it will steam off, and you will be oiling it up before you put it away, even under the wood it will steam off. For the last bit, run some dry patches down the pipe, then heavily oil it, you want that bore with wet oil in there for storage. Oil up the lock, oil up the entire rifle, to not spare the oil.
Get a worm in case you have a stuck ball, get a breech scraper to aid in cleaning crud off the inside of the breech ( bottom on the bore) Get a capper to hold your caps, but it's not required, you can just leave them in the tin and fish them out one by one. Always tamp that ball down on top of the powder, never leave an air gap between powder and ball this can lead to a burst barrel, and questions, just ask

[desdem12]

Looks like a really nice rifle, And the stock looks good. I hope the nipple sellar knew the thread rate for the nipples for this, I think there is about 4 different ones. I also use a grease plunger syringe dohicky to grease the threads of the nipples so they don't get stuck. AS Dolk says you will be hooked right off when you shoot it.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Anti seize, you can get it at autopart stores, it's heat resistant and great for any fastener you don't want to get stuck solid.

[MMA1991]

JYD

Thanks for the detailed info!

As an FYI, the barrel is not pinned. The ram rod thimbles are screwed onto the barrel thru the fore end. The throw on the threads is very short and the threads are small as well. I almost lost one of the screws and realize this is one of this designs Achilles heels (i.e. a lost screw).

Any recommendations where I may be able to find some spare/replacement screws would be appreciated.

R/

MMA1991

[Junk Yard Dog]

Dixie gun works, or Pietta. They probably still make this rifle, the one you bought was made for a US retailer, one of many that sold, or still sells Pietta firearms here today.

[tjtM38]

It sounds like your rifle wasn't properly cleaned the last time it was put up. Hopefully, the bore isn't damaged too badly. It looks to be .45 to .50 cal, but you should find out the best diameter and go from there.

Here is a link that may help you in learning how to maintain, load, shoot and clean your firearm:

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/muzz ... eneral.pdf

All caplock muzzleloaders are very similar, so the Lyman manual should give you some direction. Lyman blackpowder rifles are manufactued by an Italian company called Investarm. Good luck; you should find plenty of help on the forum.

[Shotar]

I had the flint version of this rifle. If I recall, I used a patched 440 round ball over 60gr of pyrodex. Good results.

[hoshow]

Very cool rifle

[Junk Yard Dog]

You don't see many of them around in flint, caplocks were easier for CVA to move, flinters are an art , at least they are when you are doing it right, but caps are as easy as modern arms to learn to shoot.

[bunkysdad]

I am amazed that you bought this for 60 bucks. That was a steal, even if it has a little pitting. It happens a lot on these because people think they can wait to clean them then tend to forget. All that advice from JYD is the gospel on these. I bought a range rod with a big ball on the end. It is easier to use at the range and when cleaning. When you go to the Dixie Gun Works websight you need to order their 5.00 catalog. It has so much interesting reading.

[qz2026]

Nice rifle and a handsome hammer

[bunkysdad]

I got a Thompson Center Hawken a few weeks ago. It is my second bp rifle but my first 50 cal. I need to take pictures soon.