Big Bore Black Powder Beast - PICS!!!!

[MassMark]

I have repossessed an old Navy Arms .58 caliber Zouave from my father who "gave" it to me many years ago and then asked for it back after a very short re-interest in black powder shooting. He called me and asked me if I wanted it back for good and so I went and picked it up this afternoon. I'll shoot some pics in the daylight this week - it's a very nice rifle - or at least it was.

It shows signs of having been in his basement, (surface rust) and the bore looks a bit rough as well. I'd love to bring this back to life. He's lost the bullet mold, which I think I can pick up at Midway. I have some old minie balls around here somewhere. Ideally, I'd like to get this ready for the Pumpkin Shoot, (a 500-grain minie ball may play havoc with pineapples and pumpkins). If not, it would be a blast, (pardon the pun) at future shoots. Can anyone give me some tips on how to proceed? I'd even be willing to spend a few bucks to have someone professionally go through it - any suggestions? Backyard or garage black powder enthusiasts are also welcome. I'm just not sure I have the skills...

A little history. My father dumped my uncles entire gun collection in the 1970's, (he was a US Army Rifle Team champion in the 1950's and passed away at 29). He picked up this gun from the dealer as part of the deal. Some of the guns he got rid of would make you weep. My uncle had the keys to Springfield Armory and used to go there to build match grade Garands - some of those were part of the "deal". I guess my father was never good at looking ahead...

Anyway, I "inherited" the gun at 15 after my parents split up, (he left it behind) and taught myself to load and shoot it - ultimately using it to take many a deer in Northeast Ohio. This gun would knock a deer off it's feet and I chuckle when I hear guys say the Thompson Omega is a beast.... It's laser accurate for a muzzleloader - my only claim to fame was a running 200-yard lucky shot on a deer in Ohio. It used to have a "sniper sight" (crosshair ring) and a bayonet, but they are in my father's vortex - lost forever. In any case, if anyone has any ideas on a rebirth for this big boomstick, let me know. I was thinking about hitting the bore with some PB Blaster to loosen things up and hitting it with a shotgun bore brush to get things started. If anyone likes to tinker, let me know - I'll bring the beer....

 

[Big Daddy 45acp]

First thing I would do is a complete detail strip. Make sure the lock work is in decent shape.

As for the surface rust, WD-40 and ultra fine steel wool should do it. Get a bronze brush and clean the bore best you can.

Is there a removable breech plug on this rifle? If there is, removal will make barrel cleaning easier. However, this should be done by a pro.

If anything needs to be replaced, check out Dixie Gunworks. A great resource for smoke pole shooters.

 

[MassMark]

Thanks BD - that helps a bunch. Going to tear it down this week and see if I can revive the old beast...

 

[MassMark]

It's funny how things take over in your mind. Here is is 3:00am, I'm exhausted from my 70-hour week and I just came back up from the basement.... I took the Zouave apart and it doesn't look all that bad really. The finish is not so good, but the bore looks "okay". I even found a spare nipple in the patchbox, but no bullet puller - it's gone. The trigger works, hammer and springs still look good - hell there was still grease in there!

I'm not certain if the breech-plug comes off or not. There's no conventional place to put a proper wrench per se, but the plug, if there is one, has a block which is attached to the backstrap. I hit it with PB Blaster and will see if it comes off tomorrow or Sunday. I pulled the nipple and the spark hole looks bright and shiny. I hit the barrel and trigger/hammer works with some Shooters Choice and 0000 steel wool - the finish is really iffy - no bare metal, but some dark spots - no pitting. I'm wondering if that Birchwood Cold Blue Kit we sell at Dicks would be worth the investment - thoughts?

I polished the brass barrel bands, stock end, trigger guard, patchbox and buttplate with some imitation Brasso and I'll be damned - it looks pretty good! The buttplate has some pitting, but all the rest of the brass is decent. The stock has some dings, burn marks near the nipple and scratches, but looks nice as well. I may just pull this project off!

Spending time with that rifle led my memories back to what was both a difficult, yet rewarding time in my childhood. When my father left that Zouave behind, I took it from the closet where he left it and it became mine. I was actually happy he was gone, but sad for the situation. My dad never was one of those traditional fathers - no ball in the back yard, no hunting trips or father-son picnics. He was pretty much absentee - even when he was there. The Zouave served both as an "F-you" to him and also, as a piece to what could have been. It was and is another link to my love of firearms. At 16, I was wandering the woods of Northeast Ohio - the Zouave in hand, hunting whitetails. My memories drift to setting up targets on an old fallen birch tree - the roar of the .58 stung my shoulder, bottles and cans disappeared into the brush, as the smell of powder drifted in the air of a cool Ohio afternoon. I remember taking my first solo deer with that gun - a young spike buck at about 25-yards. Dragging him back to my yard was quite a feat - I used the sling and the rifle twisted one turn around his neck to drag him and thankfully, my neighbor showed me how to clean him. I'll never forget the look on my mother's face when she pulled into the driveway and saw the draining deer hanging from the maple tree.....She never did eat any of it, but did cook it and made one hell of a mince meat pie...

Time for bed....

 

[Big Daddy 45acp]

Glad to help!

I would not advise pulling or attempting to pull the breech plug unless you are 1000% certain you can do it correctly. It is not necessary except in rare situations. I only mentioned it because I am unfamiliar with this particular rifle.

As far as bluing, I would try Blue Wonder. I have some, but haven't tried it yet.
Reports from folks I know say it is better than any cold bluing out there.

I have an old CVA .44 Navy waiting to get done over. Built it when I was 17 and kept it loaded under the cash register of the old Mobil station I worked at during my brief college career.

When you get the Zouave finished, how about some pics?

 

[m44]

Congrats on the gun, sounds like a really nice one.

 

[jhrosier]

I wouldn't agonize over the external finish.
If it was an original, you would be happy if it had 10% of the original finish.
A few "character" marks will make it look more authentic.

60 - 70 grs ffg under a minie should be a good place to start loading.
Check the Lee website for minie ball moulds.
They make a decent mould for short money.
The captive baseplug makes the mould easy to use.

good luck,

Jack

 

[USMA-82]

Good suggestions so far.

Personally, I would not try to re-blue. Originality and value will drop in one swipe!

Go out and shoot that sucker! Bore will improve with each shot if you follow-up with a good cleaning.

Now you've got me psyched about bringing my Snider-Enfield to the Pumpkin shoot....

 

[MassMark]

Thanks guys - will leave the breech-plug alone and hold off on the refinish. Thanks too for the loading tips. You guys rule. MidwayUSA is all out of the molds, so I'll check out Lee Directly. Dixie has some pre-cast minie balls, so I may bite the bullet so to speak and order a batch for the shoot until I can get to melting lead again. I have some 505's that I cast many moons ago somewhere in my own vortex, along with some caps. Going to try and search for them this week. The sling is absolutely gone - beyond hope. I ripped it just unbuckling it.

When I was 16, (way before internet ), I had no idea how to load it. All I did remember was my dad using Crisco on some paper-towel patches to make noise in the back yard, so I had that in the bag...hehehe. I had a bike back then, so I slung it across my back and rode down to Williams Gun Shop where he showed me how to load it, sold me some powder and caps, (yes, life was better back then) and let me pop a round out his back door into an old trash can... Right or wrong, he had me shooting two pours, (90-grains) behind a 505-gr minie ball - that sucker was a monster... I have the old powder flask, but the seam is gone, so it leaks. I have no clue as to how to fix it, so I'm picking up a measure today and some 20ga brushes at Dicks. I'm bummed that the sniper sight is gone, but may pick another one up at Dixie when cash-flow allows - that sight ruled. The last deer I shot with it was my miracle shot. I led him with that sniper sight, pulled the trigger just as his nose caught up with it and hit him square behind his shoulder. He nosed into the ground and skidded to a stop - it was like a lightning bolt. I have long since stopped hunting, but memories like that make me miss it...

Sorry for all the ramblings fellas and thanks again - I guess I needed something to get excited about and this is it...

 

[MassMark]

Well, I got home from Dicks Sporting Goods tonight packing some cleaning supplies: 20ga brush, mop and some patches. I went to work scrubbing out the bore and it looks pretty damned good I must say. I took 0000 steel wool to the barrel and it smoothed out nicely - some minor pitting here and there - the rear sight looks kind of rough, but not too shabby. I decided not to refinish it - hell, it looks like an antique for sure now, so I started to put it back together and ran into a big snag. The charge hole is filled with a hardened epoxy-like blockage. It's tough as nails and I tried to pick it clean with a small jewelers screwdriver, but it's hard as a rock, (perhaps remnants of a powder charge my father left on deck?). Not sure what to do now, so I filled the charge hole with some Hoppes 9, reinstalled the also plugged nipple and poured some down the barrel in the hopes of softening it up enough to scrape out of there. Just when I was hoping to take this to the range tomorrow - road block - or rather hole block...Any ideas?

 

[Big Daddy 45acp]

You can try a drill bit, slightly undersized for the hole, and try to drill through the blockage using your fingers only.

If you are a bit of a McGyver, you could epoxy the drill bit into an old screw driver handle and now you have a custom built reamer.

If you are daring, a slight undersized punch and light tapping may break through the blockage.

All else fails, try heat. Don't make it cherry red, but judicious use of a propane torch may loosen the blockage.

Hell, you may even be able to blow it out with a few caps. Put a percussion cap on the nipple, and let the neighbor you don't like "check out the trigger pull". Several times if necessary.

 

[MassMark]

Thanks BD - we'll get this beast up and running yet! Love the neighbor suggestion...
I'm wondering is my small Sadlak drill bit might get this moving...Great idea! +1

 

[MassMark]

Well, I got it done! For as completely rusty as it was, it came out pretty damned good! I got the charge hole cleaned out with a mini-torch, scrubbed the bore one more time, mopped it out, lost the mop for a few hours down the bore, (disconnected - what a bitch that was). I put five 565gr rifled minie balls through it today - what a beast! It's coming to the Pumpkin Shoot, so get your shoulder ready... EDIT: Sorry, Photobucket links didn't rotate em...Oh well...

 

[Big Daddy 45acp]

Can I adopt you? From the looks of that beast, you listen better than my kid!

 

[MassMark]

Can I adopt you? From the looks of that beast, you listen better than my kid!

LOL..Heck yeah - if you want a 43-year old son, I'll even mow the yard...

Thanks for the tips - I used a mini-torch and my Sadlak bit, coupled with a mini screwdriver and got the gunk out. Blasted a few caps and when I heard the gas in the barrel, I poured a cap full of FFg down the barrel and barely tamped it - no patch - just loose. I popped a cap on and let it go - little report and a nice plume of smoke - I know I had it licked! Poured 80-grains in the barrel, followed up with a paper-towel patch lubed with Crisco - BOOM! Scared the crap out of the dog, so I headed for the range. I always get nervous shooting it with lead for the first time - especially these 565's. They're like a bus going down the barrel. First shot took the right rod off the target board, (woops). Second one hit just about dead center . All the rest nestled all over a 10" Shoot-n-See. Those 565's go down range like a freight train - man this thing booms...Brings back memories. Finish still looks "dirty", but kind of authentic I guess...Thanks again!

 

[m44]

That looks pretty sweet, great job.

We really need a smiley that drools .