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New Guy vs Black Powder Revolvers

Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 7:01 pm
by Belphe
Hello,

I'm from Coventry and I'm new... I'm 42 years old, not a British national but lived in the UK for the last 16 years. Like many, I have been fascinated with firearms for most of my life. My main interests are the late 19th century black powder revolvers often seen in western movies. Perhaps due to the imminent mid age crisis ;) or maybe simply because I freed up some time, I decided to dive deeper into this hobby. My goal is to join a club, learn all there is to learn about the family of firearms mentioned above, gain a license to own one and finally purchase a Colt Navy or a Le Mat.
Unfortunately, the information I managed to dig out from the internet is very inconsistent and unclear and that's exactly why I'm here. Knowing my plan, could you please help me out and push me in the right direction? I'd like to know what I should do and in what order to fulfil my dream and be abler to legally own and use a black powder revolver in the UK.

I'd be very grateful for your assistance!

Regards
Dariusz

Re: New Guy vs Black Powder Revolvers

Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 9:25 pm
by Individual
You need to join a club complete a probationary period - usually six months - once you have full membership you can apply for a Firearms Licence.

If you are mostly interested in muzzle loading revolvers then try Muzzle Loaders Assocation of Great Britain , here's a link

https://www.mlagb.com/Register/MembershipCategories

Re: New Guy vs Black Powder Revolvers

Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 9:45 pm
by 1066
As above - you will need to join a club who participate in black powder/muzzle loading shooting as no all do. Once you have been accepted as a full member and settled on which direction you would mostly like your shooting to go, you can apply for a Firearms Certificate to give you authority to own, say, a .36 or .44 muzzle loading revolver. You will also need to apply for an explosive license to allow you to keep and purchase black powder.

You could also shoot your revolver with a black powder substitute, such as Pyrodex, in which case you would not need the explosive license.
There are also conversions available that allow some revolvers to be used with ordinary nitro powder.

Muzzle loading pistols are great fun, they can be very accurate and are cheap to run and often not expensive to buy.

Re: New Guy vs Black Powder Revolvers

Posted: Thu May 11, 2023 5:25 am
by dromia
Do not apply for a firearms license!

There is no such thing.

It is a firearms certificate that you need to apply for.

Re: New Guy vs Black Powder Revolvers

Posted: Thu May 11, 2023 8:33 am
by Pinguino
Hi Dariusz,

Welcome to the forum. Yes, black powder firearms are great fun to shoot. I own a Le mat Cavalry. I hope you have a strong wrist as it's a very heavy beast and kicks like a small mule. Not the most accuate revolver out there by any stetch, but will make some nice big holes in your paper target. I'm sure a good muzzle loading club will take you through all you need to learn and help you to achieve your target (no pun intended). The NRA run a black powder course which will teach you safe hnadling of pistol, revolver and rifle -see- https://nra.org.uk/events/nra-black-pow ... -course-2/ .

Whichever route you take I'm sure you'll love it...