I was wondering, which is easier to get into black powder with. A rifle or a cap and ball revolver? Kinda want a rifle, but it seems like I can get two nice Uberti's for the price of a decent rifle. Originally wanted a flintlock but found the price for a decent rifle to be a bit cost prohibitive, and it seems like there is a comparatively higher learning curve with a flint. That and I feel like I can find .44 swaged balls easier than i can find a 58 Minnie and for a lot less. Then again it seems like a rifle with one barrel and one "chamber" would be much easier to deal with. Any input would be much appreciated.

starting to consider getting a Uberti SAA, and just loading black powder. Already have a press and stuff, plus it allows me to shoot smokeless when the need arises.

I bought a Traditions cap lock 50 cal. in the EE here for $100 a few months ago, it arrived in excellent condition and intending to resell it elsewhere and make a few bucks.
IT was too tempting as it had all the gear and some bullets that came with it and I decided to buy the powder and caps and shoot it a bit before selling it...




I Has now started on a new addiction, Black Powder shooting.
Back to basics, iron sights, one shot one kill forced slow fire target practice IT"S Great...

I had a remington 1858 .44 Italian made kit gun banging around the house for several years picked up at a garage sale for $10 it was in need of repair,
It is now getting new internals to fix it's issues, had worn hand and cylinder stop arm, awaiting delivery; tomorrow I think???.

and I was also forced to pickup an 1860 Italian "Colt" Confederate army .44 for $110 on Gun Broker. TOO CHeap to say no to.....the Remington and Colt
now have a brace of holsters, ball pouches, cap pouches, ball seaters, a wad cutter, capper, and other accoutramonts needed for going out to my range and going bang for a couple
of hours.

there's several rifles Gunbroker that are selling for under $200 shipped and no FFL needed..one has both 50cal barrel and shotgun barrel for one money..
As mentioned in this forum, and being a New shooter, and a LEARNING Shooter, start with a rifle and move to pistols from there, pistols are a bit more difficult and require a bit more practice in loading and handling..
chef..

still looking, but starting to lean toward the TC firestorm. Seems like the best of two worlds. It's a flintlock, like I really want, and it has a removable breech plug so cleaning should be easier. Anyone actually use one?

I would pass on the Firestorm, myself, and I'll tell you why:

First of all, a removable breech plug is unnecessary, they don't make cleaning easier, they're just one more area that needs to be cleaned, and cleaned obsessively, to avoid corrosion. There is a certain amount of black magic involved in keeping a breech plug in working order, it often involves grease or teflon tape, and the only benefit I can think of is that it makes it easier to pull a charge when you inevitably dry-ball, ie. load a ball without powder under it. Cleaning a gun (or removing a dry-ball) without a breech plug isn't rocket science, I use the vinegar windex on patches and get mine clean with minimal effort. Others advocate hot water dunking, which works too, but I have found it to be overly complicated to achieve the same results I get with windex.

Secondly, a flintlock is a hard way to learn muzzleloading. Unless you've got someone to mentor you in person, on the firing line, it's going to be frustrating to learn. Flinters can be fitful, and their is a lot of hoo-doo magic and witch doctoring involved in getting it to work just right. It's very rewarding to become proficient with a flinter, to be sure, but I am glad I learned on a caplock before I progressed to flinters.