Fox River .50

Length Overall	Barrel Length	Weight	Caliber	Action type	Magazine capacity
40 Inches	24 Inches	7 Pounds	50	S.A. Percussion	1

    The only black powder weapon I own, which I bought out of curiosity as much as anything else. I must say handling this gun gives me a lot of respect for the men who actually went to war against each other with such weapons. The gun is VERY slow to fire, and there are a number of areas where disastrous mistakes may be made. Since the powder charge and bullet are being put in between each shot it is easy to get the charge wrong, put the bullet in wrong, put in more then one bullet, or do any number of other things which will transform the gun into a bomb. Black powder is particularly unforgiving, as it is very fast burning compared to modern smokeless powders. It is pretty obvious why men in those days usually carried several guns and a couple of knives. The value of the bayonet also becomes quite enhanced when using a single shot black powder rifle, and imagining yourself at war with it. This last point has not been lost on today's legislators who, with their deep knowledge and regard for history, have wisely decided to ban the sale of any new rifles with attached bayonet lugs. This is a great relief to me as I would hate to see street gangs emptying their ten round magazines and then charging innocent citizens with their bayonets. Fortunately this oft repeated scene can never happen again.