last fall, an uncle showed up to visit and brought surprises. He had a Traditions 50 cal pistol that wouldn't cock and needed it fixed. I ended up making a flat spring for it. But then he brought in two 58 Zouave repo's and gave them to me. One of them was a cherrished Zouave that I had bought in 1974 in San Antonio to shoot in the Alamo Muzzleloading Gun Club. It was made in Italy and was my first muzzleloading rifle of any sort. I was working for a gunsmith at the time that built 10 RING PRECISION muzzle loading pistols for competetion shooting. The gunsmith, Alex, was watching me shoot it and began telling me to squeeze and quit jerking the trigger so hard. I loaded it and handed it to him to shoot. After a little bit, he turn and looked at me as he jerked the trigger to fire it off. The trigger sucks, he said and so do your sights. So we headed back to his shop and he showed me how to do a trigger job and then silver soldered on better sights. Won a lot of stuff with it with those better sights and a 2 1/2lb trigger versus 22lbs. I had joined the Air Force and wanted my uncle, who hunted, to deer hunt with it since he didn't have a muzzle loader. I gave him everything that I had for it, including two molds. My uncle harvested 19 deer with it but now it just weighted too much and so he wanted to know it I wanted it back. Of course! Then he gave me a second one that he had bought years ago in a pawn shop, it was a newer one and not quite the quality of the first one but still a shooter. Living in a two story log home, I have my old one hanging on the wall just past the fireplace. I just gave a son n law the other one. was totally unexpected and very cool. Every body that comes in the house has to go check it out. gottal love thos old smokepoles
