i really like the military muskets, anyone else shoot them, i;m in total love with the zouave 58cal. i;m think awesome rifle for game, sure it;s long and has horrible sights and probably bad ignition. but i think it would be really really fun

The Zouave could use a good aperture sight on the rear, and have the open rear sight removed. You could then zero it with a load of a .575 round ball with a heavy charge of BP. (I use 120 grains with the RB in a repro Colt two-band, along with the .575 RB.) This is a real killer on game up to the largest mule deer or whitetail. It would also do well at short ranges on black bear. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the ignition on a well-made Zouave!!

cool, who makes a good one. i;ve been lookin at the one from cabelas and the other day i got to fondle a orignal at the local gun haunt, this was from a private collection so even if it was for sale i doubt i could afford it. now about the peeper in the rear, use a williams and make it fit or do they have ones for it??

thanks man once again your worth a zillion dollars

Some of the repro muskets do have less than the best sights for hunting, but thats easily fixed. My brother has been hunting with a Zouave repro for about thirty years. He has never needed a modern " magnum" . I also have a buddy who shoots 575 rb out of his 1858 remington at over 1700fps very accurately. I shoot a couple of deer every year with my 1803 Harpers ferry too. Nothing short about muskets for hunting if you really want to thump something hard. We typically use balls around here on deer, but if you wanted to shoot an elk or moose I think the minne bullets would get the attention of a bull right now.

A friend of mine uses his parker-hale enfield musketoon, that he competes with at n-ssa shoots, vary accurate, and musketoon is a short carbine. only be cautious when using minie balls, there not as tight a fit as patched round ball, and could work themselves down the barrel, which could be hazardous when fired!!!

Well, the Colt two-band I used was actually made by the Colt BP division. I don' t know if they' re still making rifles (or anything else, for that matter!!)