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Originally Posted by bluelake
I would shoot my .45 cal. repro Japanese/Korean matchlock (Koreans started shooting that design after the Japanese invasion at the end of the 16th century) when I would visit my hometown in the States; however, I have that one here in Korea now, as I use it as a show-and-tell item when I give lectures on the subject. I still have a .50 cal. Japanese repro in the States, but don't shoot it much.
I fired my original barrel (shown above) in a test. I loaded it with 50gr black powder, .54 cal. round ball and paper wad. I strapped it to a saw horse and touched it off with a slowmatch attached to a linstock.
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Hi Bluelake. If my memory serves me, those repros were actually made in Japan. I believe the early ones were .45 caliber, and the later ones were .50 caliber. I recently heard that production of the repro is being discontinued. But I haven't yet confirmed this. If that is the case, hold on to both of yours. I never see one of the repros -second hand - offered for sale.
The barrel wall thickness at the breech of my barrel is over 1/4". I going to try to get it to the Shooting Range this weekend (if it ever stops raining here). I have the powder, correct ball size, patching, (mine is now a .54 caliber with the liner) and nitrated match cord. I'll post pictures of targets. Rick.