Zouave Rifle

[Alstep]

I have a chance to buy a Zouave muzzle loader. It is marked "Antoino Zoli & C. Cardone VT 58 Caliber Made in Italy FARA". It is in nice condition, clean bore, 3 grove rifling, no rust, nice petina on the brass fittings, a few minor scratches on the wood, nothing serious. Looks to be a well taken care of rifle. I know next to nothing about muzzle loaders, thought it would be a fun gun to shoot & something different. Would appreciate your thoughts, both pro & con. What would be a fair price??? Thanks for your comments.

[BPJONES]

Where I am these guns sell for between $300.00 and $400.00 depending on condition. Prices could be different where you are.
Does it have a bayonet lug or is it a carbine?

[Alstep]

It has the bayonet lug, 33 inch barrel, 2 brass barrel bands.

[Sharpsman]

Save ya money!

[BPJONES]

You have to be careful if your intent is to participate in civil war reenactments as often the Zouave rifle isn't allowed as it saw little use, if any, during the civil war. Otherwise, if you aren't into civil war reenacting, I don't think they are a bad rifle and wouldn't pass it up if price and condition were right.

[bob208]

the zoli is the best one to get they have the best barrel. a nice one for under 350 is a steel.

[59sharps]

I have a chance to buy a Zouave muzzle loader. It is marked "Antoino Zoli & C. Cardone VT 58 Caliber Made in Italy FARA". It is in nice condition, clean bore, 3 grove rifling, no rust, nice petina on the brass fittings, a few minor scratches on the wood, nothing serious. Looks to be a well taken care of rifle. I know next to nothing about muzzle loaders, thought it would be a fun gun to shoot & something different. Would appreciate your thoughts, both pro & con. What would be a fair price??? Thanks for your comments.

these are very good shooters. you will not be disappointed
for more help and info check the N-ssa board.
since you are not all that far from Middleown NYy come check out a N-SSA skirmish on Aug 20th -21st. We shoot ind. targets saturday morning. followed by carbine team events, then (possably henry and smoothbore if scheduled). Musket team events are shot Sunday morning.

[Hellgate]

The N/SSA skirmishers use them a lot. The skirmishers are not re-enactors so I don't think that having the exact rifle is as important. If I could attend a skirmish I would. You will learn more about that type of rifle in one day than in a month of reading. I have one (Zoli zouave) plus a Zoli "Buffalo Hunter" and two other 58 cal MLs. Check the N/SSA classifieds (old and current) for prices. $3-400 seems about right. There are several manufacturers of them and Zoli is held in high regard.

[bedbugbilly]

I have had a 'Zouave" for well over fifty years and it has literally thousands of rounds down the barrel. Mine was not a "Zoli" - don't know the make as it is not marked but I bought it about 1964 or so. I used it for N-SSA as well as just plain shooting the heck out of it. The only problem with it was that the bore was on the oversize side - not an issue as I was able to have a mold for it that fit as far as minie balls goes. At the time I bought it in the '60s - they were retailing at $125.00 - mine was used but unfired and I paid a whopping $65.00 for it - but then DuPont was only 75 cents a pound too!

Flash forward a number of years now . . . and I just picked up a Zoli "Zouave" this past winter. One that was made for Navy Arms. Why did I buy another one? Because they are good shooters. I really need to get the barrel on my first one "re-lined" and will send it off to Whitacre at some point to get it done. Where I am - they also bring between $300 - $400 used.

If you can get it at a good price - you'll have a good shooter.

[gnoahhh]

I guess I got a lemon. The one I had wouldn't shoot Miniè balls worth a darn, and that was with several styles and carefully matching bullet/bore diameters. It did shoot patched round balls quite well, but what's the point of that with a rifle of that nature. For Miniè ball shooting I'll stick with Springfields and Enfields, if I ever get back into it. They never let me down.

[Andrew Mason]

I have one of these Antonio Zoli rifles, nice guns, mine shoots really well

also, if anyone is interested, its for sale.

[Alstep]

Thanks to all for your comments. Seller has offered to take it out and shoot it, so we'll go from there. More opinions and advise always welcome.

[bonza]

The Zoli-made Zouaves are the best of the crop, I've had mine since 1999 when I bought it for International Competition & it never let me down. Quite capable of sub-2MOA groups at 100yds/mtrs. I don't shoot mine as often as I once did, but I recently won a three month Rifle-Musket aggregate trophy with it at my local M/L club.