another Zoli Zouave question...

[RonT]

have been through the forum and found some tips for getting my 'just this morning aquired' Zoli Zouave to shoot where I'm looking. This rifle was treated badly but I managed to clean it up, somewhat.
Am curious as to vintage, Ser. no. is 90XX.
Without a $500K Bridgeport, or lotsa' luck with a file and hacksaw, would appreciate tips on how to slot the front sight to install a taller blade. (my 61' (Colt) Springfield has this mod.)
Tried to replace the buggered nipple with one for my Springfield....nada..., then discovered a spare in a recess in the patchbox, which allowed me to step out the back door and touch off a .569 ball and patch in front of 45 gr. ffg. Missed a 14" gong at ~35 yds. with a 6:00 hold, hence the front sight mod.
Maybe mic the bore this afternoon and see what I get.
TIA,
R

[Greg Ogdan, 11444]

Ron,
I assume (dangerous) from what you are saying that the rifle still has the as manufactured sights. The front is only half the problem; look at the the wide rear V also. Before you fuss with those, you should try shooting a Minnie. If you can mike, or plug gauge, the bore, try a minnie about .001 to .002 undersize, cast from PURE lead. Your charge is about right. Don't forget to lube your bullet.
You say you're from mid Ohio; there are several Skirmishers around here that may be able to give hands on help. You may want to make contact. You can PM me if you need to.

[RonT]

Thanks Greg,
Yes, still factory sights. Just took in on trade this morning and Winter doldrums drove me to fiddle with this rifle.
The bore mics .577/.584 with my old timey scale Verniers. I have a.580315 Rapine that I made a shorter insert for to get a 400 gr. bullet. That skirt mics .586 out of the mold and after rolling between two steel plates and I can get it to .580. Without a bonafide sizer I'm kinda' stuck with patched round balls. I do have good lead.
My 61' Springfield is set up for comp. and it shoots fairly well.
I'm about 5 miles from the Mansfield show and have gone there since it moved from Ashland, where I made a couple shows. Have an old friend that I see there, but he's a Reb officer of some kind and I try not to stand too close (It's a joke....don't shoot... Green )
R

[Ken Hansgen, 11094]

RonT, Sounds like you need a new mold and a .575 or .576 sizer. Seriously. you really should visit an N-SSA skirmish in your neighborhood and ask questions. KenH

[RonT]

There is a usually a table set up at the living history show in Fremont, Ohio, which is this coming weekend. Figured I could get a start here.
Would still like to know vintage and pedigree of this Zoli to supplement what I've found in the "search" mode in these forums.
R

[Ron/The Old Reb]

Ron

I have a Zoli Zouave serial #34xxx that I bought from the Winchester Sutler in 1985. I was told at the time that it was one of the last ones that Zoli made. This might give you some idea of the vintage of your's.

[mwmoore10261]

All Italian firearms since 1954 have a coded Proof Mark. Look on the Internet under modern black powder proof marks and you should be able to find a code, usually within a rectangular box that corellates to the year the barrel was proofed. I will list a few with the hope your Zoli hits the time frame. 1975-AA, 1976-AB, 1977-AC,1978-AD,1979-AE,1980-AF,1981-AH,1982-AI, 1983- AL,1984-AM,1985-AN,1986-AP,1987,AS,
1988-AT,1989-AU,1990-AZ.
Hope this helps.
Mike Moore,10261

[RonT]

got it... found to be 1968 mfg. A tip of my hat for the help. I really appreciate that.
R

[Ron/The Old Reb]

Ron
My Zoli is stamped with AL so it must have been manufactured in 1984, which would be about right. I do think that it was about one of the last ones. Zoli must have been using there wore out tooling right up till the end. Because the groves were full of chatter marks and there were a number of shadows in the bore. But it shot great, Won a number of medals with it. I shot it for about 20 years and must have shot 9 to 10 thousand round out of it. Before you could not hit a barn from the inside. I had Bobby Hoyt reline it and am still shooting it. Thanks for the info I did not know what the AL stood for.

[RonT]

Ron,
Am curious about your sights, did you modify the front blade? If so, how tall?Other than the test ball mentioned above, I haven't shot this rifle. With the weather scheduled to hit here in a couple hours I most likely won't get out for a week or so.
My 61' Springfield has a replacement tall front sight and so i'll assume that the same addition will be needed on the Zouave. I've seen +~.080 mentioned around the web. Don't want to arbitrarily extend without some idea of how much.
R

[Greg Ogdan, 11444]

Ron,
Taller is always better;you can always make it shorter! If you really want good sights, start by replacing the rear with a blank "L" sight. You can notch or drill a peep as needed, then adjust elevation with a file on the front. Try Miami Valley Sutler for the parts you will need. They're here in Ohio.

[RonT]

Thanks for the tip Greg. Looked for their site but only found address. Been through St. Paris a few (!) times, wife is from Piqua and an old classmate coached at Grahm.
I made the replacement front blade out of Nickle Silver, with enough height to allow for filing to elevation. As soon as I get the nerve I plan on drilling a string of holes, then filing a slot in the base to recieve the new blade. Looks to be ~.080 from the base of the original blade to the barrel.
The cross screw in the rear is another issue. Made a skinny blade to fit the slot but ran out of nerve before it broke loose. It's not staked like my Springfield. You've convinced me that taking the rear out and replacing with the blank is the way to go.
R