[82Rigger]

I had the fortune while in one of the firearms forums to chat with an owner of a replica Ferguson.
The info he provided sheds some new light on what we have discussed here.

The replica was manufactured by Narragansett Arms Inc of Indianapolis. It is of high quality and manufacture is accurate to the originals.

The breech screw has multiple fine threads and is lowered into loading position by one complete (360 degree) turn of the trigger guard. Greased ball is placed in the chamber, followed by the powder charge. Powder charging need not be precise since any excess is carried away by raising the breech screw. Breech screw is raised and pan is primed. She's ready to shoot.

Upon firing there is some powder gas leakage at the breech screw, both top and bottom. Loading (and reloading) can be accomplished in about 9 seconds on the average.
Accuracy is about 4 inches at 100 yards, with good accuracy out to 200-250 yards.

After the 3rd shot arises a problem. The breech screw becomes difficult to operate due to build-up of powder fouling. Water poured on the open screw will soften the fouling enough to get off another shot. After the 4th shot the rifle is essentially out of commission until the breech screw is removed and cleaned.

Putting grease on the breech screw doesn't help very much, and too much grease risks contaminating the powder charge.

In my reading on the Ferguson rifle I never saw this problem mentioned.

So, where does that leave us as far as the advantages of this rifle?