The Stupid Idiot

What we need on the forum page is a place for Idiots, for I are one! They have flintlocks, cap locks, but no place for idiots! Yap I have done the big stupid! I Dry Balled, and I did it when I was with Grey Whiskers! He's not going let me off till I post it, so here it is, I'm a dry baller.:redface: FJ

so you is human! Congrats! (and it's a really big club! :rotf: RC

Well Jack, it's about time you owned up to it. Nuthin wrong with joinin the club. Bsides I didn't want to be the only guy in Winton who's dryballed. :v GW

I've got you beat. I dry balled and shot my rod out of the barrel all in one day. I was new to things then and the squirrels were having a good day distracting me. Killed the squirrel but the rod was in a lot of small pieces.

Hello

you are not alone me 2 :redface:



Standstall

Welcome to the club. I don't know of anyone who has not dryballed at least once. :redface: :grin:

Anyone who says that they never dryballed, either
hasn't been shootin' M/L very long, or they have a slightly defective memory. The last time I did it was in '79, with a little luck and crossed fingers I won't do it today. :haha:

Not me, never done it, never will. Now a couple of times I did shove a patched round ball all the way to the breech with no powder but I was just checking to see if my ramrod was long enough to do it. You never know when information like that will be needed. But a dryball, boy, can't remember any of those. :thumbsup:

Paul

I only dryball once a year, just to keep in practice to help other people pull the ball out of their guns. I wouldn't do it for any other reason. :rotf:

Many Klatch

I will not only admit to having done it at times by mistake, but have done it on purpose! Actually, I think everyone should, just to practice removing them using various methods. I have tried some that failed and also found a couple that work extremely well.
Larry

Congratulations on achieveing this milestone. I saw a guy dryball twice - in a row yet - one time at a local range. Now that was entertainment.

Best thing you can do when you get a new rifle is to go ahead and dry ball, then, using what you carry hunting, pull the ball....Go ahead and break it in!!! :grin:

Now you are a real muzzleloader. :wink:

You have been at it long enough to make the stupid mistakes that the rest of us have. Over thirty years I have managed to dry ball a few times, double charge once and fired a couple of short started balls. The last is real pain because it makes you clean the barrel before you shoot again. Nothing quite gunks up a barrel as shooting a short started ball.

Congratulations. Now you qualify for the next merit badge: shooting your rod. There are fewer of us that have reached that lofty level, so it's something to strive for.

Unfortunately, you've missed the opportunity to earn both a dryball badge and a shot rod badge in one day, like john12865 - now that's a trick! He didn't kill the squirrel like he claimed, however. It died from laughing.

I'd tell you about all the merit badges I've earned over the last 40 years but modesty prevents me from bragging. I'll just add my welcome to the club.

Fat Jack, not to worry...you're just an apprentice...I've dry balled enough at the range to have achieved "Master Class" rank.

The good news is I've noticed a decline in the frequency of my dry-balling over the past few year...BUT...have been quick to replace it with DOUBLE BALLING. And worse, a few weekends ago, I double balled, pulled everything out, then immediately double balled again.

Thank the muzzleloading gods for "witness marks" on ramrods.

:thumbsup:

I've shot caplocks for years and always wondered "how big an idiot does someone have to be to forget to put the powder in the barrel?" Yesterday was my first full flint shooting session, with a gun I'm not even done building yet, and guess what? :redface: Was having some flint problems and triggered it a dozen times, getting many pan flashes, before I stopped and went "oh, you don't think?" Yup, finally got to use that ball puller. DOH!!!

Cooner54 said:

Welcome to the club. I don't know of anyone who has not dryballed at least once. :redface: :grin:

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hello my name is tom since i dont know what the pharase dry ball means :shake: ,then i must have not ever experienced it :bull: glad to meet you mr. cooner :rotf: :rotf: i have been shooting over 30yrs dont know anyone that aint done it :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

not a thing wrong with dryballing, it's that 'double charging' you don't want to make the mistake of doing.

:redface: If you shoot a front stuffer its not if you will ever dryball but when! :hatsoff:
Welcome to the Club

Welcome to the club.

I have done this more times then some people can believe.

Enjoy shooting these things so much or my memory is going to heck or both.

Members at the club where I practice always seem to start up discussions while I am shooting and there I go again.

Sometimes they may indicate that I did forget to put in the powder just to get me started.

Just part of the normall shooting day for me.

Which is why I like quick shots when in the field.