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Another Flintlock Gobbler....

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Darkhorse

45 Cal.
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Messages
772
Reaction score
287
Location
Georgia
I shot this bird on the 14th of April 2020 and I'm just now getting around to posting it.

I left the house with plenty of time before daybreak, and there I was just driving in the dark, thinking about the hunt ahead when it ocurred to me I had left my turkey vest at home. I had made about 20 miles of a 25 mile trip but there was nothing to be done but turn around and go back home. So I finally got to my spot a little after 7 AM. I had heard nothing on the walk in so I settled in and got my stuff in order while the woods quieted down.
Over the years I had discovered a spot of higher ground where my calls carried a long way and I have a permanent blind here. Should of killed one here last year but I got impatient and he spotted my gun barrel moving and he was gone.
I have a routine here. First I let out a cluck or two just to see if one is close. Then using a box call that carries a long way I let out a series of yelps. Loud yelps, then I listen. After awhile I do it all over again. So that's what I was doing when I thought I heard a gobble right at the edge of my hearing. A few minutes later I heard it again, clearer, closer, he was coming. At this point I add some long distance yelps with a tube call. So I did and he gobbled right back. For this stage, the middle stage I call it, I use both the box and the tube and it seems to really fire them up. In the final stage I use a slate because I can control the volume better. He circled my hen decoy out of sight and suddenly gobbled to my left, he was close. This had taken an hour and a half.
I couldn't see him but I could hear him. He was gobbling and waiting for the hen to come to him. Now I could see him about 70 yards away strutting in a small area until finally he came on in. Over half an hour had gone by now when he went into a full strut and stayed that way. He looked huge. My target is the wing butt with this .40 caliber and I don't like to shoot one in full strut if I can help it. He came to the hen then made a circle around the decoy still in full strut so I made the best shot I could and he was DRT, and I mean Dead right there.
It was 21 steps to where I shot him.
He weighed 22 pounds with a 9 3/4" beard.

SS850183.jpg
 
I built the rifle about 15 years ago to hunt turkeys with. I spent a lot of time fitting the rifle to myself and it comes up with the sights on target. It is a pleasure to spend a day hunting with.
It has a Lancaster type stock of curly maple. A 38" .40 caliber Colrain "B" profile swamped barrel w/round bottom grooves. A large siler lock that is well tuned and Davis set triggers.
For turkeys I shoot 60 grains of 3fg, followed by a compressable layer of wasp nest to absorb any extra lube. And a .0175 Pillow ticking patch lubed with Canola oil. And a .395 round ball.
I have shot several turkeys with this setup and those .395 balls just zip right through. Never much or any for that matter, ruined meat.
With this load the rifle can and has, shot one hole groups at 50 yards off the bench.
 
Correction!! In re reading my earlier post concerning my .40 caliber flintlock I noticed a glaring mistake!
The barrel is not a Colrain it is a Rice barrel. I called and ordered it from Mr. LC Rice.
I do have a Colrain on another rifle and it is an excellent shooter too.
 
Great story, and a beautiful bird! I think I can speak for all of us in saying we like knowing the details about the rifle and the load, too. That's an interesting idea, putting the wasp nest between the powder and ball.

Thanks for posting!

Notchy Bob
 
The wasp nest. The old timers used both hornets nest and wasp nest on occasion. During preseason testing of the Canola oil as a patch lube I was occasionally getting slow ignition and hangfires. I had observed excess lube squeezed out of the patch so I reasoned perhaps excess lube was wetting my powder charge. But what to do about it?
That's when I remembered the hornets nest being used as wadding. I figured to give it a try so the next practice session I tore some clean wasp nest into small pieces and down on top of my powder charge. The idea was perhaps it would absorb excess lube before it contamidated my powder charge.
So far it's working pretty good.
 
Nice bird and great story. Have taken one turkey with my 40 as well. It's a good caliber for that purpose. Dan.
 
Nice bird.

I was able to get out only 3 days this season. Took the Flintlock smooth bore all 3 times. Heard birds the first day then nothing.
 

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