Doing some reorganizing of photos, I came across those of a buck I killed in 2011, and that got me thinking what a special thing that kind of experience is for me. This picture sort of sums it all up:
A nice buck of the type I like to take, small, young and tender, taken in fair chase after a well-planned hunt, on the ground, where it had a fair chance to see, smell or hear me, not in the trees where it had no defenses. Hunted, not just shot, and that’s the essence of the game, to me. Shot in the heart from a respectable 40 yards with a flintlock smoothbore with only a front sight, on purpose, a quick, humane kill, dead within 30 seconds. I dressed, skinned and butchered the deer myself, in the woods, then finished processing, bagging and freezing it at home. I also cooked and ate every bite of it. It’s said you are what you eat. I’ll settle for that. Self sufficiency is a heady brew for an old man.
The gun is an everyman type, not a fancy, expensive one. It was made by someone who understands shooting, with perfect drop, castoff and weight. A flintlock, which I have spent years trying to master, old technology which I have made my own. Long barrel as is historically correct, no rear sight, also correct, hand-knapped black English flint, HC. The gun was stripped, stained and refinished by me, color of my choosing, which makes it my own, the doing of which taught me many lessons. Having learned to understand, care for and shoot the gun so as to have full confidence in its ability to take a wide variety of game under most conditions is a source of satisfaction for me.
The ramrod is all hickory, made by me, has no brass fittings. The large end swells to nearly fit the bore for ramming, the small has threads carved to fit a coil type worm, HC and functional. Having no attachments means no ability to pull balls, so in the woods I’m doing it like the old boys. Left long by necessity, to provide a grip for ramming and cleaning in lieu of attachments.
The gun was loaded with a pure lead roundball which I cast, in a size which I had found to be the best. Only wadding of cedar bark was used, no modern components at all, both over powder and over the ball. The bark was collected and shredded by me from the woods where the deer was taken, following up an idea I had about historically correct methods of loading smoothbores when shooting both shot and ball in the early days. It is amazing to think that, when shot, the deer was standing about 15 yards from the cedar tree from which I took the bark to wad the shot which killed it.
The gun is lubricated with a mixture of lard and beeswax of my own making, which is just about all that is ever used on the gun, inside and out, and has protected it completely for many years. Any cleaning done in the field is done using flax tow, which is reused for cleaning, or as wadding for the gun, then added to the fire starting kit.
The shot bag, made by me of pigskin, small, simple, lightweight, provides all I need. In the bag a small leather pouch holding the cedar bark. Balls are in another leather pouch inside, made of goatskin with a bamboo spout, made by a friend, Jim Emerson. The spout is from bamboo grown in my yard. A small gourd tip made into a primer is there. Also in the bag are the only tools carried, a blacksmith-made turnscrew and a coil worm.
The powder measure, carved by me from an antler to represent a rattlesnake’s tail, crude folk art and HC. It drops one charge only, one which I have worked out as the best for shooting ball over a long period of trial and error.
Pan brush made of pig bristles, rawhide and iron wire, all HC, designed and put together by me. Vent pick made by me from iron wire. Both are attached to the strap of the shot bag.
The powder horn was purchased, its strap was woven by my friend Chuck, the attachments put together by me. It has been on my shoulder for hundreds of outings.
This assortment of items has been worked out over many years of use, and has served me well. It reflects my personal take on reenacting the early years. I believe this was the tenth deer taken with this gun and basic outfit, to say nothing of all the turkeys, rabbits, squirrels and doves collected. So, this one picture sums up, in a way, my approach to hunting, my goals as a re-enactor seriously attempting to learn what hunting was like for the men of the 18th century. It took many years, a lot of hard work, a lot of research and re-education, and learning a new view of the world to reach this point. It was a very exciting thing to do, with high rewards. Even more exciting is that there is still a lot to learn.
Spence
A nice buck of the type I like to take, small, young and tender, taken in fair chase after a well-planned hunt, on the ground, where it had a fair chance to see, smell or hear me, not in the trees where it had no defenses. Hunted, not just shot, and that’s the essence of the game, to me. Shot in the heart from a respectable 40 yards with a flintlock smoothbore with only a front sight, on purpose, a quick, humane kill, dead within 30 seconds. I dressed, skinned and butchered the deer myself, in the woods, then finished processing, bagging and freezing it at home. I also cooked and ate every bite of it. It’s said you are what you eat. I’ll settle for that. Self sufficiency is a heady brew for an old man.
The gun is an everyman type, not a fancy, expensive one. It was made by someone who understands shooting, with perfect drop, castoff and weight. A flintlock, which I have spent years trying to master, old technology which I have made my own. Long barrel as is historically correct, no rear sight, also correct, hand-knapped black English flint, HC. The gun was stripped, stained and refinished by me, color of my choosing, which makes it my own, the doing of which taught me many lessons. Having learned to understand, care for and shoot the gun so as to have full confidence in its ability to take a wide variety of game under most conditions is a source of satisfaction for me.
The ramrod is all hickory, made by me, has no brass fittings. The large end swells to nearly fit the bore for ramming, the small has threads carved to fit a coil type worm, HC and functional. Having no attachments means no ability to pull balls, so in the woods I’m doing it like the old boys. Left long by necessity, to provide a grip for ramming and cleaning in lieu of attachments.
The gun was loaded with a pure lead roundball which I cast, in a size which I had found to be the best. Only wadding of cedar bark was used, no modern components at all, both over powder and over the ball. The bark was collected and shredded by me from the woods where the deer was taken, following up an idea I had about historically correct methods of loading smoothbores when shooting both shot and ball in the early days. It is amazing to think that, when shot, the deer was standing about 15 yards from the cedar tree from which I took the bark to wad the shot which killed it.
The gun is lubricated with a mixture of lard and beeswax of my own making, which is just about all that is ever used on the gun, inside and out, and has protected it completely for many years. Any cleaning done in the field is done using flax tow, which is reused for cleaning, or as wadding for the gun, then added to the fire starting kit.
The shot bag, made by me of pigskin, small, simple, lightweight, provides all I need. In the bag a small leather pouch holding the cedar bark. Balls are in another leather pouch inside, made of goatskin with a bamboo spout, made by a friend, Jim Emerson. The spout is from bamboo grown in my yard. A small gourd tip made into a primer is there. Also in the bag are the only tools carried, a blacksmith-made turnscrew and a coil worm.
The powder measure, carved by me from an antler to represent a rattlesnake’s tail, crude folk art and HC. It drops one charge only, one which I have worked out as the best for shooting ball over a long period of trial and error.
Pan brush made of pig bristles, rawhide and iron wire, all HC, designed and put together by me. Vent pick made by me from iron wire. Both are attached to the strap of the shot bag.
The powder horn was purchased, its strap was woven by my friend Chuck, the attachments put together by me. It has been on my shoulder for hundreds of outings.
This assortment of items has been worked out over many years of use, and has served me well. It reflects my personal take on reenacting the early years. I believe this was the tenth deer taken with this gun and basic outfit, to say nothing of all the turkeys, rabbits, squirrels and doves collected. So, this one picture sums up, in a way, my approach to hunting, my goals as a re-enactor seriously attempting to learn what hunting was like for the men of the 18th century. It took many years, a lot of hard work, a lot of research and re-education, and learning a new view of the world to reach this point. It was a very exciting thing to do, with high rewards. Even more exciting is that there is still a lot to learn.
Spence
