Newbie question

[musketman]

I got the smoothbore bug bad. Im like a kid on chrismas eve.

Yep, smoothbores will do that to ya... :haha:

There's nothing quite like the warm feeling you get from unwrapping musket balls on Christmas day either... :haha:

 

[J.M.]

Hi Eats......... thanks for the heads up regarding the shop in Mass, I'm going to give him a call next week. As an observation, I think its funny that there are not more smoothbores seen in our "neck of the woods" since they were very common in the 18th century. I went to an 18th century militia encampment a couple weeks ago, and 99%of the participants had Besses. The other 1% had a Charleville. I was suprised not to see any type of civilian guns in the ranks of the reenactors, and the few guys I spoke with did not know where one might be found in our area. When I told them I wanted a gun to hunt with, they sorta looked at me funny, like it never occurred to them to actually use the gun other than for parades. Daryl, I will check out the St Ettienne to see if that might be suitable. Thanks for the input.

 

[eat moose meat]

I think alot of reanactors especially in more populated parts of the country have never fired a ball out of a musket. I had a friend in pa like that. I do the shoots and rendesvous and hunt. He just did reanactments I talked him into going to the range one day. We loaded that Bess of his with a tight patch and a .715 ball and shot an inch group at 25 yds. Well his jaw dropped in amazement. He did not know what that gun was capable of. I told him I dont know about Pennsylvania but in maine we could not get 100 deer to stand in linear formation long enough so we could hit one. So we just patched that ball ::. I dug out my skeet thrower we did not have wads for his bess so i just used leaves off the nearest tree. He was surprised at just how effective it was as a shotgun. He wants to come visit me up here in maine now that ive moved, to shoot grouse and a black bear. Im happy to have convinced him that,a musket was more than for show and recruited another primitive hunter into the brotherhood. Reanctments are great but i get alot of pleasure in feeding my family the same way that my ancestors did.Maybe we are not a dying breed after all.

 

Way to go - the more, the merrier. History buffs make excellent students in BP & I assume this one will as well.

 

[J.M.]

Hi E.M.M., funny you mention your reenactor friend. I got into a long discussion at the encampment with a militia member. He was very informative, showed me a lot about his Bess and a Charleville, which was interesting to a rookie like me. In the course of the conversation, I asked how accurate the guns were and if he preferred one to the other for shooting. He told me he had never fired a ball out of them! Daryl, the history to these firearms is really intriging to me. I'm starting to think about making some gear, started to make a horn etc. This will be a blast in more way than one.

 

[Bishop]

I too was a reenactor who never live fired his gun. Until I bought a flinter plus accoutrements (sp) and BULLETS from a guy getting out of doing rondys. Since then I have learned: ceiling fans and ramrods dont mix, you better at least spit on that patch before ramming down a fouled barrel, and that I love live firing BP weapons. When you talk about live firing around reenactors half of them think you are crazy. Too bad, somebody might start taking hits at reenactments if they knew what these weapons could do. Now if I can just convince the battery to live fire that 12lb. napoleon... again ::.

 

[eat moose meat]

Its gotta be some kind of crime not to live fire a gun. When i got into this lifestyle about 4 yrs ago i was taken in by the old grey beards. You never stop learning in this hobbie.I have never met a nicer more honest bunch of guys so willing to share knowlege than in this hobby. Watching and learning from them. I realized if i wanted correct equipment i had to make it myself. Just like my ancestors did. After a little practice i realized i was pretty good at it. Dont laugh but my grandad tought me how to sew and repair my own wool socks at camp. No one ever called him a sissy or dared to. I have spent most of my life in the woods hunting and trapping. Being a mik'maq indian I have always felt a connection to my ancestors. I began to realize that hunting with primitive weapons especially smoothbores. Brought me even closer to my heritage. It was almost like a calling. Now I do almost all my hunting with flintocks.Not to brag but i do quite well. The most rewarding is proving to sceptics that flintlocks are effective hunting tools. You just have to use a little smore skill. When you get your smoothie I would love to take out here in maine and blast a few grouse stay in touch keep us posted.

 

[wulf]

a couple years back I wuz at a re-enactment as a scout with a bunch of colonials and British 33rd. During a break I invited them all to come to our range and shoot live ammo. I made all the targets...not bulls eyes, no no no,, all neat and unusual stuff,,,injuns ,gophers , anything i could think of Five matches all different...The day finally arrived and nobody showed up...from either side...That sure took the blast out of my musket...Other members suggested they prefered to march in a gay rights parade...or something else equally exciting...Taught me not to be so helpful,,or at least more selective,,,,but thirty people????

 

[davidthered]

As a newbie myself, AND a re-enactor I can tell you I can't wait until I get my Pedersoli Bess out to a firing range! I think all shooting re-enactors should also do this, as it will not only be a blast ( : but also teach them a bit more about what the heck they're trying to portray!

 

[musketman]

I think all shooting re-enactors should also do this, as it will not only be a blast ( : but also teach them a bit more about what the heck they're trying to portray!

I agree, it goes a little deeper into the history of the weapons they used...

Knowing your weapon is always a good thing...

 

It takes all kinds even in the reenactment world. You got three basic kinds; historians, competitors and party people. There is very little blending between the groups, though the competitors will often sit and have a cool one with you should they know you and not have a rifle in heir hands at the moment. (they tend to be on the safty conscious side). The battle boys will on occasion kick up their heels if it is a scheduled and planned activity and they know who is in charge. (they are very organized and disciplined)

The party people come to get blind running drunk. That is their goal and they do it very well! Some of them own Muzzle loaders, but their real strength lies in their knowledge of how much of one brand it takes to fire them up compared to another cheap or premium brand. They may be missing a ramrod or front site or have a rust problem, but that's no sweat, there's plenty of Captain Morgan (the only officer they recognize).

The historians know everything about everything and will tell you most of it in one sitting. They know their buttons, their fabrics, the cut of their shooting bags and moccs, the sweep of their knife blades and what Herman Blundersplitz had in his pockets on June 5, 1684. They have sone nice guns, rifle and smoothbore, and some of the scouts will know where they hit, but on the average they consider the guns part of the decorations, not working tools.

Oddly, most of the battle people I have met through the years are liberals and have some funny ideas about gun control. There are exceptions, (espically the frontier people) but most never make the connection between the decoration they use for drill and a "real gun". Of course that is one of the same problems that the commanders had with the militia and most of the regular units during any major conflict during the BP era. They didn't realize their muskets were for firing and seemed really suprised when the enemy started throwing chunks of lead their way. American militia were the second fastest soldiers on Earth. (the fastest were the Egyptian tankers driving in reverse during the 6 day war)

The competitors are just that. They go to rondys to see their friends and shoot. Usually they will be historically accurate enough to not get thrown out, but they do not go to events where there is no shooting. Usually they do not stand around pozing for pictures with that far away gaze on their faces, arms resting on the muzzle of the gun, hat pulled low or removed to show the long hair.

The competitors may not know all the history in the world, but they know the range schedule and who the best shooter at the event is before the first round is fired (they are praying he will have a bad day or they are shooting for second place from the start). Competitors' camps can usually be spotted at a distance due to the presence of multiple rifle stands and large boxes of cleaning gear. Newbies can recognize these camps from the markings on the boxes, they have big letters that say GUN STUFF.

As a rule, the competitors do not go to nonshooting events. The battle reenactors go places to fire only blanks (they actually consider this live fire and get mad it they don't get to shoot several rounds off during a battle). The party people usually do not remember if they put the gun in the truck and they stepped on their powder horn at the last party so it don't really matter, never can remember what caliber that thing is!

You'll find an old timer that shoots and knows some history now and then. Occasionally you will run into a frontier scout who knows exactly what charge his powder measure holds and what patching his rifle likes best. Once in a while one of the party people will sober up and do a flint and steel demonstration for the school kids. There is some flow between the groups, but you can usually walk through an event and spot the types.

Often you can label the whole event one way or the other as soon as you walk into camp and look at the range. Historic sites usually do not have a range, they are there to educate folks. The party people have a "spot over there where you can shoot" if you remembered the powder and the gun has a front sight. Competition events will have several ranges laid out for different purposes, safty officers and all the trappings such activities require.

There are exceptions,
others; milage may vary.

 

[TwoShadows]

Excellent overview Ghost! You have covered it very well. I find that as I read your comments that I can put names and faces to many of the descriptions you give. I know those people (as do you)....and you sure hit the proverbial nail on the head. I can just see Mr Curry or Mr Baker preening and practicing the faraway gaze.... I can see a couple of nameless drunkards cruising for a fresh drinking buddy that hasn't run out of booze early.....I can see the hustlers trying to make a buck and telling you aything you care to hear that will sell his particular product. Still, I also see the dedicated shooter/re-enactor/trader that enjoys people and the sport for sheer love of the era and joys of camp and friends. I suppose you and I are somewhat jaded by the lesser qualities of rendezvous...but we keep going for the ocassional gems of wisdom and good friends we have garnered through the years. I still enjoy going to "see the elephant".