Reflections........

[ebiggs1]

It’s coming up on three years of my thrust into the world of flintlock shooting. It is also the start of a new year when people think of these things. Just what have I, we, learned in that time and moving forward. Here are some of mine, feel free to add yours or comment on these.
First and probably most important is; flintlocks are simple tools designed by simple people. There seems to be a need to make them more than they are.
I live where I can go out in the backyard and shoot 20 to 30 times whenever I please. For the first year or so I did just that almost every day. Didn't make it quite every day for some reason or other this past year. Which leads me to my second thought, black powder, which when I got my first 25 lb supply looked as it were a lifetime supply, is difficult, or at least inconvenient to obtain. Alas, the real thing is the only thing.
My most eye-opening truism is 35 years of cabinet making does not migrate well into gun making. I will, gracefully, leave this to the more talented gun makers than I.
Now and over thirty rifles later, from four manufacturers and two custom builders, leads me to believe folks build a certain allegiance to them and it clouds there ability to be objective.
There it is, so what say you?


One thing for sure this is a wonderful forum to discuss our craft with like-minded people that share similar beliefs. Thanx to all from me!

 

[Mike Brooks]

One thing for sure this is a wonderful forum to discuss our craft with like-minded people that share similar beliefs. Thanx to all from me!

Used to be a helluva lot differnt board before you and Hanshi destroyed the character of the board....just my opinion of course... :wink:

 

[gizamo]

One thing for sure this is a wonderful forum to discuss our craft with like-minded people that share similar beliefs. Thanx to all from me!

Used to be a helluva lot differnt board before you and Hanshi destroyed the character of the board....just my opinion of course... :wink:

Wow,.... Did not see that coming.

 

[hanshi]

Ebiggs, like you I use to live where I could walk out in my backyard and shoot anytime; I still miss it. You're also right about MLs being simple instruments. They work and they work right without any complicated doodads. They're certainly my passion, too.

I think you and I must be doing something right. You can measure a man by who his enemies are; so that makes us important around the council fires, my friend. Whatever happened to folks simply making nice? Kinda funny but I've known men who, if you tell them their wife is ugly, will punch you on the shoulder and laugh. Tell them their dog is ugly and they will punch you in the mouth and not laugh at all. Tell them their GUN is ugly and they'll gladly show you how well it shoots! I love the smell of outrage in the morning.

 

[hanshi]

This is what make this forum (in particular though not alone) so much fun, gizamo. You never know what you'll read next.

 

[Danbo]

Still shooting around the house and in adjoining woods when the mood strikes, but only with rimfires, albeit shorts, the first truly successful cartridge so far as I know.

I'm of a different mind about muzzle loaders so far as complexity. As first blush they are simple, but to me they are delightfully complex if one is inclined to pursue the minor points that in aggregate make them shoot well. I am far less impressed with the techniques used to manufacture modern arms than those used by those of old. An example of that rests in my locker and sometimes on the bench, a 1876 .38 caliber P.A.Reinhard picket rifle which is still remarkably accurate and made in a time when precision measuring devices were not commonly available. The 7 lands and grooves are concentric to the exterior of the barrel to a degree that leaves me scratching my head. +/- .001 for the lands and +/-.0015 for the grooves.

H.V.Perry's rifles are even more astounding in many ways.

Anyway, muzzle loaders are interesting in many ways and I have no particular fidelity to flint or percussion except that I prefer to hunt with the flinter. Mostly because it is light and nimble. It adds a new slope on the shooting learning curve and has done more to enhance my offhand shooting than anything I've ever done in the past. Fella told me not too long ago that having a slug rifle was like having 25 wives...he's right of course, but so far they are making me smile.

Dan

 

[nkbj]

Well Danbo, that sounds like one of the most interesting shooting sticks I've heard about in a while. What does it like?

 

[Stumpkiller]

First and probably most important is; flintlocks are simple tools designed by simple people.

I don't think the simple people designed them. Flintlocks, when developed, were the leading edge technology. They were develped in the same era as the chronometer - an astoundingly complex and difficult thing to design.

Later (much later) simple folks were able to repair, reverse engineer or copy designs in relatively crude workshops.

 

[ebiggs1]

First and probably most important is; flintlocks are simple tools designed by simple people.

I don't think the simple people designed them. Flintlocks, when developed, were the leading edge technology. They were develped in the same era as the chronometer - an astoundingly complex and difficult thing to design.

Later (much later) simple folks were able to repair, reverse engineer or copy designs in relatively crude workshops.

Point well made Mr. Stumpkiller.

 

[ebiggs1]

One thing for sure this is a wonderful forum to discuss our craft with like-minded people that share similar beliefs. Thanx to all from me!

Used to be a helluva lot differnt board before you and Hanshi destroyed the character of the board....just my opinion of course... :wink:

Mr. Brooks that is what the "Ignore" button is for.

 

[hoochiepapa]

I never had the opportunity to shoot out my backdoor, but I have the Rocky Mountains.
I have not shot a flintlock, my rifles are percussion. But I get the same feeling deep inside when I handle one of these rifles, flint or percussion, the feeling of awe.
They were first handmade-everything-and were feared by the enemies that would enslave us. They were extremely accurate, and were carried by their owners like they were a part of their bodies.
Maybe I'm naive, but I believe the stories of their long range accuracy.
I was given the honor of fondling a Jacob Dickert rifle, and I couldn't believe the feeling of pride I got knowing I'm an American, from a long line of patriots and warriors. The same line that made up the heros of our Revolution.
My ancestor, William Harrelson, was a long hunter in the Carolina country around 1750. And when I pick up a rifle I feel like maybe, just maybe, I have a drop of his blood in my veins.
So I am grateful for what I have learned from all of you, the H/C P/C crowd, the gunsmiths and makers, the craftsmen, all of you.
I am a late learner, just having discovered the thrill of owning and shooting holy black. And I want to continue learning from you, because there is so much.
Thank You. :bow:
Mike

 

[Coot]

Good post, Mike. There is a lot to be learned here on the Forum. A wealth of knowledge and years of experience are shared for free.

The following is not addressed to you individually but to all and is based on reading & reflecting on several recent threads and not specifically this one:

I would like to suggest to all that a tad less testiness would improve the Forum experience for all.

Some are only interested in hunting, others just in punching paper, and a group is mostly serious about their reenacting. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these approaches to BP shooting. For many of us there is no single area of interest and reading all the various takes on an issue is an education and perhaps an eye opener. When someone posts a somewhat general question such as what people think about a gun or related product, we have no way of knowing if they are more focused on hunting deer vs rabbit, F&I or fur trade reenacting or local club sidelock matches or are trying to get into everything at once. Giving honest information relating to ANY of these aspects is a valid response and likely of interest to other readers of the thread even if not exactly what the original poster was trying to ask. Sometimes it is necessary to ask general questions before being able to delve into specifics. Posts that try to put down another forum member's input with comments about how the information does not apply to you or that you could care less about anything other than your pet interest are inflammatory and inhibit the open exchange of information that is what I think that this forum is all about. Inaccurate information is fair game for corrections but personal preferences are just that & should be both expressed and accepted as such. Yes, we all have opinions - but when someone posts about a gun that 'Dirty Dan the Antiques Man' said "could have been carried by Daniel Boone himself" & Wallace Gussler says it is a 1970s Spanish repro badly aged, I am prepared to say that some opinions carry more weight than others.

 

[nc_cooter]

ebiggs,first I want to thank you for the help you gave concerning my lock problems on the used GPR I bought. The TC cock solved the problem.
Second, I apologies for using your reflections topic for my last post on this forum. I joined this forum about a year ago with great expectations for my new interest in ML. I expected an open discussion and exchange of ideas concerning all facets of the sport. Not!
The owner of this forum has pointed out that all levels of participations are welcome and that the HC/PC discussions should be in the Reenacting area. Lots of rules and guidelines that are selectively enforced. Personal attacks are allowed as is denigration of ones equipment and ideas. I am not an expert on anything. The only knowledge I have is in my hobby of making hand forged knives. I don't say much about that either since I can't post pics of my work even in an explanation. You see, I sell my knives and am classified as a vendor. Read the rules. I did.


"I prefer things on this board the way they used to be, there was alot of very good information freely given by some of the most studied authorities on the subject. But, they have all been run off now. I gotta say, I rarely post these days as most of the subject matter is incredibly boring and geared towards beginers..... "
This statement was not refuted by the moderators or the owner and has been made or encouraged by more than one of the elite.
So i am going to do my part to set things right. This beginner is gone. :surrender:
Mike

 

[Trench]

I've come across some people that just rubbed me the wrong way with their rudeness, so I used the ignore option below their profile picture. I don't see why a few rotten apples would get under your skin and chase you away from a resource like this. Those type of people exist in any group or organization you might find out in the real world. In the real world you just "ignore" them.

 

[Shine]

I just put my index finger and thumb on their avatar, and make belive im squeezing their head. :grin:

 

[nkbj]

I've come across some people that just rubbed me the wrong way with their rudeness, so I used the ignore option below their profile picture. I don't see why a few rotten apples would get under your skin and chase you away from a resource like this. Those type of people exist in any group or organization you might find out in the real world. In the real world you just "ignore" them.

Ignore ad homenim attacks? Nay good sir, mirth is a precious commodity in dreary times!

 

[msuspartan]

I agree with you on the complexity of a flintlock AND a percussion lock. I am a mechanical engineer and to have developed a matchlock is a marvel of technology and innovation, especially when someone like Da Vinci and Gallileo were branded heretics. (both had developed/designed a lock themselves). Even though that is for a military purpose, it still boggles the mind.

Cheers, DonK

 

[Danbo]

Half inch lead and a barrel of black it seems! :haha:

By the by, family lore has it that the first gunsmith in the Colonies titled by the King hisself was part of my family tree. Name was Byrum but you might see different spellings. So I'm probably biased, don't pay any attention to me. :yakyak:

 

[msuspartan]

THAT is a beast of a rifle!!!! WOW!!!! :bow:

As to lore, it is hard for us Americans sometimes to get accurate lineages. My Mom has been working on ours for years and we are from eastern North Carolina. We are supposedly linked to Merriwether(?) Lewis, hence my Grandmothers maiden name. But the records are scetchy at times. Oh well, nice to have celebrities in the family anyways! :idunno:

Cheers, Don

 

[matt denison]

This thread has taken some strange twists. I'm sooo confused.. :idunno:

Have you all been drinking?

I started out reflecting along with EBIGS, then thought I'd see a world class arguement with Brooks, then it all switched to a target rifle and discussiions of the comlexity of flint and percussion ignitions.

I think I'll head over to the Gunbuilders Bench where I belong.