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Running While Reloading Flintlocks - a necessary survival technique...

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This was a necessary technique for survival "Back in the Day".....
There is some running while reloading 2 different flintlocks in this one.
Note to myself: I'm getting a little too old for such fun!
Enjoy:


God bless you, I never would have made the first run let alone all that you did!
Now we know why all the people we read about were in their 20's!
 
Mark I know this was for fun. But I hope you put the plug in your horn before you shot. Hot spark could ruin your day. But at the blazing speed you were going I probably missed it....lol
Nope...no time for plugging a horn in this scenario.
When a frontiersman during the 1780's in Kentucky was on the run for his life, loading from the horn, priming the pan from the horn and not worrying about plugging horns was normal procedure.
Thanks for watching....
 
If this challenge begins to feel easy, throw in a try at loading a long barreled flintlock then firing at a small target while still prone behind a log. Was probably also a useful survival skill "back in the day."
 
You reminded me of an old joke. And old bull and young bull see a whole new heard of heifers delivered to the farm. The young bull says “let’s run over and meet some of those girls’
Old Bull says let’s walk and meet over and meet them all
 
Every time some type of silly fad comes along....I take advantage of it....with the use of black powder.
In this case....I tried my best to make one of those silly fidget spinner thingy's spin using a smoke pole.
Like those fellars that cuts a playing card in half displaying it on their hats,
well, I figured why not a fidget spinner??
Below is the proof from one of my early "crude" videos from 6 years ago...Enjoy:


I always figured that the green fidget thing was to relieve nervous energy in case you ran out of BP .
 
If I had to run to survive I would be one dead mutha’ 💀
For me, that would depend on who or what was chasing me.

If it was a bear, it might get me. But if it was my wife when she was in one of her hormone Helga moods chasing me with a butcher knife, I’ve been known to out run cars on the interstate.
 
Cool video Mark! Ive thought about trying this, having read about the early longhunters/indian fighters doing it. We're those guns smoothbores or rifles? Or were the round balls undersized? I could see that seating the ball technique working with smooth bores + undersized balls, but no way would that work in my two rifles unless the ball was way undersized. And I would think either accuracy would be subpar or the rifling would get all leaded up with not having a patch around the ball to engage the rifling.

I tend to think more 1770s pioneers carried smoothbores than we think.
 
Cool video Mark! Ive thought about trying this, having read about the early longhunters/indian fighters doing it. We're those guns smoothbores or rifles? Or were the round balls undersized? I could see that seating the ball technique working with smooth bores + undersized balls, but no way would that work in my two rifles unless the ball was way undersized. And I would think either accuracy would be subpar or the rifling would get all leaded up with not having a patch around the ball to engage the rifling.

I tend to think more 1770s pioneers carried smoothbores than we think.
The 1st rifle was a 50 caliber. I used .480's in that one....the same ball I usually shoot from that gun.
The 2nd gun was a 62 caliber smoothbore. I used a .600 round ball in that one.

Remember...no patching was ever used in a running/reloading situation.
Accuracy didn't matter since most running shooting action would have been fairly close.
All you need to do was simply hit your pursuer.
Thanks for watching....
 
Nope...no time for plugging a horn in this scenario.
When a frontiersman during the 1780's in Kentucky was on the run for his life, loading from the horn, priming the pan from the horn and not worrying about plugging horns was normal procedure.
Thanks for watching....
While the concept was most likely necessary back in the day Mark I have to wonder how many barrels were split from a partially seated ball especially in a fouled rifle barrel. I understand that it would be less likely in a smooth bore than a rifled barrel but I have witnessed a barrel split from a short started patch ball in 12L14 barrel which is still probably stronger than were the seem welded forged barrels of the Golden Age.
Any way I always appreciate your videos and especially your oft mention Salvation through Yeshua !
 
While the concept was most likely necessary back in the day Mark I have to wonder how many barrels were split from a partially seated ball especially in a fouled rifle barrel. I understand that it would be less likely in a smooth bore than a rifled barrel but I have witnessed a barrel split from a short started patch ball in 12L14 barrel which is still probably stronger than were the seem welded forged barrels of the Golden Age.
Any way I always appreciate your videos and especially your oft mention Salvation through Yeshua !
Thanks my friend....I have some VERY unusual shooting videos to post soon..
 

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