What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

Smokin' Joe said:

I'm working on restoring a East India Co. Brown Bess, Harpers Ferry 1817 Artillery/Cadet Musket, and tenetively identifying a 4th Virginia Manufactory cannon.

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These original locks are utterly brilliant have two of them on guns I have made Happy Xmas from
London

Getting my Christmas present to myself ready to run. After many years of searching I finally found a Parker Hale Volunteer I could afford. Got some bullets cast and paper patched, wads punched out, caps made, and powder pressed and granulated. Now all I need is a day with nice weather to get to the range and see what it will do. Woot Woot!

Couple weeks ago went to the Laurel MS gun show and nothing of interest to me anyway. But, I kept circling back to this one table where the old boy had a T/C New Englander 50cal laying. I could see the bore was rusted beyond any layman cleaning and most of the outside metal was rusted up also. Hey I needed a winter project. Picked it up for 125.00 which was more than I thought it worth in that condition. Well found a new (old) barrel at Track of the Wolf. It was brand new and unfired though not listed as such. I made sure to call the guys there and thank them profusely. Anyway got the rust cleaned of the other metal parts and reblued in a manner to look like pewter including the metal butt pad. Going to send the rusted barrel off to Hoyt in the spring to bore it out, maybe for shotgun? Put the first coat of truoil on the stripped and sanded stock today. And thats what grabbed me about this gun to begin with was the striped piece of wood this simple rifle had on it.
serial number points to mid 90's. Sounds like everybody's got a winter project. Deer seasons good til Feb where I live and Maybe I'll actually get one to celebrate my 75th birthday

It’s so nice to meet so many people around 75 me. oh I am 78. I love rusty guns ,nobody wants them at auction, but with a bit of work over the winter months you have a little or even big gem by the spring. Last year was a 12bore/ .622. percussion cape rifle now almost mint, this year it’s turning the remains of a Bess into a .6 long rifle A very happy Xmas from nr London

Powder coated some Real Boolets for my kodiak .58

Went squirrel hunting and found a huge hollow stump!

Neat photo

Hangfire last night - missed a deer standing broadside. Rain & wind cut hunt short. Cleaned rifle, tried to find new flint. Turned flint over, bench fired four shots. First two were fast, good. Flint chipped, not sparking well at all. Last two shots finally went off.

Ordering new flints tomorrow as none on hand fit properly.

Started a new build today, and got the barrel in. It was a kit bought years ago from Pecatonica River, and luckily I landed on it.

did some fine tuning on the stock of the blunderbuss kit gun I bought

dug out my shot, powder, caps, ramrods and possibles bag....looked at the outside thermometer and it said 18F out there. Nope. Not doing it. To damn cold.

Shot my in-lines.

Got new fiber optics sighted on at 50 yards with Electra .50…. Rainday gun

Then getting Encore dialed in. Giving up on pellet powder. Tomorrow is Loose Powder. Needs different rings also. It’s My Long range rifle for fields.

Tomorrow is .58 Double day! See how it does at 75 yards with PRB’s, Also with The Real boolets and Crisco.

I sewed on the antler suspender buttons andy52 supplied with my buckskin pants...lost some weight since ordering them due to a recent diet change so now I don't have to cinch them as tight at the gusset....

I lost a pewter button on my period fall front trousers. I got a replacement so I'm sewing that on today.
Ohio Rusty ><>

Finished a new Posible's bag it is my first attempt did a good job I learned a lot about leather craft it is very time consuming

Sold a Encore Super modern muzzleloader to a fellow member.

Now on the look for a nice Older flint. Maybe a Jager or Something like that.

Old school bug bit me

Fired 30 or so balls using the Patriot that I bought from Idaho Lewis. Man that thing shot good. I need to work on transitioning from the front trigger to the rear trigger. I sent a few shots away well before I was ready.

continued the browning process on the barrel of my cva mountain rifle.
stripped the plastic coating off my TC Hawken Flinter. what a chore.
got about one third done and thought about my heat gun. that plastic coating almost came in a sheet with heat applied.
now to put a good oil finish on it.

Lock, barrel, and small parts taken out of the oil bath and assembled this morning. I still have to finish the ramrod.

Seriously, beautiful

Yet I don’t recall Jeromiah Johnson’s rifle being that purdy… haha

Cut up an old tee shirt into patches.