Funny Muzzle Loading Experiences

[griffiga]

I think most of us have been burning the old charcoal for a lot of years and have had an experience that can be looked back on and laughed at. One such experience happened several years ago while attending a club shoot. First of all, I talked my almost-8-month pregnant wife in to going and camping out. We didn't have a decent tent at the time so I went to K-Mart and bought one they had on sale. It was a fairly large one with separate poles. Once I arrived home I set it up (so I'd know how to do it when we got to the camp site). It was great and she was even a bit excited we were going. Finally arriving at the shoot, I started to set the tent only to realize I'd left the poles home. They were stored in a separate bag. After some creativity with rope I'd borrowed from several other shooters, I had strung the tent up under a tree. It sagged like a 90 year old woman, but at least it was shelter. To this day, I haven't lived it down. But....my bad luck didn't stop there. On the shooting line, I wasn't doing particularly well and got into a good conversation with the guy standing next to me. I was shooting a flinter and he graciously allowed me to stand to the right of him on the end. After loading, I pulled the trigger to some extra heavy recoil. Thinking I'd double powdered the load, I began the reloading process only to find my ramrod was missing. Further scrutiny found that most of it went through the target sideways - the only bullseye I'd scored that day. Sheepishly, I gathered my gear and called it a day. Quite a day!

 

[11th corps]

I mentioned in another thread that I was at the range a couple of weeks ago. I had taken a few shots and started another charge down the barrel then patch and ball. I used a short starter, tapped it down to the muzzle. The starter would not come back out. I pried it up with a screw driver, then used my ram rod. The bullet did not seat all the way down. It then dawned on me the end of the short starter was missing, a brass piece about an inch and a half long. It was jammed down the barrel, probably due to black powder residue. I went ahead and capped the nipple and pulled the trigger. Here is the result.

Bullet strike on the left, the ramrod tip on the right. Never did find it.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Most of the time its the questions asked, such as the classics "is that a real fire?", "Are those real guns?", "Do you really sleep in those tents?", and so many more.

 

[griffiga]

Most of the time its the questions asked, such as the classics "is that a real fire?", "Are those real guns?", "Do you really sleep in those tents?", and so many more.

When our Civil War group would encamp for the public, someone would always ask, looking at our muskets, ”Have you ever killed anyone with it?”I felt like saying, “No, but I’m about to!”

 

[Dale Lilly]

When our Civil War group would encamp for the public, someone would always ask, looking at our muskets, ”Have you ever killed anyone with it?”I felt like saying, “No, but I’m about to!”

"No, but I'm about to." Uh huh!

 

[Greg Blackburn]

When our Civil War group would encamp for the public, someone would always ask, looking at our muskets, ”Have you ever killed anyone with it?”I felt like saying, “No, but I’m about to!”

I would have used the reply I first heard at Fort Knox, "I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you."

 

[tenngun]

How about ‘why did they fight in national parks?”
I was working in a shop selling Western, indian, MM goods. The owner went to Canada and bought a bunch of goods, including a pile of beaver fur.
We also had beaver fur from Arkansas. A women came in and felt the fur and said “ the Canadian fur is a lot thicker.” “ yes ma’am, it gets a lot colder in Canada.’ To get thicker fur I live trap mine and take them home and put them in the freezer for about six weeks before I butcher them.’
‘Wow’ she says ‘ it pays enough extra to cover the feed?’
‘They eat tree bark’ I said, I feed them off my fire wood’

 

[Jaeger]

I think most of us have been burning the old charcoal for a lot of years and have had an experience that can be looked back on and laughed at. One such experience happened several years ago while attending a club shoot. First of all, I talked my almost-8-month pregnant wife in to going and camping out. We didn't have a decent tent at the time so I went to K-Mart and bought one they had on sale. It was a fairly large one with separate poles. Once I arrived home I set it up (so I'd know how to do it when we got to the camp site). It was great and she was even a bit excited we were going. Finally arriving at the shoot, I started to set the tent only to realize I'd left the poles home. They were stored in a separate bag. After some creativity with rope I'd borrowed from several other shooters, I had strung the tent up under a tree. It sagged like a 90 year old woman, but at least it was shelter. To this day, I haven't lived it down. But....my bad luck didn't stop there. On the shooting line, I wasn't doing particularly well and got into a good conversation with the guy standing next to me. I was shooting a flinter and he graciously allowed me to stand to the right of him on the end. After loading, I pulled the trigger to some extra heavy recoil. Thinking I'd double powdered the load, I began the reloading process only to find my ramrod was missing. Further scrutiny found that most of it went through the target sideways - the only bullseye I'd scored that day. Sheepishly, I gathered my gear and called it a day. Quite a day!

Eight months pregnant + I talked her into going camping = you're in trouble before you even started....lol

 

[toot]

I mentioned in another thread that I was at the range a couple of weeks ago. I had taken a few shots and started another charge down the barrel then patch and ball. I used a short starter, tapped it down to the muzzle. The starter would not come back out. I pried it up with a screw driver, then used my ram rod. The bullet did not seat all the way down. It then dawned on me the end of the short starter was missing, a brass piece about an inch and a half long. It was jammed down the barrel, probably due to black powder residue. I went ahead and capped the nipple and pulled the trigger. Here is the result.
View attachment 47352

Bullet strike on the left, the ramrod tip on the right. Never did find it.

I will bet that it Shure did kick? and there goes the URBAN LEGEND that a barrel obstruction will blow the weapon up. as we know that it does most of the time.

 

[toot]

please don't take what I said about URBAN LEGEND to heart. it was said in jest., I as well know that just about 100% of the time that a barrel obstruction will result in either a bulged / ringed or blown barrel. I do know that when a ram rod is shot out of a gun it Shure does kick, and is most times never retrieved.

 

[11th corps]

I will bet that it Shure did kick? and there goes the URBAN LEGEND that a barrel obstruction will blow the weapon up. as we know that it does most of the time.

Laid the rifle on the table, turned my head and pulled the trigger. Thought about this for some time before doing it. My lgs was not open that day, and I didn't know how I was going to get it out myself. So crossing my fingers hoping for the best. Turned out ok. Target shooting so my charge was low. Don't recommend this practice.

 

[Packrat]

Our Civil war group in California was called by the ranger saying that a visitor was upset with our Confederate Battle Flag, (This was over 20 years ago) We removed the Battle Flag and put up the 1st National flag. The Ranger came back and thanked us for putting up a Betsy Ross flag

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Well we were all assembled in formation, beginning the demonstration, and a lady spectator walked right up to the Sjt. Major, interrupting him as he was giving commands, and asked why some of the men were in green coats... it was a portion of the formation where the Loyal American Regiment and Queen's Rangers were standing side by side, and they were next to the German Jaegers, so...,

..., without skipping a beat the Sjt. Major replied, "They are not yet ripe, Madam!"

Or the time when the Native American reenactor asked if I could get hold of a cookin' rabbit, and I showed up at a dog-and-pony-show with a rather large, domestic, cooking rabbit, ready for the spit. So the Native American fellow began cooking it slowly over the fire, and the tourists would ask, and he'd tell them it was "dog". Most would not immediately believe him and he'd then point out the animal had no "wings" but four legs. It wasn't until the event was almost over that one bright fellow leaned over to me and quietly asked where he could get such a large rabbit. I explained they could be ordered from the Amish Market.

LD

 

[Greg Blackburn]

I don't think I've had any "funny muzzleloading experiences." Well maybe two.

Once I got the idea to get rid of some old powder I thought had gotten wet. I wrapped it up very loosely in some toilet tissue and put a match to it in the front yard. Well......nothing was wrong with it! It went up in a flash and with it, all the hair on my calves! I was in shorts and standing much too close.

The one time I got a deer in my sights with my CVA Bobcat, "click-bang" (hang fire). A friend heard it and thought "bet that's Greg."

Biggest problem was my lack of tracking.....had I tracked her I would have gotten her but instead fired behind her....I can be really stupid sometimes.

It was a few more years until I learned to wrap my action up in plastic wrap to seal her from moisture. Might be better had I used black powder instead of Pyrodex.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Early in my shooting days, there was a feller with the nick name "Beaner" who was a dead shot and could see a gnats's eyeball at 25 yards.
Well, at a shoot when matches were closed, a friend of mine, Gordy, (yes I do have friends) came up to me and said let's "get" Beaner in a contest. He loved a challenge! Gordy primed the pump: He goes up to Beaner and said "let us three have a 100 yard shoot off at this here target" (The target was like a sticky note) Beaner says, "yes I am in"! Gordy says, "I will go post the target" and proceeds to the 100 yard target stop. At 100 yards Gordy goes through the motions of placing the sticky note up, but does not. Here is where the fun started. Gordy comes back and we are ready to shoot. Beaner comes up to the line and we ask him if he can see the target. He answers, "NO, but I am going to shoot it!" You had to be there!
Flintlocklar

 

[Rifleman1776]

My story is more of a hunt story with flintlock than gun related. It was 1976 or '77 I was hunting during the ml deer season. This was in a forest about 100 miles south of where I live and I was not very familiar with the area. I was carrying my flint longrifle, charged, primed and half-cocked. I was slipping (walking slowly and quietly) when I saw him. Biggest dang deer I had ever seen. I thought. But he had a funny rump for a whitetail. Big and white, like an elk. Now, my mind was racing.....elk or deer? Thinking "we don't have elk in Arkansas". "Must be a deer but it looks like an elk." I decided to shoot. I had gotten excited and wasn't holding my aim steady. Just then rain began and a big drop came down right on my lock. Still nervous I took the shot and it went off. But, I saw the ball hit a tree trunk right above his back. In a flash he was gone running like an elk. I later learned the state had been restocking elk but had not announced it. I also learned the fine would have been big time if I had killed it. The good news is the lock performed well even when wet.

 

[rafterob]

Every year we have a work party to maintain our woods-walk which goes up a mountain "holler". One year we loaded up a pick-up with our equipment and the work crew, two of which were sitting on the open tailgate. About 10 feet in front of the fence line that separates the farmer's field from the wooded mountain is a drainage ditch about 1 1/2 foot deep. So the driver stops and asks one of us to get out and open/close the gate and I volunteer (I was sitting in the bed of the truck). Well, when he hit that ditch the two guys on the tailgate got launched about 8 feet in the air and everybody-everything in the bed got tossed up about 3 feet. It was hilarious to see and fortunately no major injuries occurred.

 

[ord sgt]

As a living history group, we were asked to set up a display at a colonial village. Each of us put out our trekking kit. Packs, blankets and possibles were set out on display. Each rifle was in full view for the public to see. One anti gun lady walked by our display. Upon viewing the rifle, she became upset that we had working firearms in our possession. We explained that each of us had many hours invested in the building of the flinters. This changed her attitude about our rifles. She was fine with the thought of our rifles being seen as "folk art". That soothed her ruffled feathers.

 

[griffiga]

As a living history group, we were asked to set up a display at a colonial village. Each of us put out our trekking kit. Packs, blankets and possibles were set out on display. Each rifle was in full view for the public to see. One anti gun lady walked by our display. Upon viewing the rifle, she became upset that we had working firearms in our possession. We explained that each of us had many hours invested in the building of the flinters. This changed her attitude about our rifles. She was fine with the thought of our rifles being seen as "folk art". That soothed her ruffled feathers.

I had a friend who I had sold a black powder cartridge gun to that lived in the Netherlands. When I shipped it to him, he gave me very clear instructions as to what I had to put on the customs sheet. I had to call it a " old musket for art purposes." Everything was fine after than - no questions asked. It's funny how non-gun advocates minds work (or should we say, "don't work.")

 

[BigSkyRambler]

Mine is also a hunting story from the earliest days of official muzzleloader deer seasons in Arkansas. It was back in the year of nineteen hundred and seventy two. I was 15 and my friend Les and I talked our folks into letting us go hunt and camp in the Sylamore Creek WMA in northern Arkansas. Les' Dad drove us up and left us. If I'm not mistaken, I believe this was the first year of a "primitive weapon" season and that Sylamore Creek WMA was the only area open for it. In any event, Les managed to crack the barrel of his TC Hawken trying to fire a ball that was stuck halfway down barrel. Any one of the older guys camped around us could have pulled it out, but Les was, ummmm, stubborn. So next morning I was the only one with a working rifle, a fairly inexpensive FIE "Kentucky" rifle. After sitting for several hours on a woodpile by a feedlot, we decided to call it quits. Walking around the pile we walked right into a skunk. In what could only be described as a miracle, I cocked the hammer and fired from the hip just as the skunk was about to get angry. Bullet went right through his head! Now Les being Les, he decided he wanted to make a hat. I kept telling him to leave that skunk alone, but, well... So he just drove his pocket knife into its belly and promptly cut open the scent sac. The stuff went all over Les. Needless to say, we left the skunk there and being it was my tent, my rules, Les slept on the picnic table that night. When my Mom picked us up, she made him leave his clothes and sleeping bag in the garbage and Les wrapped up in MY sleeping bag to protect the seats.