Hello the camp.

[Voyageur]

I've been to this site a few times looking at the threads and trying to get a 'feel' for the forum. I appreciate the seriousness of most of the threads and figure you all might be resolute users of muzzle loaders.

I have been hunting, shooting and making muzzle loaders for many years. Along with this is a love of history and the investigation that goes with it. Almost all of what I read is pre-1840, most is pre-1800 and all of it has to do with the fur trade and logical offshoots.

If you all don't mind I'll get in on the conversations from time to time.

Voyageur

 

Welcome the camp, Voyageur.
Most here are serious about what they do. I think you'll enjoy the Forum. Any input from members is appreciated. Again, welcome.

tuffy

 

[RJR]

Glad to have you with us. You will probably bring information that will benefit us all. Take care, Rick.

 

[Voyageur]

Gracias...I appreciate the welcome.

I'm a dedicated roundball and blackpowder shooter that moves back and forth between percussion and flint. Right now I'm more interested in smoothbore roundball shootin' with flintlocks. Perhaps I'll find kindred souls here. There are not very many on the internet.

 

[RJR]

Musketman, You out there? Voyager wants to talk to some smoothbore shooters. Take care, Rick.

 

[No Powder]

Voyageur
No Powder here, at the present time a smooth bore shooter, or as we like to say rifleing is for wimps.

 

[Voyageur]

Pleased to meet you No Powder...well, that looks like two of us.

You know, I wonder what causes the division wherein a shooter switches to smoothbore? My archery is done with a wood bow and that requires me to get within 25 yards of the game. Perhaps getting that close allows one to dismiss the necessity of 'long range' accuracy.

I guess the closest I've been to deer in the woods is about 6 ft. and about 12 yards for elk. An elk at close range sure looks big.

 

[musketman]

Welcome Voyageur...

I shoot a .75 caliber Brown Bess and I love it.

I have had my bess for a long time and I just can't see myself hunting without it.

There's just something about that massive lock touching off a black powder charge and launching a heeping 3/4 inch round ball.

My first smoothbore was a .69 caliber 3-band musket converted flint to cap lock, (pre-civil war conversion) the lock has 1838 for the date.

What is your favorite musket?

 

[Voyageur]

Salute[url] Musketman...greetings[/url] from Kootenae country.

For many years I've been shootin' a 'transition' rifle, flintlock (Jaeger) to percussion half stock in .54 caliber half the time and the other half, a J. Henry flintlock trade rifle in .54 caliber. My other rifles include a .32 claiber percussion Goulcher squirrel rifle, a .62 caliber Plains rifle and a .45 caliber Leman Trade rifle.

Not too long ago I finally acquired a Northwest Gun in .62 caliber. It is a wonderfully made smoothbore and I appreciate it very much. At the same time I have been putting together a .55 caliber smoothbore in a HBC 'fine' configuration for my own amuzement. Lastly, I have started (inletted the barrel) a .75 caliber smoothbore barrel into a piece of Cherry with the intention of producing a Utility Musket of the type that preceded the Northwest Gun...say late 17th Century.

A lock is always the sticking point and I wanted something a little special. In my 'stash' I came up with an original Brown Bess lock that I picked up in a trade back in the '70s. With this I intend to make my Utility Musket and so have a smoothbore just a little closer to the time period I'm interested in.

I have so many projects and so little time. At present I'm going back through my supplies and consolidating the Siler 'kits' I have acquired over the years. At the same time I'm putting together 4 Siler Mountain Percussion locks for something else I have in mind. I feel like I need to be three of me.

Voyageur

 

[musketman]

quote:Originally posted by Voyageur:
I guess the closest I've been to deer in the woods is about 6 ft.I stepped over a deer once, I was tracking another buck in the snow and I stepped over what I thought was a large snow covered rock.

The buck was holding fast in the spot where it had bedded for the night, that's why it has some snow on it's back...

By brother was following behind me, when I turned to call for him, the buck jumped up just inches away, it scared the pajeebies out of me.

I couldn't even get a shot off, I was so flustered,, but my brother got him when he ran his way. A nice 8-point...

It's a good thing the buck didn't stand up when I strattled it.

I was using the .69 smoothbore at the time, the one that is on my profile picture.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Welcome Voyageur,

New here myself. I shoot a repro. c.1758 Light Infantry fusil 16 bore (a 'carbine' with the relatively short 42" barrel & small .650 ball) as well as a .54 T/C Renegade and a New Englander (.50 rifle & 12 bore shotgun barrels). The N.E. throws a pretty mean round ball with the smooth barrel. My poor man's trade gun.

And also a recurve bow with P.O. cedar arrows.

"Klack-POOM!" The sound of the happy flintlock smoothbore.

 

[Voyageur]

Thankee kindly stumpkiller. Methinks that you may have killed a few 'stumps' with your bow. I've done that myself as nice way to improve a walk in the woods before hunting season.

Without getting too radically 'purist', I have to say that I appreciate your "repro. c.1758 Light Infantry fusil 16 bore (a 'carbine' with the relatively short 42" barrel & small .650 ball)". For me, any attempt at all to replicate the shooting conditions of 200+ years ago is a step in the 'right' direction. I don't think there are too many of us that jumped right into the 'primitive' or '200 year old traditional' firearms. Money is always a controlling factor and a fella just has to be patient sometimes.

Right now I'm in the process of shedding almost all of my cartridge firearms to my sons...but I've no intention of giving up my rifled muzzle loaders since they have their place in the Trade Rifle category. There is no limit to how far 'back' I'm willing to go but I am unwilling to cross the line past caplocks with one exception. I still intend to experiment with the black powder single shot cartridge rifles that I make. These are traditional in design, I use cast bullets and have iron sights only mounted on the rifles.

I, too, 'warm up' each year with a recurve I picked up about 40 years ago. I used Cedar shafts in the past when I made my arrows but now I use Spruce as I found a fella that makes these shafts and they work as well as the Cedar for me. My hunting bow is a 6 ft. longbow made of Yew and I've taken very few deer with it. Deer are not hard to get in the Northwest and it is the Elk that we mostly hunt. Even in that department I've taken less than a dozen...but they were all bulls.

I think I would enjoy hunting deer again if I go to smoothbore only from now on. I only have one smoothbore (a Northwest Gun) and have not even had a chance to try it out at the range. Well we'll see.

Anyway, nice to hear from you.

Voyageur

 

[Stumpkiller]

You're right, Voyageur. The "Stumpkiller" is a bowhunting/roving nickname I picked up awhile back. In the fall I'm all traditional archery, but that ends abruptly on the first day of gun season. When the snow comes it's blackpowder time until the spring thaw. Too hard to find arrows under the snow and I can shoot a gun with gloves on.

For me there's a lot of similarity in 'aiming' a smoothbore without a rear sight and the instinctive style of shooting a bare bow.

My choice to get a good smoothbore had less to do with purity than the much longer small game seasons locally. Heck of a lot easier to clean, too. I can stuff in an ounce of #6 shot and take bunnies and squirrels (or grouse with my New Englander) when deer are denied to my 'punkin balls.' But as soon as I can gather enough scratch together I'm having a flintlock Pennsylvania rifle put together. I've always liked the looks of the Bucks County and Lehigh rifles. Just have to head-shoot them bunnies and squirrels.