Horn Plug, tether or no?

[Spikebuck]

Tethered to the horn strap.

 

[Stumpkiller]

On my two most used horns one has a tethered plug and the other doesn't.

 

[AZbpBurner]

I fit the first horn I built in the early 70's with a plug carved from the horn tip, which broke after only a dozen years & needs fixing. I drilled the plug for a tether. 2 more horns both have fiddle plug plugs and I was looking for an excuse to tether them, too.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I tether mine. I've had some horns that I didn't tether and eventually lost the stopper. I takes too long to carve another to a good fit.

Takes seconds. A stick and knife, whittle to a taper.

 

[ZUG]

see new post below

 

[ZUG]

TOO FUNNY - Sky, I'm still laughing - not at Brokennock but how Sky said it. I think we all been there at one time or another :grin: . OH and I teather. I dropped a plug after I poured a measure down the barrel and I dropped the rifle trying to get the plug then dropped the ball & patch - it was a mess :cursing: .

 

[crockett]

Do we know for sure tethering is not pc? I never thought about it before.

 

I prefer a brass valve on mine.

What do you prefer, Ford or Chevy? SgtSchutzen says HONDA! :rotf:

 

[FishDFly]

Do we know for sure tethering is not pc? I never thought about it before.

Interesting, would tethering be correct based on the size of a horn, small flat horn carried in a bag or a horn carried on a strap, where it could be pulled out from the horn while moving about?

 

[longcruise]

It's not a question of convenience or inconvenience, nor of PC/HC. It's a safety issue.

Shooters who tether will eventually find themselves standing at the line and pulling the trigger with their plug dangling by it's tether and the spout open waiting for a spark to set off the bomb at the shooters side!

 

[Billnpatti]

I prefer to tether my plug to my horn. When I first started loading from a horn, I did not put a tether on my plug. Then, after loosing a couple of plugs and a hornful of powder, I started tethering my plug. Since I carry my powderhorn on my left side but my bag on my right side, it was necessary to tether my plug to my horn. I just prefer to tether to the horn rather than to the horn strap.

 

[Rick Boylan]

I tether.

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[MSW]

I tether mine, but I like the idea of keeping an extra in the bag... I know you're not supposed to lad up 'junk' in the bag, but it's a tiny bit of wood that could save you an awful lot of hassle!

 

[MSK]

Crockett's question is indeed one worth addressing. It doesn't seem like tethering plug would have been a difficult thing for our forbears to have figured out. Does anyone know if there is evidence that plugs were indeed tethered back in the day?

Smollett

 

[Jaegermeister]

Tether

 

[FishDFly]

Looked in Ned Robert's Book, "The Cap Lock Rifle" and in the 3 pages of photos of the F.E. Dunn Collection of original horns only 3 or so have a tethered plug and the a fair share of the horns do not have a plug in place.

Open to speculation where did the missing plugs go to?

 

[Jimkennedy]

I no longer tether mine, when I did I found my self not putting the plug back in the horn. I was at a rendezvous when some one had a horn blow up. Thank good ness he was not hurt to bad, but it made a lasting impression on me. Its easy to get in a hurry and not think about what we are doing. Just my two cents.

 

[Coot]

Agreed - many original (or at least old) horns at shows and in reference books are missing plugs - in some cases, possibly lost in use & in other cases, possibly people did not bother to keep a simple, roughly whittled & tooth marked plug when the horn was taken out of use & checked to ensure that no powder remained. :idunno:

 

[Ken Cormier]

Tether lost a plug once that did it for me.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Tethered to my horns with just a strand of artificial sinew.