Horn Plug, tether or no?

[azmntman]

Your going to tell me, you remembered to put it at half cock, you remembered to put the powder in a measure before pouring into the barrel, you remembered to pour the powder in the barrel BEFORE seating he ball or other projectile/s, you remembered to point the muzzle down range before priming the pan or capping the nipple,,,,,, but you can't possibly remember (or build into your muscle memory/routine) to put the plug back in your horn,,, just because it is tied to the horn?

I believe I have forgotten all these at one time or another :redface: :idunno: My problem is that last few years I have been so dang busy with "life" that when I get a chance to go shoot it is a rushed ordeal. Per a previous post theres been too many times I show in the woods without caps, powder, balls (or wrong size) and once all components and no gun! :rotf: I will tether when I get a horn....someday.......

 

[azmntman]

and yes i DO belong in the woods :surrender:

 

[Claude Mathis]

Forgetting to place it back in the horn is just one of those many "dangers" that comes with shooting. I accept the responsibilty.

Do you accept that you are responsible for the guy next to you on the line? Would you walk to the line and turn your muzzle in such a way as to be pointing at other shooters and rationalize it by saying you accept the responsibility?

What "line"? I suggest you do what you need to do for your situation.

 

[MSK]

So do we have evidence that tethers were used in the old days? It seems to be such a simple concept; why wouldn't they have done so?

Smollett

 

[Chilidog]

I tether for the same reason I carry two sets of keys for my vehicle. I've never locked myself out thank God but if it should happen I'm ready. I've never lost my plugs or forgot to replug but really don't want to either. So I tether. Just in case. Because it could happen.
I'm also "cheap" and don't want to replace stuff. Lazy and don't want to have to make another. Plus I'm one who takes care of his stuff and hates it when something comes up missing. Once I placed my Buck folding hunter on the rear bumper of my pick up out in the boonies, rode home and remembered later when reaching for it where I last placed it and after a sense of panic set in, found it waiting there for me. I bought it back in '70 and still have it as well as most of my stuff acquired in the last 67 years. Just the way my boat floats.

 

[crockett]

One more tethering issue. Everyone today drills a hole through the stopper peg and runs the tether (usually a leather thong) through the hole and knots the tag end. Are there original horns where that is done or was some other thing done, such as a much smaller diameter linen thread or cord that was tied around a groove in the peg, etc. ?

 

[MSK]

Crockett: That's a good question. My tether is strong linen thread tied around the groove in the plug, which is a ball that flares into a skirt. The thread is black and can barely be seen.

 

[longcruise]

What line? It amazes me that a shooter with your experience does not comprehend that "the line" is the firing line. If you have ever participated in an organized shooting event, you probably stood at "the line".

What I do for my situation is that I don't shoot alongside other shooters whose horn plugs are dangling free creating an open pathway for a spark to set of your horn bomb.

The other thing I do for my situation is I don't tether the plug so that I won't blow up myself or another shooter standing alongside me on that mysterious "line".

Horns are left unplugged often enough that they have exploded on occasion. If you consider how unlikely it is that a spark is going to find its way into the horn spout and further consider that some have blown, then that should provide an idea of how often shots are fired by shooters with unplugged horns. It is done and horns have blown injuring the shooter and bystanders.

Apparently, with many people, the prospect of losing a plug takes precedence over a clear safety hazard.

 

[bpd303]

When I use my horn, I don't let the plug dangle from the tether. I un-plug with my thumb & index finger, holding the measure in my same hand, pour the powder into the measure then put the plug back in the horn. Thank goodness for opposable thumbs.

 

[longcruise]

When I use my horn, I don't let the plug dangle from the tether. I un-plug with my thumb & index finger, holding the measure in my same hand, pour the powder into the measure then put the plug back in the horn. Thank goodness for opposable thumbs.

I do the same most of the time. And sometimes hold it in my teeth. Either way, one won't proceed very far in the process without replacing it.

Since I have never lost a plug either at a match, range session or in the woods, it's hard to come up with a reason to tether it. I suppose the dreaded day will come when I lose a plug. When it does, I assure you I will improvise one within ten minutes.

 

[Rick Boylan]

Who's to say that holding the plug in your teeth won't someday lead to the plug not being put back in the horn and causing the dreaded explosion from the horn not being sealed?

It sounds like the horn can be left unplugged in either case, be it un tethered or tethered. I believe it all boils down to paying attention when you are loading and not letting things distract you regardless of a tether or not.

I don't see one being any safer than the other in that case.

 

[Claude Mathis]

What line? It amazes me that a shooter with your experience does not comprehend that "the line" is the firing line.

You missed my point. I know what a line is, but a haven't stood at one since I was a kid. I shoot in the back country, not on a "range".

That's why I told you to do what you need to do for your needs (and I'll mind my own business, as well)

 

[azmntman]

I guess I'm lucky (i think? :hmm: ) I have never shot at a range, all shooting in the woods or a cinder pit here and there. I'd say Claude and I are both lucky!

When I get my horn and fergit to tether n blow myself up I will be he only one hurt (my dog don't like gun fire much unless were hunting and he sits in the back seat)

 

[Brokennock]

I'm not arguing that an unplugged horn isn't a safety concern. But it seems completely rediculous to me that having one's plug tethered to the horn would cause an otherwise conscientious shooter to loose his/her ability to replace the plug upon pouring the powder.

Admittedly the plug I lost was to a cheap import horn like what one can get from Cabelas. The plug in my new horn fits so tight I'm almost afraid my teeth will come out before the plug.

Sorry if I seem a might perturbed with the safety argument, it just seems silly to me. I was expecting the nontethered camp to mostly be about documentation and PC/hc arguments. I would be interested in said documentation, either for or against a tether.

 

[Claude Mathis]

Sorry if I seem a might perturbed with the safety argument, it just seems silly to me. I was expecting the nontethered camp to mostly be about documentation and PC/hc arguments. I would be interested in said documentation, either for or against a tether.

Documentation for an accident caused by a tethered plug would be pertenent as well. Just to put things in perspective.

26 people were killed by lightening last year alone (USA). Even though those cases were an act of God (some could have been avoided), I wonder how that compares to black powder explosions while shooting?

 

[Billnpatti]

Man, all I can say is that for such a simple subject and such a simple question, this string seems to have no end.

To tether, or not to tether: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous arguments,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by doing as ye will end them?

My apologies to Shakespeare for my sacrilege.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Man, all I can say is that for such a simple subject and such a simple question, this string seems to have no end.

That seems to be common with the simplest of issues.
A signature I often use, my own creation: "Folks is funny critters". Seems to fit here. :surrender:

 

[Brokennock]

I was thinking almost the same thing. I'd like to see reports on powder horn explosions and compare how many were tethered and how many not.

Not that it ever really entered my mind when I posted the original question.

 

[Brokennock]

This occurred to me he other day. I thought I'd get a couple replays about what folks do, maybe some period documentation/examples about it,and then it would fizzle.

 

[bpd303]

Just to throw a fly into the ointment, my horn spout and plug (with rubber oring) are brass (gasp). Pretty hard on the teeth. :stir: