Spent patch question

[brew]

Thanks for the tips. I will give them a try.

 

[longfowler]

so, Brew, how was the hunting? did you bring back so game, or another good story? with all these guys' help, you must have that 10 pointer hangin!

 

[brew]

Sorry it took so long for me to respond, but "Once again,I had a great two days in the woods.

The first State Game Land area that I went to was covered in snow but unfortunately due to the rain earlier in the week, it was also covered with a layer of glazed ice. This became apparent as soon as I stepped out of my truck and nealy landed on my frumpert.

The good part was the snow was hard enough to not break through thereby allowing me to walk quietly however the bad past was that I would have been better off hunting in hockey skates rather than mocs.

I did brave the conditions for the first part of the morning by carefully stepping on exposed rocks allowing me to get half way up the mountain only to come to the revelation that getting down may not be as easy as going up. Needles to say, I was right.

I intentionally slid down most of the way on my but rather than attempt to stand on my two feet. With conditions such as these it also became apparent that the deer would be no where near these slick hillsides so it was time to opt for plan B.

Not that I had a plan B, but knowing from my many years of Fly Fishing, often when the conditions are not ideal you need to go find the fish rather than have them find you.

So it was back into the truck to try to find some flatter terrain with some type of available feed for the deer.

While heading further north I noticed several hillside farm fields where deer were feeding on the wind exposed grasses. Ahh Haaa...... Now if I only had a location such as these to hunt I would be all set. Unfortunately being from Vermont and currently hunting in PA, I haven't had many opportunities to scout out new lands let alone ask for permission to hunt.

My only other alternative was to find some flatter terrain such as a river flood plain within an SGL.
With this in mind I found the perfect spot given the conditions. Plenty of flat ground which made walking a heck of a lot easier. Lots of apple trees and exposed grasses as well as old standing corn stalks but most importantly plenty of deer tracks.

Sure enough within an hour of being in the woods I came upon a feeding doe at about 40 yards. It wasn't long before she winded me and split but that sure did get my blood flowing.

As the sun began to set I began working out a game plan for the next mornings hunt. Sure enough that morning I slowly came upon 2 bedded does at about 8am. There wasn't much I could do. They were out at about 75 yards and with the snow being so crunchy there was little chance I could sneak up to within the range of my smoothbore. I did give it the old college try but I new it would be a futile effort.

Later that day I did see three more deer however 2 were quite small and the other was waving its white flag at me as it bounded away.

At this point I had only a few hours of day light left so I figured I would scout a new section of the area. As I walked down an old log road and came around a bend, there, right in the middle of the trail, was a nice doe feeding on some exposed grass. Needless to say I stopped in my tracks to determine my next move.

The deer was out at about 100 yards in the middle of this exposed trail which was about 15 yards wide. This left no chance to sneak up on her while she was standing with such a view of the trail in both directions. There was also no chance of me sneaking up on her through the woods as the snow was far too crunchy. The only chance I had was if she chose to walk towards me.

With this in mind I just sat and waited. About a half hour later she did something that gave me another option. She stepped into what I thought was the edge of the woods which gave me the opportunity to walk up the edge of the trail without her seeing me.

I took this opportunity to move rather quickly towards her and sure enough it worked. I stayed tight to the edge without stepping on the dry crunchy snow and made it to within 40 yards of her when she started to step back out onto the trail.

Wow..... a 40 yard broad side shot without here even knowing I was there. She continued to feed with her head down when she suddenly recognized my silhouette and she stopped in her tracks.
I had ample opportunity to take her but I chose not to squeeze the trigger. My decision to let her live another day was perhaps for a variety of reason which need not be elaborated on as any true sportsman knows its a personal thing.

Was it because it was late in the day and I had a 4 hour ride ahead of me? Was it because I set my goals for a PA buck not a doe? Was it because I already had meat in the freezer from this years Vermont season? Or was it because I thought in the back of my mind that If I didn't take her now I could perhaps get one more opportunity to hunt PA before the season ends?

Regardless of my reasoning, I chose to let her go and head back to the truck in preparations of my long drive.

With all this being said the funny part of it all was that when I attempted do discharge my trade gun by firing into a stump, the gun didn't fire.

My attempts over the past two days to keep the lock and powder dry apparently failed thereby predetermining the outcome of my hunt even before any of my questions could have been asked. Isn't it funny how life's outcomes are often predetermined by outside influences even if you think you are the master of your domain.

Sorry for the long winded details but I find it enjoyable to re-live my hunting experiences with others especially after hunting alone for 2 days.

By the way I believe I will be back out there this weekend.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

I had ample opportunity to take her but I chose not to squeeze the trigger. My decision to let her live another day was perhaps for a variety of reason which need not be elaborated on as any true sportsman knows its a personal thing.

Well said there Brew! Some of my favorite moments in the woods have been when I have 'passed up' game in favor of the experience. I too have a tough time translating that into words ...

With all this being said the funny part of it all was that when I attempted do discharge my trade gun by firing into a stump, the gun didn't fire.

Flash in the pan? Or did the pan not even light off? You had better use the percussion on the upcoming primitive snowshoe biathlons :shocked2: !

:surrender:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Any warm metal taken out into the cold will draw moisture to it like a sponge, even though the air is relative dry. Do NOT prime your gun inside your car, truck, or house, and go out expecting the powder to remain dry. Allow your gun to acclimate to outside temperatures before giving it a final wipe with a dry patch, or with a patch soaked in rubbing alcohol. Only then can you load the barrel, and then prime the pan. If the temperature is rising, check your prime every 15 minutes. Do not allow powder residue to remain in the pan, or on the underside of your frizzen. Wipe both the top and bottom of the flint off, too. Cold stone will collect condensation, just like metal.

 

[brew]

Flash in the pan my man! Flash in the pan.....
FYI I believe I will only be entering in the smoothbore class this year being that I am having so much fun shooting and figuring out this gun.

 

[brew]

Sound advise. Thank you.

 

[brew]

Hey Mowery50,
What do you know about tempering the frizzen? Is it something that needs to be done every so often and if so how do you know when you need to do it? Is it as simple as holding a flame to it for a period of time? If so how long?

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Hey Mowery50,
What do you know about tempering the frizzen? Is it something that needs to be done every so often and if so how do you know when you need to do it? Is it as simple as holding a flame to it for a period of time? If so how long?

Sorry, no idea. But I 'slept at the Marriott last night' :wink: so I learned this:

"Most frizzens have a useful life of about 800 to 900 shots or so. Buying a spare frizzen is always a wise investment. You can tell when a frizzen is losing its temper or hardness by observing the sparks thrown as the flint strikes. A good hard frizzen will throw a strong, full shower of white hot or yellow hot sparks. "Soft" frizzens will throw a weak shower of dull red sparks and eventually none at all."

Muzzle Blasts On-Line, Volume 4, #1 had an article called "Flints, Frizzens and Touch Hole Liners" had this to say:

Conditioning the Frizzen.

The condition of the frizzen is very important to how many sparks are produced with a sharp flint. If the frizzen looks like a "washboard", breaks up the edge of your flint, or doesn't throw many sparks, it is time to clean up the face of the frizzen and reharden it. The procedure that I use is very easy. I have heat treated over a hundred frizzens with this method. The items you need are : One wire clothes hanger; "Kasenit" surface hardening compound; Two quarts cheap 30-weight motor oil; one quart cheap automatic transmission fluid; and two propane torches (one will not generate enough heat). [My comment: maybe you could with MAPP gas on a propane torch head.]

I suggest that you do this outside or in a well ventilated area. Mix the oils together in a large coffee can or similar metal container equipped with a lid for storage. Three quarts of oil will stay cool longer and cool the metal best. CAUTION: Do not use water, because it can cause fractures in the metal by cooling too quickly. Remove the frizzen spring and the frizzen from the lock. Smooth the face of the frizzen on a six-inch coarse grinding wheel. Go slow and grind off only enough metal to remove any "wash board" and gouges. Grind vertically, not across the frizzen. Don't worry about getting the frizzen hot, you're going to heat treat it anyway.

Next, cut a section of wire from the clothes hanger, about eight to ten inches long. Run the wire through the screw hole in the frizzen and wrap the wire tightly so the frizzen doesn't flop around. Pour about a cup of "Kasenit" into a shallow metal can. A tuna can works well. Clamp one of the torches in a vise and light both torches. Heat the frizzen until it is bright red throughout. It must be entirely heated to a uniform color. Smother the heated frizzen in the "Kasenit" until it is well coated. The "Kasenit" will melt and adhere to the metal. Immediately reheat again to a bright red color and cook it for about three minutes. Be sure the entire frizzen is a uniform bright red color and completely coated. After cooking, quickly quench the heated frizzen in the oil mixture and swirl it around to assure fast cooling. Leave the frizzen in the oil until it is cool enough to handle. Wipe the excess oil from the frizzen and repeat the procedure for a second time. I do the above procedure twice to assure a good deep hardening.

After the frizzen is cooled enough to handle, clean it with acetone, alcohol, or any degreasing agent. Remove it from the wire and polish the face of the frizzen with 400 grit paper or emery cloth. Be careful, and don't drop the frizzen on a hard surface because it is brittle like glass and can break at this point. Affix the frizzen back onto the wire and light one torch. With a low flame starting at the pivot point and pan lid, slowly and carefully heat the frizzen. This is called drawing the temper back. Be sure that the color changes uniformly. It will happen very fast. When it reaches a soft yellow/brown (STRAW) color, quickly quench it in the oil and swirl around to assure uniform cooling. Leave in the oil until completely cool. The ideal colors are between straw and bronze. If you don't hit the straw color, but maybe blue, don't despair. Try it for sparking; it will probably work well anyway.

Remove the frizzen from the oil and clean with a degreasing agent. Put a drop of oil in the screw hole and install the frizzen and frizzen spring back onto the lock. Test it using a new sharp flint. It may take several attempts before you start getting uniform sparking. After you start getting sparks, check to see if there are any tiny metal shavings in the pan. If there are, you have done it right."

Also see this articles about locks, frizzens, and tempering here and there.

I haven't tried this yet ... but am wondering if the frizzen on my smoothie might need another go at tempering ...

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOu can bury the frizzen in the Kasenit and keep it red hot there for an hour or more and thereby get a much deeper carboning of the steel. That makes the frizzen last much longer. It does take a couple of hands to hold that propane torches on the frizzen and carbon mix for that long, and map gas does provide a hotter heat, as does acetylene. But propane can work if you keep the frizzen hot enough. Don't worry about the Kasenit. You are going to keep it after this job is done, anyway. Go ahead and cook it along with the frizzen, by aiming both torches on and into it.

If you have a gas range, or a coleman stove, go ahead and put the tuna can with the Kasenit in it on top the range or grill to provide the secondary source of heat. Then you only need one hand holding the Propane torch to do the work, and you can switch hands when you get tired. You want to put as much carbon in to the stell as you can. The longer you cook the frizzen in the carbon, the more carbon will go into the steel.

You might want to have a small dowel, or drill bit, to wrap some emery paper around to polish the inside of the pivot hole after this process. It will also get caked, and that will slow the frizzen opening correctly unless the crud is polished off. There are some very small polishing bits for dremel tools that may also fit. It depends on the size of the lock and the size of the pivot screw hole, Smaller locks tend to have smaller pivot screws.

Also, polish the heel on the bottom of the frizzen. This is the projection that makes contact with the frizzen spring. It, and the contact spot on the spring, need to be mirror smooth. If you don't polish, the scale will act like sand paper on the spring arm, and rough up the surface. Then you will have two surfaces that are not smooth, and will contribute resistance to the frizzen opening quickly. That screws up the timing of the lock, and eats expensive flints.

Check the bottom of the frizzen to make sure that scale does not now prevent a complete and full seal of the pan when the frizzen is re-installed. If you see any gaps, remove the frizzen, and take the scale off with an agrasive, and then check to see if there is still a gap. Its always possible that during the hardening process, stress in the original casting are relieved, and the once flat surface may warp. A little work with a file backed piece of emory cloth should mate the two surfaces together again. Just go slow, test the frizzen often, and use a marker dye to tell you were the high spots are to be removed.

 

[brew]

Great info. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. For now its off to Pa. for another attempt at mr.big buck.
I will let you know how I do.