What is the coldest temperature your flinter went bang in?

[Gemoke]

-25 degrees right here in Michigan's U.P.

 

[Hairy Clipper]

We no longer have any jackrabbits around here in southern Minnesota and I would have to drive quite a ways north to find any snowshoe hares. After reading the last sentence I may have to break out my Red Ryder. Former MN Viking coach Bud Grant used to ban heaters on the sidelines back when the Vikings played outside and had convinced his players cold was a state of mind. I, however, am not so sure?

 

[Hairy Clipper]

Thank you for adding your experience to this thread. You are in one of my favorite places on this orb. I was in Laurium on October 1st many years ago and it was snowing, that is when I knew I would like the U.P. I have never been down south. I bought the best potatoes I have ever eaten in the U.P. and they were grown near Crystal Falls.

 

[Grumpa]

Time was when I was in the Absaroka....

You are a man who can type two words, and misspell three of them. And then you write something like that. As good a tall tale as I have ever read.

My Wife had to come over and read it, because I was sitting here with a serene grin on my face. :grin: Beautifully done! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

Richard/Grumpa

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

tenngun,

I looked at the pan and there layed those sparks frozen and glowing.

That was quite a most fascinating story. Not sayin that it might not all be true, but would ya have photo of a frozen spark? I never seen a frozen one before. My sparks are so hot that sometimes I have to replace the melted pan.
:rotf:
Flintlocklar

 

[Stumpkiller]

Years ago my cap gun went off after a three hours of shivering one morning at -10°F. I think I did lasting damage to my lungs dragging the deer out of the woods and across a creek and up the slope to my car.

I vowed I'd never deer hunt in that temp again. ;-)

My flinters have gone off at and around 0°F when grouse hunting. Never had one not go off that would be because of cold. I just don't much like walking around in that temperature anymore.

Though I have heard that Zonie was out hunting in the cold one day and when he saw a deer and pulled up and fired it just went "mmmf". Disgusted he walked back to camp and sat by the fire. Darned if his rifle didn't start to thaw and soon it went "mmmAA--BANG!" as that shot thawed out enough to let loose.

Gotta watch out for that.

 

[Cruzatte]

Time was when I was in the Absaroka I woke up in the night to find my fire frozen solid. I smacked it with my hawk and it shattered like glass. I picked up the pieces to trade like Amber.
Next morning I was hunting and found two deer in a meadow. I threw up on one and shot.
Click went the gun. I looked at the pan and there layed those sparks frozen and glowing. I grabbed those sparks and put them in my mouth to thaw out. Quick like I drew my hawk and threw it toward the deer. About then my sparks were getting warm in my mouth and I threw up my gun to shoot. I spat those glowing sparks in to the pan. I drew a bead on my flying hawk and boom went the gun. The ball hit my hawk blade and split in two. The halfs struck them deer and dropped them both. I had venison for dinner.
We had a winter camp on sylamore creek in Arkansas. We had a frolic at about 5 below f, and our guns fired without a problem.

OK Mr. Bridger. Whatever you say. :rotf:

 

[tenngun]

Would like to take a bow for it but as far as I remember we were at the Arkansas state shoots in Berryville Arkansas telling stories to tourist and this one was just brainstormed on the spot between three or four of us in ”˜85 or’86.

 

[Danny Ross]

What you have to remember, as the air gets colder going below 32F degrees it starts drying out. You really start seeing the change around 20F and below, that is about when the snow starts to get real powdery when it does snow, less moisture in the air mean lighter fluffier snow. Less moisture in the air means it is dryer for the powder, making it easier to ignite, compared to air with lots of humidity. Colorado Clyde brought that up :thumbsup: . I would think depending on what kind and how much lube you used in your lock would have a greater effect, with the rate of the cock's fall if the lubricant was freezing at subzero temps, which might cause ignition problems in real cold weather. If memory serves me right with what I have read, a Flintlock was a preferred weapon in the early years of Polar Bear Hunting by the Eskimo guides. They didn't have to deal with the smaller caps of caplocks, or firing pins freezing up with the new fangled cartridge rifles. The flintlock rifles almost always went bang when they needed them to, and they could get them in a big enough caliber as a major bear stopper. I think it gets pretty cold on those hunts :hmm: . DANNY

 

[Hairy Clipper]

For a short time during my childhood my two grandfathers, when they got together, would try to outdo each other in their story telling. You guys are bringing back some great memories.

Grandpa Clyde once told me he trouble getting any sleep last night. He went outside to see what all the noise was about and didn't see anything or anybody. Then he heard the noise again and he sprang from his bed and ran outside and found out what the problem was. He was going fishing in the morning and set out his fishing rod against the house with his new lure tied on the line. He had heard that this is the hottest new lure on the market. He figured that the Northern Pike flopping around banging on the wall of the house had walked a half mile from the lake to be the first one to get that lure.

Grandpa told that ... so it must be true ... right?

 

[Loyalist Dave]

The lowest that I've fired in is zero degrees. A lot different than -37f.

LD

 

[Hairy Clipper]

At -37°F. you don't sit around reading the newspaper in the outhouse very long.

 

[Grumpa]

We'll give you a third or a fourth of a bow...and a bit more, just for bringing the story up now. :wink:

Thanks again. I'm still smilin'. :hatsoff:

Richard/Grumpa

 

[hanshi]

As long as you don't have to contend with moisture, any low temperature that's safe or survivable to hunt in would pose no problem.

 

[Don Steele]

61 degrees, one morning last Winter. :surrender: VERY "breezy". I have no idea what the wind chill was, :idunno: but in the shade of our loading bench it was just about too cold to load. :redface:

 

[Kansas Jake]

That is just wrong! :haha:

 

[Hairy Clipper]

Hahahaha! If it is not cold enough for you I could box up half a foot of white and fluffy and send it to you.

 

[Pukka Bundook]

So could I H-C!

Coldest I don't know, because if I'm going hunting, I don't Want to know!

I do know though that minus 30 has been quite normal. Sometimes when Real cold, I'd wrap my hand around the steel (frizzen) to keep it a shade warmer. I figured if Real cold it might just shatter or break right off!(never did though)

Felt -lined moccasins work Really well in real cold, but get wet just below freezing.

 

[Black Hand]

I experienced -65F one day, but we were walking to the grocery store. Beautiful sunny day...

 

[Hairy Clipper]

I understand your concern for a cold frizzen. Back in the 1970's we had some very cold winters. Dad had a snow plowing business and we'd had 16" of snow recently and over night the temperature dropped to -35°F. and the wind was drifting and packing the snow hard. By 5 a.m. he started getting calls from people that needed to get to work so I went out and started the three trucks to get things warmed up some. Because of previous experience if we suspected snow plowing would be needed in the morning the Warn hubs would be locked in and the four wheel drive would be engaged to prevent any problems in the morning. I was the first one to get going, the trucks had been running for about 30 minutes and I got in and put the truck in reverse. BANG! Man, that was loud, I wonder what that was? When I added some throttle to back up the truck wouldn't move. The rear tires would spin, but the front was not helping. As it turned out, the loud bang was the short side of the front axle. It had snapped clean off, no burrs or tearing of metal. The end of the shaft looked crystalized on both ends.

The truck had gone through two seasons of plowing and had very few miles on it. Maybe it would have broken anyway, but, as soon as the power hit the driveshaft that axle snapped!

Cold can do strange things to many substances and things. When it gets real cold the little 2 ounce Chickadees come to the feeder more often and I sit inside watching them with a cup of hot coffee in my hands and it makes me wonder how our pre-historic brethren survived up here on the tundra.

For you non-Minnesotans-Once winter sets in many Minnesota residents refer to the state as tundra even though we know it really isn't tundra.