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  1. B

    Help! with cleaning my musket

    I MUST be doing it all wrong. I disassemble my Charleville completely. All parts go in a plastic wash basin and remain there until I am ready for them. I clean the stock with soap and water to remove any black powder soot. Sometimes I give it a quick going over with a furniture polish. I plug...
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    Favorite Fiction?

    I just started to re-read one of my favorites: "Gentleman Ranker" by John Jennings. Published way back in 1942, the story follows a spoiled young Englishman from Britain to America. He finds himself serving in the ranks in the 44th Regt. of Foot and is nearly killed along with General Braddock...
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    Strange Day for Me in the Woods.

    My late father-in-law hunted for many years. He had a pocket sized notebook in which he wrote down all the kills he had made over the years; deer, bear, bobcats, fishercats, woodchucks and rabbits. Later in life he said that looking at a deer in the woods, he decided that they were just too...
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    Ignition while loading

    I usually shoot paper cartridges in my Charleville, similar to what the military used in their muskets in the 18th Century. I have seen smoldering bits of the paper out in front of me after firing. They burn up very quickly, so I have not had to worry about starting any grass fires or anything...
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    Is the Recently-Discovered Beckwourth Rifle the One Jim Is Holding in His Portrait?

    Actually, there is ANOTHER clue we can make use of — the side that Beckwourth's vest is buttoned on! In men's clothing, shirts, coats, suit jackets, all button FROM the LEFT to the RIGHT. In other words, the buttons are sewed on the right side, and the left side has the button holes. Guys...
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    Black powder BOOM

    A very good cautionary tale. I will take it to heart, too. I admit I have a small priming horn with 3F in it that I sometimes lay on the bench nearby when shooting my Charleville. Sometimes I even sit at the bench when firing and — we know how much of a flash we can get with a flintlock.... I...
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    That Evil Ember

    We all understand the safety concern about blowing down the barrel. But I only do it AFTER I shoot — because there's no point in doing it AFTER I load and BEFORE I fire. I agree that putting my face over the muzzle of a loaded firearm is dangerous. I generally blow down the bore 3 or 4 times...
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    How often do you guys take apart and oil your locks?

    Seems to be. I always find a lot of black soot-like crud inside the lock each time I shoot it.
  9. B

    How often do you guys take apart and oil your locks?

    I completely disassemble and clean my Charleville every time I shoot it — so the lock comes out too. I scrub it with a toothbrush and Dawn dish soap in water. I use q-tips in the hard to reach areas, but do not take the lock apart. I put a few dabs of gun grease on all the spots that I think...
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    How you fill your pan makes no difference ...

    I just pour a small amount of FFG in the pan, rotate my Charleville to let the powder flow a little toward the vent and then close the frizzen. I find that if I put a heap in the pan, my shooting hand gets a few hot grains of burning powder on it.
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    US approves the nation’s first ‘lab-grown’ meat

    We know that the meat we eat has the flavor it does because of what the animal is fed. Change the feed and the flavor of the meat changes also. SO — this "Franken-meat" will either have very little taste at all, or will taste of the chemicals and gases used when it is cultivated. If that is...
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    Pre ignition

    Probably fearful of lawsuits because of the few poor souls who cannot remember if they should blow down the barrel AFTER or BEFORE firing. I have no trouble remembering that.
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    Major discoloration of brass after first shooting

    We used Never Dull in the Navy, also Brasso. But I use Simichrome on my Charleville. It polishes the metal, both brass and steel — right up and leaves a coating that does not tarnish so quickly.
  14. B

    Rogers rangers musket photos please?

    NOT to beat a dead horse, but — I am not trying to convince myself or anyone else that ALL of the Rangers cut down their muskets, or even that SOME did. AND — you make an excellent point that some of them may have carried French, Dutch or privately purchased forearms. That is JUST EXACTLY what...
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    Rogers rangers musket photos please?

    I don't claim to be especially knowledgeable about Rogers Rangers — even though they are local heroes to us here in New Hampshire, since Rogers and his men were from this state back when it was a colony, of course. As far as I know, Robert Rogers was a very independent sort of fellow, and so...
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    Rogers rangers musket photos please?

    Err — actually, I was. Four years in the US Navy. Pleading ignorance might not work, but I would try it anyway. Keep in mind, at that point I am still alive to make my plea. If I am dead, the issue is MOOT.
  17. B

    Rogers rangers musket photos please?

    That might be true. But IF I were a Ranger with Rogers in those days — and I thought a shortened musket was better suited to my needs and therefore more able to help to keep me alive ... I'd do it and worry about any consequences later. "What? Is it shorter? I didn't notice it, sir. It came...
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    Jammed Mechanism on M1861 Musket

    AND I will say it too — Make sure it is not loaded! Do that BEFORE you do anything else! How to do that? Remove the ramrod and lay it against the barrel to make sure it it essentially the same length as the barrel; with just a bit left over, like say about the width of your thumb. Then drop...
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    Richard London 41

    I wish you success and — safety. May I suggest laying it in a spare tire and pulling the trigger with a string at a safe distance?
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    Richard London 41

    I would respectfully suggest — you look at some photos of mangled hands and fingers before you try firing this gun. Then ask yourself if you want to risk THAT.
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