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About 4 years of shooting my Charleville. AND — about 43 years looking at it hanging over the fireplace and saying, one of these days I should go shoot that thing...

This is not the first time a "journalist" made a fool of himself by NOT doing a simple search on the internet.

I picked up a number of wild turkey feathers a couple of years ago that the birds had shed. I have kept them since, thinking I will find a use for them sometime. Am I a lawbreaker?

LIke a dust explosion in a grain silo. Very rare in this scenario, I would think... I am reminded of the old advice; The only way to be COMPLETELY SAFE is to stay in bed. But even then a tree could come through your roof and get you...

I doubt that would be a problem — any more than an old time hunter chasing a wounded deer and the powder in his powder horn exploding because his running over rough ground shook it up?

Some time ago I had accidentally spilled some black powder on the floor of my basement. I swept it up but got it mixed with some dirt, so I did not want to put it back into the container it came from. SO, I decided to try an experiment. You know all those old movies that show the hero goes...

It just seems to me to be the best way to guarantee everything gets clean and to avoid rust? If had a Tower Musket, I would not take it all the way down either, but a Charleville is so easy to disassemble, I have always done it.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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.

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...

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.

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.