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Far Horizons is a pretty typical 1950s movie. Overall, it is pretty silly. The worst of it is concocting a romance between Heston's character and Sacajawea who is played by Donna Reed, of all people! I suppose they may have hit upon some actual history while they were indulging their taste...

"Tyler — don't waste your ammo, he's way out of range!" "I know it. I just don't like him..."

Very simple. Investigate to learn the truth. Very many people; politicians, celebrities, "journalists", advocates of all stripes spread misinformation (b.s and outright lies) all the time. It is up to us to decide what is true and what is not. The very last thing we should ever want is to trust...

VERY impressive. Just LOOK at that RECOIL! I bet the young lady had a bruised shoulder from it, but — the grin says it all.

Solution: Never ever hold a re-enactment in New York state. Ever, ever, ever.

Yes INDEED! It happened to me one with my Charleville. I loaded the main charge, got interrupted for a moment and neglected to prime the pan. The gun fired when I pulled the trigger. A few grains of powder had sifted out of the vent and into the pan.

I BELIEVE (correct me if I'm wrong) that Brasso and other similar polishes contain ammonia. AND ammonia is said to make brass cartridges brittle, therefore reducing cartridge life?

Here is an article about the US Army's "Flying Artillery" at Palo Alto: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/history/palo-alto-mexican-american-war.html

That may well be. I have certainly heard more than once that if you throw a cartridge (modern or black powder) in a fire, it will explode with little force and is of no danger. BUT — the quote I referenced about the exploding "musket shells" was from the official history of the regiment written...

A good procedure is — if you find what you THINK is a good source for percussion caps, powder; anything you need — save the site, back out and go research the vendor. A good way to start is; type in the name of the vendor, and then — type a comma and the word COMPLAINTS. If there is a problem...

As referenced by other members, in 1863 the Union Army issued what was called the "Gardiner Musket Shell" — a .58 minie bullet with an explosive charge inside. The idea was if fired over the heads of dug-in troops, it would explode over their heads and shower them with bullet fragments...

I HAVE seen small bits of smoldering paper on the ground after shooting, but it burns right up in moments. It helps that we have mostly sand in front of the firing line. But if we were in the middle of a serious drought where I live, I WOULD be more concerned. I HAVE heard about treating the...

The round ball is in one end of the paper cartridge. I have a single strand of cotton string tied at the base of the ball to separate it from the powder charge. I tear off the top of the cartridge and pour in the powder and then I upend the cartridge and insert it ball first into the muzzle and...

Model 1777 Charleville. I most often use paper cartridges = FFg powder and ball. I carry a small horn for priming — FFFg powder.

I believe a MUCH MORE accurate account is "Man In The Wilderness", which was released in 1972. Same tale, without the fake bear and silly plot line of "The Revenant". https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067388/

Gentleman Ranker, by John Jennings. The book was published in the 1940s. It is long out of print and somewhat dated in its style, but still very readable and available from book sellers who offer old books. Subject matter is Braddock's defeat early in the French and Indian War on the...

I am sure we all noticed that in the video, Mike Belaveau (correct spelling?) primed the pan of his Charleville BEFORE loading the main charge in the barrel. We all KNOW that practice could get us thrown out of many shooting ranges. We also all know that it is the method used by soldiers in...

A smaller amount does just fine — I put just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. More powder than needed just makes a bigger flash. AND I have noticed, once or twice when I did that, I got hit on the cheek with a hot grain of powder — no injury, but I would not want it in my eye. One more...

Soldiers Back in The Day did many things that we would never do — like priming the pan BEFORE pouring the rest of the powder down the bore — AND pouring the powder from a horn. I have seen videos showing the rapid fire technique of priming FIRST and then pouring powder down a hot bore and...