“Kentucky Fun”

[Banjoman]

I think the key is ‘how common’ were they. Were buffler plentiful enough in the late 18th century western North Carolina or East Tennessee that a backwoods farmer could easily find one or would it have been easier just to use a cow horn? I think it’s possible that a buffalo powder horn could have been made in the 18th century and survived till the mid 19th century. But how common would it be?

 

[Flint1]

I would imagine a number of the early hunters and settlers in Kentucky would have used buffalo horns. I don't think it's unlikely a couple generations later they would have still been in use, having been passed down. Why make a new horn from a cow if grandaddy's buffalo horn is still serviceable?

 

[Banjoman]

One downside of having a long ramrod sticking out is - it catches on brush when you are hunting.

True. But I don’t hunt in the brush.

My inspiration for the long ram rods came from guns I’ve seen in museums and shows and in books by Walter M. Cline, Randall Pierce and Ben Barrington.

 

[longcruise]

One downside of having a long ramrod sticking out is - it catches on brush when you are hunting.

I keep mine at a length that is even with the muzzle when a jag is screwed on. That way they aren't an obstruction when using a short starter and/or a loading block.

I think those long rods were wiping sticks separate from the onboard ramrod. They may have been carried in the barrel and not in the thimbles.

 

[Flint1]

I have seen pictures of those long ramrods before, or wiping sticks as I believe they were called back then. I have had to replace 2 ramrods in my 44 years of shooting so far. Got one stuck in my Sile Hawken long ago, couldn't get it out, and finally got aggravated enough to shoot it out--not in one piece of course. The other is when my Early Virginia from Narragannsett arrived the ramrod was broken, so I just made a new one. In both cases I measured the rod in the barrel, marked it, and when I cut it they were both about 1/4 inch too long, extending past the barrel and stock. I was ok with that, since they were easier to grab and pull out of the channel. Those are "long" ramrods to me.

 

[Banjoman]

I keep mine at a length that is even with the muzzle when a jag is screwed on. That way they aren't an obstruction when using a short starter and/or a loading block.

I think those long rods were wiping sticks separate from the onboard ramrod. They may have been carried in the barrel and not in the thimbles.

True. But I don’t use short starters or loading blocks. For me, those are just extra gadgets that I don’t need since I use a looser fitting load. In the pictures of 19th century muzzleloader shooters I have studied, I don’t see these items, at least not hanging from their bag straps. So I’m basing my look on what I’ve seen in pictures. Ain’t disputing their existence though.

As for the separate wiping sticks vs ramrods, what I’ve seen doesn’t support that theory. But again, that’s pertaining to pictures of 19th century muzzleloaders in southern Appalachia. I’ve heard the idea of two rods before, just ain’t sure it was a thing around here. Maybe it was farther west. I dunno.

 

[French Colonial]

Obviously there were plenty of buffalo horns east of the Mississippi in the 1700's to make powder horns from and undoubtably plenty of them were. Later when the immense herds in the western states were being hunted the hides were being shipped in great numbers through places like St Louis, so it is conceivable that if you wanted a buffalo powder horn one could be obtained. The hides were not shipped with the horns attached but if you asked the right people.........

The question then is why do we not see any surviving numbers of buffalo horns from the period, my personal opinion is that they have to tight of a curve and lack eye appeal and so were more utilitarian, when they stopped being useful they were discarded.
Horns with eye appeal either through architecture (left or right hand twist) or design (southern banded, scrimshawed) were kept because they were artistic.

In regards to the length of ramrods, I have used the longer than the muzzle rods before thinking that it would make them easier to withdraw from the thimbles, and it did. However, like some on here I found while hunting in Illinois underbrush it caught on everything.
Out west it may be a different story for those folks.

 

[Rebel bull]

I'am of the opinion that a buffalo horn is certainly correct for a early persona saying that it isn't there are no known examples is as dumb as saying that all animals that are shown on a horn must look like a 1 year old drew them. If there were artists before and after that were capable of great renditions of people and animals there are more then we know about. If Audubon and Wilson before him could paint life like pictures ( and it is safe to assume that they both augmented their income with other painting subjects) then why does all of the scrimshaw not reflect a more lifelike look

 

[fire bear]

I agree with you. I would like to see some documentation if you could point me in the direction. Just like to study these things

a good list of the dates of extirpation of Bison from the eastern states is here: https://allaboutbison.com/buffalo-tracks/last-of-the-bison-by-state/

 

[French Colonial]

Once again, you will not find a better book than Ted Franklin Belue's "The Long Hunt"

Extensive documentation of early buffalo encounters from Florida/Georgia and north until their extermination east of the Mississippi.

 

[Banjoman]

I did shorten the rod on the Traditions Kentucky a little. And after today’s shooting session it ain’t near as white as it was.