A Black Powder Hunting Tale of Woe and Misery

[andy52]

Yeah, our "Alternative Methods" season is a joke and the timing is horrible. It ought to be called "Anything but a Centerfire Rifle" season. Good luck to you too, sir!

Yes, it is these days, there was a time here when we actually had an ML season but that kind of went away with the advent of inlines. I know several people that use AR pistols during that season. I'll be out there with flinter during that season, my property, my rules muzzleloader only.
From the looks of the long-range forecast it's going to be really cold.

 

[user 53891]

Had similar experience, but attempted to ram the ball home by using a tree trunk to push against. Ramrod broke. Opening morning was definitely chilly this year. Waiting for "alternative season" also. Only a few of us and a whole bunch of "braced pistol" guys. Timing of the season is stupid (as are the new rules). Good luck!

Good fortune to you SJ. Nothing that comes out of a government agency makes sense or efficient. They usually hire the most inept people!

 

[Spikebuck]

The ordeal has me looking for another lube the little gun likes. It will put 5 balls in one hole at 25 with 1-7 ballistol dry patches but I absolutely have to wipe between shots or it's a gamble apparently

The best target load I ever developed was with the 1-7 dry patch. Wouldn't use it hunting as it required swabbing between shots to load. I won't use any load for hunting that requires swabbing to shoot accurately. I've settled on mink oil lube. It's not as finely accurate at longer distances as the dry patch method, but it's very good and I can load and load. Cold weather doesn't seem to have a material affect on it either. Those last two factors make it super for small game hunting.

Other natural fatty grease/oil lubes should be very similar.

 

[Spikebuck]

Darren, that's a great story! It always amazes me how bucks in rut are so oblivious to things going on around them....obvious things!!!

While your experience isn't the end result we're looking for, it was actually a tremendously successful hunt in terms of deer seen, an exciting experience, and a memory you'll never forget.

 

[pamtnman]

As soon as I saw your headline of flintlock hunting “woe and misery,” I knew I had to read it. Quite relateable. Well told. Probably most of us here have been through something similar at some point, or perhaps a lot more times than we would like to admit. Sounds like a slightly smaller ball is what is needed. As you say, range shooting is one thing, and shooting in the field while hunting is something else entirely. Having a little more margin for room in the components chain can prevent these frustrating moments. That said, human error is a constant. Last year I double patched my reloaded ball under duress while chasing a wounded doe. Fortunately she expired before I had to shoot again, but I could not have shot again, because the double patched ball was only about four inches down the bore. It took a steel range rod and a guy whaling away with a mallet to eventually get that daggone thing down onto the powder. We suffer for our art

 

[One time]

Congrats on the bow kill.
Bummer on the muzzleloader outcome.
But as others have mentioned, still a good hunt.
A learning experience for you, as well as a lot of us.
If it’s possible, try shooting your muzzleloader from a set up as you would in the woods, like a lot of us have with archery equipment.
Have you ever thought about taking a muzzleloading pistol with you, just in case for them short range shots ?

 

[SOLANCO]

Good fortune to you SJ. Nothing that comes out of a government agency makes sense or efficient. They usually hire the most inept people!

Seriously, how different from the driver's license center can the fish and game department be? Not very.

 

[CapPopper]

The best target load I ever developed was with the 1-7 dry patch. Wouldn't use it hunting as it required swabbing between shots to load. I won't use any load for hunting that requires swabbing to shoot accurately. I've settled on mink oil lube. It's not as finely accurate at longer distances as the dry patch method, but it's very good and I can load and load. Cold weather doesn't seem to have a material affect on it either. Those last two factors make it super for small game hunting.

Other natural fatty grease/oil lubes should be very similar.

Even using 50/50 olive oil beeswax I almost can't load the gun with the wooden rod. And it doesn't shoot anywhere near as good..... The ballistol will get me squirrel eye groups at 25 but the beeswax lube might get a head sized group.... And if I load a looser patch it looks like a buckshot pattern..... It's not fun to load with the rod on the gun when it's clean either but it seems like any fouling at all makes it nearly impossible.... Been a problem ever since I got it and it's got me seriously considering having the barrel bored out to .36 or preferably .40 if there is enough meat on it.

 

[oldwood]

Three times in 50 yrs. m/l hunting , I've had attacks of bumb luck or just stupid took over. Once at the age of 35 yrs. , I needed glasses , and knew it. Walked up on a feeding deer , at 50 yds.. Pa. late flintlock season , open iron sights , longrifle. Deer's head behind a tree , and thought I picked the end of the deer , w/ the front shoulder visible , but the ball went through the liver instead of the heart/lungs. That day the best deer tracker in the country was w/me. Through the afternoon , we finally got the meat. That learned me a lesson. I got glasses, too.
Next attack of dumb happened one morning in fresh snow tracking a deer. Light snow falling , kept making me clean my iron sights , so I could see the sights quickly. Sure enough , about a mile and a half from where the track started , I came to a small hill top , laurel patch , w/ tracks every where. This is where dumb "attacked " me. To easily clear the fresh snow from my rear sight , I blew on it. Seems I was 10 yds. from a deer laying in the snow bedded down. Clearing my sight w/a puff of air , sounded like an alarm to the deer , and at least six deer , bounded away to safety. Was hunting alone , so didn't have anyone to kick me in the brain ,located near my A$$. LOL!!
Late Pa. flint m/l season , had hunted about three miles trying to find a deer . Late in the day , was hunting back toward the truck to head for the tavern. (only to warm up ,of course). About 1/3 mile from the truck, went around a knoll in the woods , and there stood 18 deer at 20 yds. away. My .62 dropped the big doe in front and the rest ran down hill across a creek to my hunting buddy helping my son pull his deer back to the truck. Hunting buddy dropped the buck in the herd , and the herd ran back up to me , again at 20 yds. , and stood looking back. Well ,instead of dropping the 2nd deer ,dunce boy , (me), had somewhere during the day lost his short starter for reloading the .62. The herd walked away from me , holding an empty rifle. AAAAAHHHHH !!! Guess ,making mistakes makes a better hunter. Just why does it happen to Dunce boy??? Late season flint ,m/l deer season is the ultimate challenge if you want it to be ,more closely similar to 18th century deer chasing. It's a young man's sport , due to deer moving around , and having to locate them in rough terrain , and adverse weather................oldwood

 

[dhaverstick]

Thanks, all, for the comments and words of advice. While the situation was frustrating at the time, I cannot help but laugh about it now. It certainly gave me a good story to tell! And it was not the first time a snafu has occurred while I was hunting with a flintlock, nor will it be the last. One Time suggested that I carry a flintlock pistol as a backup gun for such situations. I have a great story to tell about my experience with that as well!

Whenever something like this takes place, I always look at it this way: 1) My life is not depending on my hunting successes so it's all good. 2) No one is forcing me to use my front stuffers to hunt with. If things don't turn out the way I'd hoped, it's all on me. I have a perfectly good 30-06 in my gun cabinet that would solve all these problems. 3) By stepping into the woods with my longbow or flintlock, I have already accepted coming home emptyhanded to be a very real possibility. Putting meat in the freezer is a bonus.

By spending all the time in the woods that I do, I get to see a lot of things most folks only dream about like watching a bobcat trying to catch a squirrel or having a coyote attack my turkey decoy. My life is much richer because I choose to do things "the hard way".

Darren

 

[Rawhide67]

Maybe tennis would be a better sport for you?

Too much arthritis.

 

[Urban Coyote]

Dhaverstick wrote;

"I guess the combination of 20 degree weather and a slightly fouled barrel have shrunk the bore I am trying to put a piece of lead down."

At my age the I don't need another shrinkage problem, guess I'd better stick to warm weather hunting. I don't need my barrel acting like "it was in the pool".

 

[Bullit]

Well, like was said before, we all have those days and it's best to take a deep breath and let the tension go. Mistakes like those are what makes us learn, however sometimes, no matter how much you've learned, sh*t happens that defies all logic. Those days are just chalked up to divine intervention, like it or not.

 

[senseisugarbear]

I'm Glad to hear that some of you guys get your share of Stupid luck...I got a hunt that I don't believe myself and I was THERE....afternoon/ evening hunt,I got everthing good to go, COLDER THAN A WITCHES HEART... Minus 12 degrees F`------ in the hollow 6" fresh snow. Tucked upside a Huge Cottonwood 10 yds off the run.Perfect wind.
The parade starts, 5 nice does.first one lingers at 15yds broadside.other 4 start feeding in the Alfalfa.Silent **** the hammer.Pop, she looks round nobody else is alarmed, I re-cap. SLOW and easy now. Pop, WHAT the he!!....SHES still UN-ALARMED. Once more.Pop...I'm LIVID get up and sneak out to the truck. Unlock the door on my NEW 1986 TOYOTA pickup, slide the rifle in butt first. The front sight hangs up un the seat belt harness,The Brass BUTT plate flips up and goes though the WINDSHIELD.....I'm PI$$ed beyond all beleif, I know I better settle down , So I take the Long way home( about 3 miles ) REAL SLOW. Park in the driveway, and sit in the truck. My Wife comes out to see whats the matter. I tell her in VERY COLORFUL LANGUAGE. I'm not taking a loaded M/L in the house.SO I get out cap up AIM for the bullet trap ,,,,BOOM. that was the last time I ever used PYRODEX while HUNTING. THEN I find out PRODEX has a much higher Ignition point than B/P. the cold weather got me.The ride home with the heater blowing on the lock & barrel Warmed it up enough to work properly. I think that LESSON COST ME $650 for my WINDSHIELD.....NEVER AGAIN....B/P Only for HUNTING...Be Safe>>Wally

 

[Ames]

By stepping into the woods with my longbow or flintlock, I have already accepted coming home emptyhanded to be a very real possibility. Putting meat in the freezer is a bonus.

Nicely put.

 

[andy52]

Nicely put.

I consider that any time I'm in the woods hunting, the type of weapon really doesn't matter. My wife and I always joke when we're fishing but not catching anything. It's called "fishing" not "catching". ..

 

[MAC1967]

I'm going to say something with the caveat that I am a newbie and have much to learn, but I have taken two deer with my .50 Lyman GPR . . . Wooden ramrods in my three ML's are mostly for decoration or perhaps emergency use. . .the smaller the caliber the more true this is. (I don't want an "emergency" when hunting.) I take a metal range rod with me to my deer stand and load with it my first load in part because that's the rod I use at the range and know the feel of the seating pressure that I hope is consistent when I shoot it. Wooden rods feel different. Now my .62 smoothbore has a ramrod that is almost like a broomstick, so that's not really the case, but with my .32 especially, I hate the wooden rod. . . I have mental images of it breaking even when I keep my hand not far from the muzzle to load it. . . but I almost always use my metal range rod for it. Just a thought. Enjoyed your story, even though I know it frustrated you . . .Well written.

 

[Notchy Bob]

This story by @dhaverstick , and @Eric Krewson ’s wilderness hunting thread, have made my day!

Darren, that’s a great story, and it was very well told. It would be a good one for publication, to share with a wider audience.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[Tankerchief]

As my grandfather used to say when things like this happened: "That's why they call is hunting and not killing." Good luck with the rest of the season!

 

[SwanShot]

Well told story.... Which is one of the best parts of hunting...a good story...that one had a sad ending... But it was still a great day to be in the woods

The only thing it lacked was a campfire and a sixpack