Amusing/Ridiculous Muzzleloading Misconceptions...

[SOLANCO]

The only thing worse is when I hear that song "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" on the oldies station. Takes a week to get that out of my mind.

Research the location of the "OFF" switch.

 

[kje54]

The only thing worse is when I hear that song "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" on the oldies station. Takes a week to get that out of my mind.

The one song that will get any other song stuck in one's head out is The Lion Sleeps Tonight........... Granted that will be stuck in your head for a month afterwards.......

 

[kje54]

Yes, whether you pulled the trigger or not, you are, at least, partly responsible for the death of an animal. I, personally, have no problem with that. I wish I had the time and money to be able to kill ALL my own meat, but alas.........

I kill by proxy............

 

[Griz44Mag]

The one song that will get any other song stuck in one's head out is The Lion Sleeps Tonight........... Granted that will be stuck in your head for a month afterwards.......

My nemesis is the "Boogey Woogy Choo Coo Train.

 

[Woody Morgan]

The one song that will get any other song stuck in one's head out is The Lion Sleeps Tonight........... Granted that will be stuck in your head for a month afterwards.......

Thanks for nuthin', kjw54.

wm

 

[kje54]

My nemesis is the "Boogey Woogy Choo Coo Train.

Wow, I haven't hear that one in eons!

 

[tom_in_vt]

Smooth bores can’t hit a human silhouette past 50 yards…

 

[oldwood]

Years ago , a guy asked , "how many of those have blown up for ya?" Couldn't resist , Said every other one. Then I explained that was a lie , and that you have to break a bunch of rules to blow one up. Also told him , I don't personally know of anyone that's done it. Long as the load is seated on the BLACK POWDER , Just shook his head , and said OOOOOOOOOOKAY. Used to volunteer to help on sight in days at the local range.
These are some of the folks showing up. Oddly , m/l folks would seldom need help. It was the folks that take their Mauser bolt apart or the guy that got the new Walmart scope and only mounted it in the front ring and fires off 10 rounds of a box of very expensive ctg.'s , then asks what could be wrong? That's why I like m/l's..
Then there were these two young fella's , that came in to see what the heck was wrong with their ramrods. Both had splintered their hickories about 8" from the brass tip. Did you use the short starter that came with the gun accessories? Blank stares. Naa , what's that? We just turned the gun upside down , or bumped the end of the rod on a tree When they left they had a new short starter each , and were schooled in the use of their two new ramrods.......................oldwood

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I always loved the experts that claimed black powder was impact sensitive. If it was dropped or hit with a hammer it would explode.

Actually it is, but not under the circumstances the vast majority of people encounter...,

See this is an example of information creep. It happens a lot, and not just in our hobby. BP will explode when compressed quickly to a high pressure, by a loading ram, in a heavy cruiser or battleship. There have been a couple famous accidents, but..., as the story gets told folks start losing details, SO...., it goes from the gunner's mate on the large naval cannon must be careful when ramming, to BP can explode when rammed down hard by a shooter, to it can explode by being dropped or hit with a hammer/mallet

Somebody once documented a Hessian Jaeger in the AWI hammering a ball down his bore..., which was more than likely a stuck ball, and a lot of us have seen something like this happen at the range. After a while, the tale is that Jaegers HAD to hammer every shot to fit their rifles..., when in reality, swaging the round ball onto the bore had stopped in the 17th century, or perhaps earlier, when patching was discovered.

LD

 

[springfield art]

Actually it is, but not under the circumstances the vast majority of people encounter...,

See this is an example of information creep. It happens a lot, and not just in our hobby. BP will explode when compressed quickly to a high pressure, by a loading ram, in a heavy cruiser or battleship. There have been a couple famous accidents, but..., as the story gets told folks start losing details, SO...., it goes from the gunner's mate on the large naval cannon must be careful when ramming, to BP can explode when rammed down hard by a shooter, to it can explode by being dropped or hit with a hammer/mallet

Somebody once documented a Hessian Jaeger in the AWI hammering a ball down his bore..., which was more than likely a stuck ball, and a lot of us have seen something like this happen at the range. After a while, the tale is that Jaegers HAD to hammer every shot to fit their rifles..., when in reality, swaging the round ball onto the bore had stopped in the 17th century, or perhaps earlier, when patching was discovered.

LD

I read many years ago that Jaegers were issued hammers for that purpose. Was that all a false tale? I can't imagine you had to do that for every shot; that would totally have your troops holding the rifle between their legs hammering while the enemy shot them like fishes in barrels. BT, the Bevel Brothers who write for Muzzle Blasts magazine, recently proved that BP cannot be set off by static electricity. It was all explained scientifically; they may write humorously, but everything is correct technically.

 

[griffiga]

I was invited to participate in a shooting match with my two brother-in-laws, which was an annual thing between them. One had a Sig and the other a Glock. I showed up with my Pedersoli LePage. They laughed until they saw my target - I kicked their ***** in no small way. At the distance they shot (7 yards), mine was practically one ragged hole. The icing on the cake was when I hit a coke can in the fork of a tree 40 yards away! Funny, they weren't so eager to have me shoot with them anymore - they limited it to "modern pistols" after that.

 

[sportster73hp]

I read many years ago that Jaegers were issued hammers for that purpose. Was that all a false tale? I can't imagine you had to do that for every shot; that would totally have your troops holding the rifle between their legs hammering while the enemy shot them like fishes in barrels. BT, the Bevel Brothers who write for Muzzle Blasts magazine, recently proved that BP cannot be set off by static electricity. It was all explained scientifically; they may write humorously, but everything is correct technically.

I seem to remember a manor manufacturer produced a battery operated muzzleloader. This should also be a static discharge. Never had one myself, thought the inline was cheating enough.

 

[megasupermagnum]

I seem to remember a manor manufacturer produced a battery operated muzzleloader. This should also be a static discharge. Never had one myself, thought the inline was cheating enough.

I've read about electric ignited muzzleloaders, but it has been many years now since I last saw anyone try. It always ends up as an impractical, questionable reliability failure. These are not static discharge at all, these were battery powered. I'm pretty sure Larry Pletcher did a lot of his tests with electric ignition in his flintlocks to get consistent times without the variable of the lock. So it does work, but it isn't from the shock. Ultimately the only thing that can ignite blackpowder is heat, and anything that doesn't burn you bad is no concern to powder.

 

[Griz44Mag]

I've read about electric ignited muzzleloaders, but it has been many years now since I last saw anyone try. It always ends up as an impractical, questionable reliability failure. These are not static discharge at all, these were battery powered. I'm pretty sure Larry Pletcher did a lot of his tests with electric ignition in his flintlocks to get consistent times without the variable of the lock. So it does work, but it isn't from the shock. Ultimately the only thing that can ignite blackpowder is heat, and anything that doesn't burn you bad is no concern to powder.

I have never seen an electrically ignited muzzleloader but I do own an electrically fired Remington bolt = that has not been shot in a few decades.
The primers are going for 3.75 each (and up)

 

[Sam squanch]

I think a French guy patented a gun fired by a battery in 1850 or something.

 

[Musketeer]

The one song that will get any other song stuck in one's head out is The Lion Sleeps Tonight........... Granted that will be stuck in your head for a month afterwards.......

Why you gotta do us like that? Well...I know what I'm gonna be humming for the next week at least....

 

[ML48]

You know what I'm talking about.. You're at the range shooting BP or talking to a buddy at work about your muzzleloading hobby and you hear something stunningly inaccurate about muzzleloaders. Sometimes it's funny, other times frustrating..

I brought my rifles and revolvers with me to work yesterday so I could go straight to the range afterwards, so I showed them to a guy I work with on break. He looked at the rifles and said "Oh when you said you shoot Muzzleloaders I thought you meant the real ones they sell at Walmart." Another time my boss insisted a round ball couldn't kill a deer or even hit a target past 50 yards...

Anyway, I was just thinking about it and thought if I've heard several humorous misconceptions in the short time I've been in this hobby, then some of you veteran ML shooters have probably heard some doozies! I'd love to hear 'em! -Justin

I haven't really heard anything like that....but that is also the way the anti-gun groups talk, and yet they know absolutely nothing about gun and have never been near one.

 

[springfield art]

I was invited to participate in a shooting match with my two brother-in-laws, which was an annual thing between them. One had a Sig and the other a Glock. I showed up with my Pedersoli LePage. They laughed until they saw my target - I kicked their ***** in no small way. At the distance they shot (7 yards), mine was practically one ragged hole. The icing on the cake was when I hit a coke can in the fork of a tree 40 yards away! Funny, they weren't so eager to have me shoot with them anymore - they limited it to "modern pistols" after that.

That's funny!

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I read many years ago that Jaegers were issued hammers for that purpose. Was that all a false tale? I can't imagine you had to do that for every shot; that would totally have your troops holding the rifle between their legs hammering while the enemy shot them like fishes in barrels. BT, the Bevel Brothers who write for Muzzle Blasts magazine, recently proved that BP cannot be set off by static electricity. It was all explained scientifically; they may write humorously, but everything is correct technically.

Actually they proved that modern made, sporting use black powder should not be ignited by a commonly occurring amount of static electricity. ☺

Powder magazines were known to explode quite well from static electricity prior to the installation of lightning rods in the 18th century.
Pyrotechnics assembly workers wear grounding equipment when at their work stations, and throughout the assembly buildings. Dust from BP just as wheat dust in a grain elevator WILL go WHOOSH from static electricity.

This is important as every now and then you will read about a person who is trying to, for some odd reason, make 4F by use of a mortar and pestle on a larger sized powder. Doing that, might create the dust needed and >>>>>>

LD

 

[GREENSWLDE]

I seem to remember Daniel 'aggman rolling down musket powder for priming in his Baker's Rifle at the fort. Sharpe's Rifles.. O.D.