Amusing/Ridiculous Muzzleloading Misconceptions...

[Capnball]

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

This just happened to me. My cousin is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to guns. Particularly muzzleloaders.he also has this phone that puts his texts on hold when he puts a call on hold. But the texts disappear. So we're having a conversation about something and he says hey, let me put you on hold, got a call.
I had to run so I just finished my thought with a text. I was still typing when he popped back on. The first words he saw was I'm hoping the new Walker will be worth the money. He goes off on a tare. You got a Walker? First or second model? Oh, you said New model, right? Not a real walker? Thought you were gonna call me before you bought something like that. Then he goes right into the rain man ***** savant ramblings of muzzle pressures, velocities and powder charges all befire I could say "Ed, I had my knees done, it's a four legged Walker! Lol

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

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

Before this thread is over there are going to be a lot of stupid comments from non muzzleloaders! Here is the one that first came to my mind....... In the early 70s our gun club was renting land for a range. There was a nice dirt berm at 110 yards or so. (Note, the berm was more than adequate but did not protect for a high accidental discharge.) We had target boards at 25,50, and 100 yards. It was really a nice set up, but no covered firing line. One day while checking the situation behind the berm there was a newly place horse and tank. The club officers immediately went to the owner and said this is crazy. He said "not to worry as you are only shooting muzzleloaders". Unfortunately we could not convince him otherwise and had to pack our bags and found another area.

 

[Sparkitoff]

I carry a percussion revolver. Most of the time it's seen from time to time in different environments where I take my coat off, whatever. I've had people tell me it might "spontaneously go - off".

 

[Rifleman1776]

When I was still doing my Rev. Rifleman talks and presentations I always met with the host/introducer and explained that my gun was a "muzzle loading rifle". Many times, when introduced they said I had a "musket loader".

 

[87TT]

wonder what they would call flame birch? can`t stand the show either.

My first wife was a flaming birch, her name was Brenda.

 

[RSbilliard]

I was shooting my T/C caplock a while back and I noticed a young fella maybe 10 yrs. Watching me. I asked his father if it was ok for the boy take a shot. That youngster thought that was the coolest thing. I later heard his father tell him that it was the kind of gun used in the Revolutionary war.

 

[Spikebuck]

You guys are killing me! I don't think I've ever laughed so much at a string of posts as in this thread!

So....I don't know how many of you get Muzzleloader Magazine, but not all comments like this come from outside of our crowd. Apparently Jason lost his editing pen on the hunting story in the last issue which said:

"The million dollar question with flintlocks is whether they will fire when there is a deer standing in front of you. It makes you wonder how they survived 200 years ago when you were never 100% certain that your gun would go off when you pulled the trigger."

Besides the ridiculous assertion about the reliability of flintlocks, I KNOW I'm not old enough to have been alive 200 years ago!

 

[hawkeye2]

Lead rings do happen and reenactors have been struck by them. The lead ring isn't due to a lead buildup from firing blanks but rather the separation of a mini ball skirt at a grease groove. That's usually caused by a bad cast ball with defects in the skirt or poor fill out. I've known it to happen to shooters and actually to a couple on my team.

 

[Whitworth]

Trying to keep this short. Had a guy at the range look at my rifle and declare the tiger stripe maple stock to be fake. Stated he was a wood products expert and there was no such thing as tiger stripe maple. Proceeded to lecture me on the "burning rope around the stock" technique that he apparently read about in the Dixie Gun Works catalog. He annoyed me so much that I pulled the lock and showed him the matching grain in the lock mortise thinking that would shut him up. His response: "It's still fake, just a really GOOD FAKE."

Never argue with an *****, drops you to their level, then they beat you with their vast experience as such.

 

[ADK Bigfoot]

I was recently at the range with my left hand flintlock .50 caliber Early Virginia TVM. After a few shots at 100 yards, two guys (brothers) down the range from me stopped their shooting and watched me for two more shots. Then one of them says, "Is that a Hawkins?" Turns out he is a very knowledgeable collector of military guns, but had never shot a muzzle loader. I explained what I had and offered to let them both shoot it. The older brother was thrilled. We loaded it up and let him take a couple of shots while the younger brother took pictures. They asked to keep the target and had me sign it for them, load data and all. They were thrilled. By the way, the brothers were in their 60s and 70s!

ADK Bigfoot

 

[Rum River]

One year my wife and I needed a last-minute range session before deer season. We were hunting the home place (where our own range is) and it was so close to the opener it wasn't legal for us to use our own range.

Went to the club range - where of course all and sundry were doing the same thing. Waited in line for half hour or so, because two of the know-it-all board members (I can say that - I was on the board at the time) were monopolizing one of the firing points and slowing the whole process to a crawl.

Using unmentionable ML's they were trying to make sight adjustments while testing component combinations - at 25 yards. "Cuz everybody knows that's the right way to do it." In a very diplomatic tone I gently explained that they were doing it wrong. They ignored me, probably because there were a number of people watching from the longish line. I gave up.

When a bench opened up my wife's 54 Lyman GPH was shooting it's usual one-hole 50 yard group. My Lyman 50 GPR flint was still on with a 2"-3" 100 yard group. Theresa's final shot was so perfectly centered in the rather small bullseye it was if you pushed a wooden dowel through the exact middle.

I knew she wouldn't do it, so I took her target over to Laurel & Hardy and showed them how it was done. The peanut gallery came to look at the target and gave her a round of applause. Her face was very red, but the smile was ear to ear.

As we went to the truck they were still banging away on the 25 yard line.....

 

[Snydly]

Every half stock large caliber Muzzleloader Rifle is a "HawkINS" lol!

That is. a pet peeve for me tool Hawkins,,Hawkens.. it is a Hawken

 

[Capnball]

I was recently at the range with my left hand flintlock .50 caliber Early Virginia TVM. After a few shots at 100 yards, two guys (brothers) down the range from me stopped their shooting and watched me for two more shots. Then one of them says, "Is that a Hawkins?" Turns out he is a very knowledgeable collector of military guns, but had never shot a muzzle loader. I explained what I had and offered to let them both shoot it. The older brother was thrilled. We loaded it up and let him take a couple of shots while the younger brother took pictures. They asked to keep the target and had me sign it for them, load data and all. They were thrilled. By the way, the brothers were in their 60s and 70s!

ADK Bigfoot

That's how you really make sombodies day

 

[Bob McBride]

That is. a pet peeve for me tool Hawkins,,Hawkens.. it is a Hawken

I also like ‘Hawking’. I always think, “You mean like Stephen Hawking?’

 

[Archer 756]

Don.t insult my intelligent with your ignorance, this is one that really works.

 

[Nazgul58]

I know what you mean. My dad is still alive but there's about a dozen stories I've heard from him many times each, some he tells me at least once a year. When he starts telling me, I swear I could recite the rest word for word. I just listen and pretend I've never heard it before.. I could imagine missing that when he's gone.

Miss my Dad too.

Don

 

[Justin.44]

Wow lots of great responses! Seems a lot of people either think your old fashioned black powder gun won't work when you pull the trigger or WILL go off when you don't expect it to!

I can understand the incorrect ideas about how these guns work, due to lack of exposure to them, and most of those are funny. The ones that are frustrating are the know-it-alls insisting that your gun is inferior and underpowered, or dangerous.

I'm fairly new to this myself and it's just funny to hear these misconceptions once you really see what these old guns are capable of.

 

[Daniel Dickey]

I was at the range a month or so ago and a man had his daughter about ten yrs old practicing for youth season with a modern rifle. She was watching me shoot as I let them move from downwind before I shot so she wouldn’t be in the smoke cloud. Or course she fired many more rounds than I did between shots, swabbing and lubing patches. As they were leaving she said “ that rifle sure is a lot of trouble to shoot each time!”

 

[Spikebuck]

As they were leaving she said “ that rifle sure is a lot of trouble to shoot each time!”

Hence why we will always be a rather small proportion of the shooting sports brotherhood. You either love all the process and do it for all it represents or simply won't deal with it!

 

[megasupermagnum]

One year my wife and I needed a last-minute range session before deer season. We were hunting the home place (where our own range is) and it was so close to the opener it wasn't legal for us to use our own range.

Went to the club range - where of course all and sundry were doing the same thing. Waited in line for half hour or so, because two of the know-it-all board members (I can say that - I was on the board at the time) were monopolizing one of the firing points and slowing the whole process to a crawl.

Using unmentionable ML's they were trying to make sight adjustments while testing component combinations - at 25 yards. "Cuz everybody knows that's the right way to do it." In a very diplomatic tone I gently explained that they were doing it wrong. They ignored me, probably because there were a number of people watching from the longish line. I gave up.

When a bench opened up my wife's 54 Lyman GPH was shooting it's usual one-hole 50 yard group. My Lyman 50 GPR flint was still on with a 2"-3" 100 yard group. Theresa's final shot was so perfectly centered in the rather small bullseye it was if you pushed a wooden dowel through the exact middle.

I knew she wouldn't do it, so I took her target over to Laurel & Hardy and showed them how it was done. The peanut gallery came to look at the target and gave her a round of applause. Her face was very red, but the smile was ear to ear.

As we went to the truck they were still banging away on the 25 yard line.....

That rule does not apply to the muzzleloader season. Even the firearms season, all you have to do is call the DNR, and they give you a permit number. Easy peasy.