My wife and I had our 51st Anniversary Dinner at the "Fort" restaurant in Morrison, CO. The Fort supposedly is a replica of a fur trader's fort and they hold small "Rendezvous" and muzzleloader demonstrations there. Buffalo, Prairie Quail and mountain trout make up a good portion of the menu.
Some years ago, when I was just a boy in my early 60's, I stopped by to see what they referred to as a Rendezvous. A fellow and his son were shooting a percussion and a flintlock rifle. The flintlock was, to me, beautiful with bold, tiger stripe wood and engraving on the lock. The pair noticed my interest and kindly offered me the chance to shoot the flintlock. Let's say that my resulting shot would not qualify me in competition. In fact, I have no knowledge about where that lead ball landed. I did see a puff of dust come off the ground in front of the target stand, but that couldn't be the result of my shot. Or was it!
Now, I shoot my flintlocks and percussion rifles and pistols regularly. And, it turns out that the tiger strip maple rifle that started my interest had faux stripes. The builder had made the stripes himself. Well, it did look good.
Some years ago, when I was just a boy in my early 60's, I stopped by to see what they referred to as a Rendezvous. A fellow and his son were shooting a percussion and a flintlock rifle. The flintlock was, to me, beautiful with bold, tiger stripe wood and engraving on the lock. The pair noticed my interest and kindly offered me the chance to shoot the flintlock. Let's say that my resulting shot would not qualify me in competition. In fact, I have no knowledge about where that lead ball landed. I did see a puff of dust come off the ground in front of the target stand, but that couldn't be the result of my shot. Or was it!
Now, I shoot my flintlocks and percussion rifles and pistols regularly. And, it turns out that the tiger strip maple rifle that started my interest had faux stripes. The builder had made the stripes himself. Well, it did look good.
