Black Powder Linguistic Pet Peeves

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Robby said:
Oh, I don't care mostly, I have to admit some terms chafe me a bit, but not enough to make note of. Couple questions at the range do give me pause though. Seems no matter the gun I am using, style, architecture, rifle, fowler, full stock, half stock, .32 to .75, I frequently get asked, 'zat a Hawkins?', followed by, '.50 caliber?'. It doesn't really bother me, just a bit stunning, and I alway try to be affable about it and politely explain what it is and the nuances that make it so, well, till I see their eyes glaze over, at that point I ask if they would like to shoot it, at which time I see an awakening followed by a big s--- eat'n grin. God is in his heaven and all's right with the world.
Robby
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Sombody once said "the only dumb question is the one you don't ask"
With that in mind I try to be polite when people ask me if my original 1861 rifled musket is a flintlock. And like you, I'll offer to let them shoot it if they show more then a passing interest. You will always be remembered by that person whether he amases a huge collection of muzzleloaders or never fires one again.
Neil
 
GREENSWLDE said:
What's a FRIZZEN. Capnball called it a Sparky thing. Old Col.Hawker called it a Hammer When they were in use. The piece that holds the Flint is a Cock. What was good enough for the Colonel is good enough for OLD DOG.. ;) :)
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I actually had a young lady at the range ask me "Is that sparky thing broken?"
At first she just wanted nothing to do with the gun "Looks dangerous!"
I said, it's a gun, they're all dangerous in the wrong hands! But I had her making smoke and smiling about it before she was done.
 
I was walking in to a management area on an old logging road when a guy older than myself (73) drove up in one of those Hummer looking Toyotas. As soon as he saw my rifle he said; " YOU SHOOT A SPARKLER". I liked the guy, we talked for a while, turns out he was an old career Gunny with 5 tours in Vietnam, he said he had been wounded 5 times as well.

Seeing as how I sat out the war in Germany (Army 67-68-69), I have a bunch of respect for this type of guy.

I met him later in town by chance, he was wearing shorts, he wasn't lying about being wounded, his legs looked like a patchwork quilt with shrapnel wound scars and sewn up repairs. Again we talked for quite a while, he was so upbeat and happy, the kind of guy you would want to get rip roaring drunk with in your early days

As for what I call my rifles, sometimes a flinter, most of the time a sidelock muzzleloader to set me apart from the guys who think they are "muzzleloader hunting" with those single shot high power scoped thingies they carry. Most of these guy have never seen a side lock much less a flinter.
 
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GREENSWLDE said:
What's a FRIZZEN. Capnball called it a Sparky thing. Old Col.Hawker called it a Hammer When they were in use. The piece that holds the Flint is a Cock. The small bent tin thing that hold the Pan cover closed is a Feather Spring..
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Correct
I find it amusing that folks get bothered by "smokepole", "flinter" or "rocklock" and etc, but then use the terms Hammer, Frizzen Spring, and Frizzen, when they are talkin' about their Firelock, and it's Cock, Hammer, and Feather Spring. ☺

So I don't get bothered by the slang terms, but do get bothered a bit by objections to the slang terms.

Some but not all that I've heard....
Front Stuffer
Rock Lock
Smokepole
Scatter Gun
Thunder Stick
Curry gun
etc
etc

LD
 
I'm seldom bothered by terms like front stuffer, rock lock, etc. As long at the term conveys the right information, that's fine. Holy black is just amusing (and sort of how I regard it). When I was young it was typical for different areas to have pet names for objects. Today, maybe not so much.

I love that style guide for writing about black powder guns. It reminded me of the approach I used when doing business writing for contracts and proposals.

Jeff
 
Personally I don't care, call it what you want. As long as I can figure out what you're talking about then we're good. Of course that doesn't mean I can't use different nom deguerres and someone's aversion to them for comedic effect.....:thumb:
 
None of the slang terms relating to muzzleloading bother me too much.
I generally will say "real black" to distinguish what powder I use, and caplock or sidelock when referring to the type of muzzleloader I prefer. Mainly because so few of people have much knowledge about muzzleloaders these days and 80% of them envision an inline if you say muzzleloader.
Some common misconceptions bother me quite a bit, such as when someone refers to their sub powder being "non-corrosive", or when you show up to the range and some guy comes over and asks why on earth you'd want to shoot a horrible accuracy RB when there are so many "great modern bullets" these days. You know that guy, the one that knows for an absolute fact that RB's are only capable of groups that would make a shotgun smile slyly.
It is enjoyable to see their face when you pull your target though.

If you want to know the suddenly popular new term that really stands the hair up on the back of my neck, well it is related to archery.
It has become a common thing now to hear the younger generation archers, in reference to successfully shooting an animal, to say in reference to their bow that they "let it eat". As in, "I let my Mathews eat this morning".
Dumbest thing I've ever heard.
 
tenngun said:
On the forum I use rock in the lock, cap popper, smoothie, front stuffers, curry popper, but know I’m talking to folks that know what we’re all talking about here.
I’ve also been know to say jar head, ground pounder, and about my self squid and bubble head. But that’s to people who’ve been there done that.
At a range or an event I never use that language. If I post on a you tube vid that talks about ML to an audience of ml shooters I will be sloppy. If commenting on an historic non ml site again I use proper terminology
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Proper terminology ! I believe that is what we are getting at here .
spoken language is living language and constantly changing.
I am as guilty as as anybody and every body, for I too have my preferences and prejudices in terminology.
I recall one person saying It all depends upon what is - is . I did not quote the statement because I am uncertain I have it or remember correctly.
What is proper may not be static. What is is?
I may not be able to describe it , but I know it when I see it.

Buzz
 
renegadehunter said:
None of the slang terms relating to muzzleloading bother me too much.
I generally will say "real black" to distinguish what powder I use, and caplock or sidelock when referring to the type of muzzleloader I prefer. Mainly because so few of people have much knowledge about muzzleloaders these days and 80% of them envision an inline if you say muzzleloader.
Some common misconceptions bother me quite a bit, such as when someone refers to their sub powder being "non-corrosive", or when you show up to the range and some guy comes over and asks why on earth you'd want to shoot a horrible accuracy RB when there are so many "great modern bullets" these days. You know that guy, the one that knows for an absolute fact that RB's are only capable of groups that would make a shotgun smile slyly.
It is enjoyable to see their face when you pull your target though.

If you want to know the suddenly popular new term that really stands the hair up on the back of my neck, well it is related to archery.
It has become a common thing now to hear the younger generation archers, in reference to successfully shooting an animal, to say in reference to their bow that they "let it eat". As in, "I let my Mathews eat this morning".
Dumbest thing I've ever heard.
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I used to frame houses years ago. Plumb and level with a 5' level was called "That's Nuts" or "Dead nuts"
I have no idea how it started but occasionally I'll let that slip doing anything that requires a certain amount of precision.
 
Tom A Hawk said:
I prefer the traditional, old time terminology - what the normal, everyday folks in the past called things from their time. My Grandad, who hunted with muzzle loaders in the early 1900's called caplock nipples, "tubes".
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Osborne Russell in a part of his journal referred to "the percussion tube". Not sure if it meant the drum or nipple. If it was a patent breech it would seem he meant nipple.

Couldn't imagine any period character prior to the popularization of the cap lock using a reference such as "rock lock" or "flinter" since there was nothing contemporaneously to distinguish between.

I don't much care what terminology anyone uses. If I know what they mean, what's the point of alienating them by questioning their choice of terminology?
 
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Grenadier1758 said:
And I thought it was a Cock, Steel and Feather Spring.
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Cuthbertson in 1776 called it a "hammer" not steel, and thus the safety covering was the "hammer stall" which he also documents..

The earlier, 1764 manual merely refers to "the Spring", no mention of "feather". No way to tell if there were multiple accepted and understood terms in use....

LD
 
The one that irks me is "pill". Whether it is in reference to a ball, minnie, jacketed thingy or the whole "self contained cartridge", I just don't like trying to make a simile out of the word pill. No definition fits the projectiles that is also applicable to the "medicine" (the other word I can't stand) "pill".

I don't mind it but every do-gooder know-it-all at the range that wants to strike up a conversation or let me know he is Mr. Knowlegable Shooter starts off with the same question: "Is that a 50". My answer is always "No, I don't own a fifty". Usually that ends the conversation as they are stumped.
 
Sparkitoff said:
The one that irks me is "pill". Whether it is in reference to a ball, minnie, jacketed thingy or the whole "self contained cartridge", I just don't like trying to make a simile out of the word pill. No definition fits the projectiles that is also applicable to the "medicine" (the other word I can't stand) "pill".

I don't mind it but every do-gooder know-it-all at the range that wants to strike up a conversation or let me know he is Mr. Knowlegable Shooter starts off with the same question: "Is that a 50". My answer is always "No, I don't own a fifty". Usually that ends the conversation as they are stumped.
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I have a .45, a .50 and a .58 so they do have a one in three shot at getting it right. You're right, that will end a conversation but is that what we want to do? I'll end a conversation in a second with a guy shooting a tacked out and scoped AR at a 25' target with three round bursts. But I've seen people shooting their grandad's .22 lever action who genuinely are interested and could just be stumped on how to start a conversation. So, I try to be as approachable as possible. Everybody starts some place and I'd rather be a spectators first interaction then Tackleberry shooting his AR at the overheads. If I want to be left alone, I'll find some farm to shoot at.
 

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