Black Powder- should I be mad?

[Grizzled Roberts]

I went to Pro Bass one time and slapped down a Musket flint and a .715 round ball. I told them ( a crowd had developed ) I needed my militia required sixty balls and 12 musket flints for my local militia muster. They could not say a word.
After a couple of minutes of silence I let them off the hook.
Some times you can't fight stupid. I have a local store where I can buy real black powder. I bring in my firelocks sometimes to show the boys what real historical flintlocks look like. I also explain what I do with these firelocks. I even brought my Ferguson Rifle in to show them. There was five men standing around while I was showing the rifle and explaining the history of the rifle, I could see that the information was not of interest to four of the five. When we set up at a historical event most of the people there have an interest in history. When you bring up history in the general public, the sad part is most regular people are not interested in American History.

 

[RC]

:shocked2: grzrob sayed "the sad part is most regular people are not interested in American History.

..I'm feelin good bout us now!! :grin:

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have to go off topic to respond.
Check the general discussion forum.
Hope I don't go political, I'm borderline obsessive on this issue.

 

[jethro224]

I went to Pro Bass one time and slapped down a Musket flint and a .715 round ball. I told them ( a crowd had developed ) I needed my militia required sixty balls and 12 musket flints for my local militia muster. They could not say a word.
After a couple of minutes of silence I let them off the hook.

:haha: Were you dressed in your 1780 clothes?

Our local Bass Pro is just fixin' to open it's doors. I might hafta get dressed and go down there.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Tell them you need some Port Orford Cedar arrow shafts and glue on single-blade broadheads for your recurve. :haha:

 

[Sham66]

When the new Cabela's opened in Allen, TX, I bought a Dance Bros. Pietta revolver on sale to celebrate the grand opening. The salesman said he would walk me over to where they fill out forms for handgun ownership in Texas. I told him that these guns are exempt and his reply was that a "pistol is a pistol". I should have played it through, but I asked to speak to a manager. The manager said: "This is hardcore, old school shooting; we'll lead him right to the cash register". That was pretty cool, hopefully there was some training later.

James

 

[Roy]

:haha:

 

[jethro224]

Tell them you need some Port Orford Cedar arrow shafts and glue on single-blade broadheads for your recurve. :haha:

Nah, I switched to a hickory longbow last year. :wink:
Yer right! Them arras are scarcer than roundballs.

 

[lakota]

Tell them you need some Port Orford Cedar arrow shafts and glue on single-blade broadheads for your recurve. :haha:

If you do that you will probably get a lecture about how you should be shooting a 70# draw weight paralell limb machined titanium riser coumpound bow with carbon arrows and mechanical broadheads! :youcrazy:

 

[Tony Logan]

When I first got my flinter, I went to where I had been told you could buy black powder in Memphis. I hadnt been in that store in about 20 years, well too bad because thats when they quite selling black powder most likely. Those places are scary, nothing but a bunch of semi auto military looking stuff. I know people have the right to defend themselves with a firearm and this is a dangerous city. I am glad we have that right and I dont ever want to give that up. But do you really need a freaking machine gun look alike. Too each his own, what ever happened to a good old double barrel?

 

[MikeC]

Those places are scary, nothing but a bunch of semi auto military looking stuff. I know people have the right to defend themselves with a firearm and this is a dangerous city. I am glad we have that right and I dont ever want to give that up. But do you really need a freaking machine gun look alike. Too each his own, what ever happened to a good old double barrel?

Your headed down a scary slope. Once gun owners start questioning the merits of a style of gun we are doomed. We as gun owners need to stick together and not question why one style of gun has a legitimate purpose and another does not. Anti's like nothing better than to see gun owners fighting amongst themselves. They can just sit back and watch us fall from within.

 

[Robby]

Well said Mike. :thumbsup:
Robby

 

[Shine]

Along the same note i like to go into a dunkin donuts and ask for a 1/3 of a dozen. And i really enjoy the blank looks. Some semi retired lady who was working the toaster turned around and got me 4 donuts off the rack walked past all of the 18 to 20 somthings working the counter who were giving me dumb looks. Handed them to me and :wink: .

 

[jethro224]

Good old SxS doubles are almost as scarce as flintlocks at the gun stores around here.
Personally I don't have any use for the military wannabee guns either, but that's OK. I don't fight about it with those guys.
We just shake our heads in wonder that anybody would want one of those. They wonder why anybody would want a gun that only shoots once or twice and I wonder why anybody would need 30 rounds and batteries on a rifle. :idunno:
One of my shootin' buddies always has a new gun with all the fancy doo-dads every time we get together, talkin' about how all the magazines say it's the best yet, but I still out-shoot him with my flinters. :haha: So he goes out and buys another new gun.

 

[Rifleman1776]

This thread has taken a huge drift. I'll risk getting zapped with two comments.
One, clerks in stores of any kind get paid minimally. Training is equally minimal because of big turn over in personell. Sadly, we have to expect little to no knowledgable assistance from them. Fret privately, debating in the store is harder than teaching a pig to sing. I know, I have tried. :wink:
Second: I don't like the 'black guns' or the trend towards them. But, historically, many, maybe most, guns that became sporting icons started as military weapons. This is only the latest iteration of history repeating itself.
Don't like it? Try taking up traditional muzzle loading. It is a very satisfying and theraputic shooting avocation that brings us back to the roots of American history. Try it, you will like it. :thumbsup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Tell them you need some Port Orford Cedar arrow shafts and glue on single-blade broadheads for your recurve. :haha:

If you do that you will probably get a lecture about how you should be shooting a 70# draw weight paralell limb machined titanium riser coumpound bow with carbon arrows and mechanical broadheads! :youcrazy:

Worse than that. I am "unethical and a game waster" because I use an old recurve and wood arrows. :haha: I can testify my shooting on game improved considerably when I went back from a compound to a recurve. No pins to choose the wrong one of, no rest for the noisy shaft to fall off, no release to fumble with. Just look and shoot . . . but then I practice EVERY day in my cellar 20 yard range. I had a half-dozen legal deer within 50 yards of me last bow season but never drew an arrow. None of them got close enought and where I had a clear shot. That's life. :idunno:

I've heard and debated in similar arguments against the round ball. I suppose it is true for those who lack the self control to stick to the limited effective range of "primative" weapons. But that's the whole challenge. :wink:

If the idiots on the TV hunting shows would stop that annoying whispering they could use quality equipment like flintlocks and traditional bows as well. :haha:

 

[RC]

Stumpkiller sayed...

if the idiots on the TV hunting shows would stop that annoying whispering they could use quality equipment like flintlocks and traditional bows as well.

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

 

[Golfswithwolves]

About all we can do when dealing with a non-informed person is to try to educate them a little bit. They are not necessarily stupid people, just ignorant of the information due to the modern environment .

 

[lakota]

It's a small miracle that out ancestors ever killed any animals at all and didnt starve to death without the benefit of bows shooting mechanical broadheads and 400 FPS or rifles firing Super Short Magnum rifle cartridges capable of liquiefiying a deer on impact. How on earth did they get by with patched round balls and flint tipped wooden arrows?

 

[Norinco]

I did ask for some traditional archery stuff at Basspro when I was too lazy to order from Three Rivers. The salesman told me to go to Three Rivers instead since that's where he shopped for his traditional stuff.

When I asked for black powder at Basspro I got silence for a few seconds. I told them black powder, FFFG, for my pistols, and that they have empty cans outside with a sign telling customers to inquire for it. They finally understood and I had to wait like ten minutes for the manager to open the powder magazine and get me my powder. As he was ringing me up, he asked me what I needed it for. He seemed surprised when I said cap and ball pistols. Another salesman said that he didn't know people still shoot them regularly. He thought people just bought them for wall hangers because they look cool.