Buffalo horn

[Blackfoot]

Would Buffalo horn work ok to make a powder horn?

Do you know of any sources for buffalo horn?

 

[AZ-Robert]

They work very well for powder horns! Made two myself, working on two more, and I know other members of the forum have used buffalo horns too.

They have a different texture than cow horns. Take more work to get cleaned up, but are easier to work with after that, IMO.

Crazy Crow carries them, as do others:
[url] http://www.crazycrow.com/Merc...PROD&Product_Code=1913-001-100&Category_Code=[/url]

Here are pics of the first one I did. I went for "elegant simplicity" on the second one:
[url] http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/174833/post/174833/hl[/url]//

 

My favorite Powder horn is made of Buffalo Bull horn and holds a whole pound. I made this one and have made several over the years. I like them. Try them, you may like them too. BTW, the buffalo powder horns are good for either eastern or western events.
Don

 

[howdydoit]

Im looking to build one out of buffalo myself. Does anyone have any pointers.

 

Run a hanger or peice of wire in the horn to get a feel of where the cavity stops and cut the pointy end off about 3/4" ahead of the cavity so you have plenty of meat at the end for a pouring hole. Drill a hole from the center down through the cavity so you have a pouring hole. At this point I use a violin peg hole taper reamer to get a tapered hole. I hand carve the stopper plug out of something native like osage orange. The butt plug is turned on a lathe and I shape the horn to fit the roung plug by boiling the butt of the horn for a while. Use a turned tapered peice of wood for a form and let the horn dry with the form in the butt. After the horn cools down I put the final ******** in and tack it in place. Locust thorns work great for this job. Drill tiny little pilot holes and drive the thorns in to place. File them off flush as you file and scrape and polish the horn to your satifaction. I use a staple made out of a beat up old nail for the strap staple. Oil the horn on the outside with linseed oil and your good to go. Oil buffalo horn periodically so they won't dry out and possibly crack. There are some pictures of fur trade powder horns made of buffalo horn in one of the Buckskinner books. I think it's the one with the article by Hanson on fur trade goods.
Good luck,
Don

 

[crockett]

If you order a buffalo horn through the mail make sure you personally speak with the outfit and tell them you want a big bull buffalo horn with a sharp curve, otherwise they may send a straight, small cow buffalo horn- not what you want. The buffalo horn swells more than cow horn when you boil it. You therefore don't want a real tight fitting plug because the horn will shrink so much around it that there will be a swelling in that spot. Test fit the plug before boiling the horn and just have it snug, not tight IMO.

 

[Swampman]

They are dirt cheap on eBay and well documented for use.