Can you shoot in the fog?

[ebiggs1]

I had several opportunities to shoot a deer during hunting season but they were what I considered out of my range so I passed. It has been real foggy here for the last week with the temps around 35 degrees and freezing fog in the mornings. Last Saturday we were having coffee in the kitchen when I saw two does come out of the hedgerow south of the house. I had given some thought of trying to shoot the flintlock in the fog anyway. The appearance of the deer made it more of a likely situation if a person was actually hunting and had to deal with fog.
That afternoon I got the flintlock and shot 10 times, in the fog, with not a problem. And that reinforces my original statement of, if you are going to shoot your gun soon after priming the pan, it will shoot. Getting a little braver I loaded the gun and sit it outside for ½ hour. It had its cow’s knee and frizzen stall on. It still fired with no issues.
Also if I had wanted to shoot either of the two does that happened by, I would have had ample time to prime the pan. I am still thinking if the conditions aren’t all that great, why not just wait and prime when you need to.
BTW, the shot would have only been 25 yards or so!
EB

 

[larry wv]

Long as I can see in it its no problem. Just keep an eye on your prime. Larry

 

[zampilot]

I have heard that crisco or lube around the pan and frizzen union keeps moisture out.

 

[Onojutta]

I hunted for two straight days in pouring rain with nothing more than a calf's knee protecting my pan this past October. I changed the pan every morning, but kept the same priming powder throughout the day unless I had to "unload" it for safety, coming in for lunch etc. The gun was kept in the back of my truck over night. On the third morning, it fired perfectly in a downpour and killed my first deer since taking up hunting in 1994. Moral of my story: I have zero doubt that a flintlock should fire in fog. Safely identifying your target and what's behind it is a different issue.

 

[biliff]

Around here, if you don't shoot in the rain and the fog you don't shoot for 8 or 9 months.

You will find that in sustained shooting the fouling in the pan and breech will turn to a wet paste from sucking up moisture out of the air.
Only becomes an issue when you take a break. Then it helps to wipe everything down before reloading.

If hunting you need to load a clean gun and protect the lock from moisture. Worst place seems to be the barrel channel. It runs down that and right into the touch hole area if you don't block it.

 

[David W.]

As far as eye sight is concerened, it depends on how thick it is. There's so much fog here in Tennessee sometimes, you can't see good enough to pick your nose.

 

[Idaho Ron]

Well fog is not the problem. The swing set is! :rotf: :rotf: Ron

 

[M Kuhn]

Man at first glance that deer by the swing set looked like it had the biggest rack I had ever seen until I saw it was two trees on the fence line LOL!
Fog shouldn't be a problem.
I have shot about 80 percent of my flintlock deer in either rain or heavy snow fall and have noticed my frizzen was wet on several occasions just before I puled the trigger.
It still fired.
I try to carry my lock area under my coat when walking in the rain but it still occasionally gets wet.
I haven't had a misfire while hunting yet. I have had misfires when I was just out shooting in the rain but have been lucky when it comes to firing a wet gun at game.
I live in the northwest and rain, snow and fog are just a fact of life here.

 

[tg]

". I am still thinking if the conditions aren’t all that great, why not just wait and prime when you need to."

Priming with 3f eliminates the moisture issue.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I am still thinking if the conditions aren’t all that great, why not just wait and prime when you need to?

Now there is a man of steel who can walk up to a deer and calmly produce a priming flask and set a charge without the deer noticing.

Hereabouts the deer can appear and be gone in two seconds. I walk (or sit!) with a primed pan and still have shots that get by me.

 

[Snow on the Roof]

A long..a'hem looong time ago on a particularly cold, wet, foggy morn, during the Indiana gun season, I had that very same thought. "Why not just prime yer pan when you see the deer? There'd be plenty of time :hmm: . First I should'a known when I start thinking things don't go as planned. Second I probbaly had a better chance of killing that 'ol 8-pointer from laughing too hard than with my flintlock. I must'a looked like Barney Fife, shaking like a leaf. Fumblin' through my bag trying to find my priming horn. Searching through the snow after I dropped it for the third time...finally I'm primed and Mr Mossyhorn is still laughing... er, STANDING 50 yards away. I aim straight on the center of his chest... a little low..squeeeze the trigger..."clunk" Huh? Ya know... "finger tight" ain't the way to go for those little jaws what hold yer flint... :surrender:

As to shooting deer in your back yard. The deer around here and I have a "loose" agreemant. I don't shoot when they're in the wife's flowers and they don't retaliate when one of their numbers comes up missing... :haha: ..."course if "She Who Must Be Obeyed" catches 'em munching on her roses... they're on their own.... :shocked2: :rotf:

 

[larry wv]

Ya SNOW I have to sneak out the side door and stay in the shadows so they don't try to follow me in the mornings. The deer close to the barn are like pets. If they see me and get excited I just cough and they know its me Have to get further away to find some strangers. Larry Wv

 

[ozark57]

Larry, I have the same problem with my tame deer. If my German Shephard is not out they are in the yard. I have a range by the house and often have to chuck rocks at them to get them out of the way to shoot, the shooting brings them in. No sport in shooting them, my cattle would be harder to hunt!

 

[oletymepreacher]

On a deer hunt about five years ago in the high mountains of northern Colorado, the rifle was charged, barrel channel and the rest of frizzen smeared with secret formula containing beeswax, covered with cow's knee. Five days tromping around in fog, misting, and rain. Rifle fired when needed. Didn't bother with recharging pan. (I did expect a misfire, bullet went true.)

 

[Trench]

I am still thinking if the conditions aren’t all that great, why not just wait and prime when you need to?

Now there is a man of steel who can walk up to a deer and calmly produce a priming flask and set a charge without the deer noticing.

Hereabouts the deer can appear and be gone in two seconds. I walk (or sit!) with a primed pan and still have shots that get by me.

Now, I am certainly no man of steel, but I did this very thing and it wasn't by design. I had a flash in a pan just a few minutes before it wasn't legal to shoot anymore. A group of 7 or so doe's were only 25 yards in front of me and they just stared back. I just knealedthere and reprimed my rifle 3 more times and trying to shoot until they got disinterested and walked away.

 

[PGTMG]

I had several opportunities to shoot a deer during hunting season but they were what I considered out of my range so I passed. It has been real foggy here for the last week with the temps around 35 degrees and freezing fog in the mornings. Last Saturday we were having coffee in the kitchen when I saw two does come out of the hedgerow south of the house. I had given some thought of trying to shoot the flintlock in the fog anyway. The appearance of the deer made it more of a likely situation if a person was actually hunting and had to deal with fog.
That afternoon I got the flintlock and shot 10 times, in the fog, with not a problem. And that reinforces my original statement of, if you are going to shoot your gun soon after priming the pan, it will shoot. Getting a little braver I loaded the gun and sit it outside for ½ hour. It had its cow’s knee and frizzen stall on. It still fired with no issues.
Also if I had wanted to shoot either of the two does that happened by, I would have had ample time to prime the pan. I am still thinking if the conditions aren’t all that great, why not just wait and prime when you need to.
BTW, the shot would have only been 25 yards or so!
EB

:hmm: So were you on the teeter-toter or the slide? :wink:

 

[KyFlintlock]

Yep, but it would have prob made a metallic sound when I banked it off the swingset. :rotf: