gun myths

[54ball]

Some more...

Diamond....easy to make

oval....also easy to make

scroll.... rifle carries a message, maybe the ball is the message??

scull.... very rare

Masonic symbols....rare on rifles as a whole but some schools like the NC James River school are quite common to have Masonic symbols

Anchor....rare sea faring owner?

Cross.... very very rare on a period made American Longrifle

Eagle.... Federal eagle post Rev War, if found on a pre-Rev War gun it's most likely a Germanic or Prussian Eagle

Turkey, Deer, Rabbits.... the game hunted

Indian Head or Lady head....A Lehigh Rifle trait.

Fighting Cock

Man in the Moon, Cresent Moon.... Hunters Moon or wet Moon A wet night makes the woods quiet for the hunter.

serpent....or dragons found on Indian trade guns. Sometimes the Indians would deface the serpent's head as they were scared of them.

Acanthus leaf.... one of the most popular carvings found on a longrifle, dates back to ancient Greece and Rome it was a popular motif in Baroque and Rococo decoration of the 18th Century.

 

[David W.]

If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.

It's silly to be superstitious. For instance, I'm not superstitious because it's bad, bad luck. :shocked2:

 

[Robert Egler]

In case you are wondering, INRI and DEO are both Latin abbreviations. INRI was tacked on the cross by the Romans meaning " Jesus Christ King of the Jews". DEO means, " With the help of God". On Beck rifles some times this is found....... "J Deo Beck".

Not too be too picky on the Latin here, but INRI is actually "(J)Iesus of Nazarath King of the (J)Iews", not Jesus Christ,and 'I' being used rather than 'J' in Latin , and "DEO" is simply God, "J Deo" is an abbreviation of Juvante Deo, which is "With the help of God"
:v

 

[54ball]

Thanks

 

[M. De Land]

What's the deal with spitting on you finger and wetting the front sight before taking a difficult shot? Seems like you would want it dull not shiny wet, especially when it's sunny out. MD

 

[David W.]

I THINK that goes back to the older rifles where the sights were a lot closer to the barrel. The heat was supposed to affect the line of sight, to my understanding. I don't know if there is any truth to if it works or not.

What's the deal with spitting on you finger and wetting the front sight before taking a difficult shot? Seems like you would want it dull not shiny wet, especially when it's sunny out. MD

 

[hawkeye2]

"”˜southern’ phrases, like “fair to middlin” (dropping the G)"

That's a Southern phrase? I don't hear it often in the Valley of Virginia but it was a standard answer when I was growing up in Maine.

 

[hawkeye2]

I always thought it was to wipe the sight clean of anything that it might have picked up that would give you a false sight picture.

 

[Palmetto Ed]

Hmmm.Might give the skull storage trick a try. :hmm:

 

[M. De Land]

I grew up on a dairy farm in Michigan and we always had breakfast, dinner and supper.
We also called creeks, "Cricks"! Pronounce probably as "probly" and when some one was grumpy we said the had a "fart crossways"! :rotf: MD

 

[Claude Mathis]

Original topic: "Do you know any old myths about magic and guns, do you reproduce any mythic sign for your guns."

 

[Rifleman1776]

What's the deal with spitting on you finger and wetting the front sight before taking a difficult shot? Seems like you would want it dull not shiny wet, especially when it's sunny out. MD

Dan'l Boone, or wuz it Davy Crockett, did it in the movies. And that must mean a rifle can't be shot unless you do it. Right? :shocked2:

 

[Robby]

Sgt. York did it too!
Robby

 

[Rifleman1776]

Does this fish work?
The hex, IMHO, probably was just a decoration made by a nail modified to be used as a stamp. Filed flat on the end then a 'X' filed across then hardened. Simple, not superstitious.
The putting a barrel in a stream to de-hex turns up often in readings.
Masonic symbols on rifles were more common on presentation grade custom built jobs. I believe they just aren't looked for, or often, not recognized as such. There is a rifle on display at the Historic Arkansas Museum which has many Masonic symbols on it. And, the rear sight is disguised. I cannot find it, no way, no how. The info card says because it was a Masons rifle the sight is hidden. I'm a Mason but do not understand that at all.

[/img]

 

[Rifleman1776]

OK, one more borrowed from Vance Randolph's book.
Back in the day, men liked to recreate and gamble, just like today. They would have shooting matches when the women folk preferred they be working. If a woman wanted her husband to get discourage and quit the shooting match she would stand behind him and tie a knot in her apron every time he went to shoot. This hexed the rifle and sent the shot wide. At the end of the match he would have to de-hex by putting a willow branch in the bore and let the rifle rinse in a creek.

 

[Pigman]

As weird as it sounds it does make a difference.

Try it and see what ti does.

You may like it or not?

Foster From Flint

 

[tom deinek]

Calvinist folk around Zeeland, MI, will not put a rifle on a bed. Bad luck; bad accuracy will ensue.

Lived in MI my whole life; daughter rowed for U of MI. We eat the OH Buckeyes up @ every regatta and never get sick of it.

 

[JMiller]

There is a local legend about a farmer who accidentally killed a man, who was mistaken for a thief, whose rifle refused to hit anything that was living. The farmer went to the local "pow-wower", the Pa. Dutch version of a medicine man, and was told to urinate down the barrel to cast out the evil left over from the accidental shooting. Of course, the farmer did, and his problems were solved. Whizzing down the barrel of a rifle that was used to kill, removes any curse from the dead man's spirit.

 

[Steyr]

An old German saying translates "All your skill is of no avail if an angel urinates in your touch hole" :wink:

Alle kunst ist umsonst wenn ein engel in das zundloch bunst

 

[Archie]

Guaranteed to curl your hair, sweeten your breath and make childbirth a pleasure. Try it, what do you have to lose?

I will certainly try that just incase the child birth issue should arise unexpectedly. :wink: