Hello from Virginia

[Hawk54]

Welcome from Minnesota.

 

[Jay Templin]

Winchester, eh? Welcome from Charles City! If you’re free, the Olde Virginia Primitive Riflemen are holding our spring rendezvous this month- the 24th through 26th. Got muzzleloading and archery happening. Details are available on our website at www.ovpr2.org
Jay

 

[Dryball]

Just joined today, love traditional muzzle loading and traditional archery.

Welcome.....where in Virginia?

 

[UndeadPoet]

Welcome, from North Carolina!

 

[Frontiersman77]

Welcome.....where in Virginia?

In the mountains about 8 miles west of Winchester.

 

[Frontiersman77]

Thanks everybody. I grew up shooting TC cap locks and went to my first living history event when I was in Junior High back in the early 1990’s. I got to handle one of Allen Sandy’s long rifles there and when I got done drooling I bought a Armstrong kit from Pecatonica Long Rifle Supply. I worked on it off and on for over a year until I got it finished. It turned out really well and I had a lot of fun building it. It was a .45 cal Colerain swamp barrel with a Siler cap lock and a grade 4 piece of Curly Maple, and it would drive tacks. I killed several deer, a running fox, and several groundhogs with it. Then life happened and I grew up and got married, had kids, etc. I also sustained an injury to my right eye that ended up with having to relearn to shoot left handed. The rifle became a wall decoration hanging over my fireplace. I would look at it from time to time and wish that I had built it as a flintlock, but since I had no experience with one, and didn’t know anybody close who had one, I had shied away. About 6 years ago I was at the Fort Shenandoah NSSA Fall Nationals and ran into Mr. Bobby Hoyt. I explained to him that I would like to have it converted to flintlock and also kind of wished I had built it in .50 caliber. That was a very productive conversation and after a few months of impatient waiting I got back my new .50 cal flintlock. I am still learning all the little details that go into tuning a flintlock and the road has been bumpy but fun. I feel that there is still room for improvement but as of last year I have gotten it to the point where it will fire upside down, which I have been told is pretty good. However I am still working on my shooting technique, let’s just say that when you shoot a right handed flintlock left handed, there is a lot going on right in front of your nose. I now have a second Pecatonica kit, a left handed .58 cal Verner, with a Chamber’s Siler flintlock, waiting to be built. I am itching to get started but I made a deal with my wife to build her a Almish style farm table before getting started.