Horn

[mudd turtle]

Where can good horns be found to make powder horns. Just any horn will not do -right. Look foward to getting staeted building my own horn. Mudd Turtle. :hmm:

 

[Swampman]

It's nearly impossible to find a good horn for 18th c. use. There are some suitable buffalo horns on ebay. Friendship is the one place you might find a horn or two. Most are way too small and don't have the right curves.

 

It is possible to get a good quality horn suitable for 18th century use from october country or TOW. They both have horns polished and un-polished, 15+ inches, which are mostly white and even some that are scrimshaw quality.

 

[soggy]

I think you will be able to get horns that you will find suitable from the places that Robgriz mentions. However if this is your "first" horn maybe you should settle for one of lesser quality for a starter project.
I'm very fortunate in that I have never had to buy from a commerical supplier (yet); I have a friend ,and fellow shooter that works in a meat packing plant. :grin:
This is just my opinion, but I believe that not everyone had a "fancy" horn in days gone by. Most horns were for practical, everyday use. Sure there are samples of some very nice fancy horns, but not everyone was capable of making, or affording one of that calibar (pun intended)
I'm sure whatever course of action you choose you'll enjoy yourself to the fullest, and you'll be proud of your accomplishment. It's great to be able to say "I built this !"
Soggy

P S : Keep us posted with pictures ,

 

[paco97]

Unpolished Horns

Try this link. they are fast shippers and you can get the horns pretty cheap. Theo nly drawback is they contain lot of dark, so they are good for first horns.

 

[2172]

jsut received a great 12-14" polished horn from Leather Unlimited(www.leatherunltd.com)...bought this one to see quality, as it was a hair cheaper than October Country where I've usually bought..I'm satisfied. It cost $11.00..they have polished horns up to 18"22"...they also have some good-looking unpolished ones. Since this is your first horn, going with a polished one might be a better idea...you can spend a lot of time with bits of broken glass and scrapers getting an unpolished one in shape...these people also have a good catalog..a whole section on "Black Powder and Indian Lore"...no, I don't have stock in the company...Hank

 

[bwhoffman]

Howdy,
I had the same issue with finding a horn....
Te previous posts all have valid points and great info.
A great source for "raw" horns would be a local mobile or custom slaughterhouse. These will be "green", and you will desire to have the skull cap attached so you can place it outdoors and allow the birds and the bugs to clean it up for you. This way, you get all of t he horncap to work with. it will dry out and slip off the core.
The one I am working on (my first) was on a mexican cross roping steer that we used up and butchered, but thats another story.
This horn is tough, indestructable and has its share of flaws. I opted to keep the natural shape for the end plug as opposed to shaping over a cone, filed the pour end into an octogon and found there is a lot of material to work with.
I have filed most all blemishes out and then sanded using up 400 grit. Horn os predominately black with large areas of "cream". enough so I can do a little scrimshaw! It will be crude by storebought standards, but I made it, I will know the history of it and will take a lot of pride in it.
This is my first and its a lot of work but fun also.
To compare, I ordered one from dgw (finished cheapie) and immediately gave it away as was no thrilled with the production look.

several sites have horns in the rough....
gunworks, totw come to mind

have fun with it and post a pic when you get one done!

Brett

 

[bob1961]

here's a link to look at too.............bob

hindandfur.com

 

[mudd turtle]

Thanks for all the replys. I am getting ready to make a horners bench then get all my tools togeather to be ready when I do get that horn to work on. Mudd Turtle. :grin:

 

[lyman]

Mudd Turtle
I've been making horns for about ten years now and have found out that if you want a horn only to hang over the mantle get the big ones like some of these other fellows reccomend but if you want one to hunt with go for a 6 to 8 inch horn. It's easyer to carry, it's lighter and won't catch on every thing. It also carrys enough powder for the hunt.
Bob

 

[Swampman]

If you want one that is authentic for the 18th c., you'll need a very large one. I was in a tent full of horns today, and only saw one that had a proper twist. It was too small. If you look at 300-400 cow horns that are possibly useful, you might find one or two that are suitable for making a good horn. Buffalo horns on the other hand are cheap, and good ones are pretty common. Most cow horns are too straight, or the tip turns in the wrong direction for a right handed shooter, and the base is usually way to small.

 

[paulvallandigham]

MUdd Turtle: You have to decide if this is a horn you are going to put over a mantle, or hang from the rafters and look at, or carry into the field and use. Horns were used to carry salt, but also corn, lard, and other rough foods by early settlers. The larger horns were carried by horseback, or in a wagon. Large horns were used to store Black Powder, but these were supply horns, and the powder was transferred to smaller horns for hunting. If you want 2-5 lbs. of powder hanging from a strap around your neck, knock yourself out! But, I think you will find that carrying half a pound or less of powder works for most hunting done today. I have hunted with pre-measured powder charges carried in old cigar tubes, rather than take my powder horn into the woods. 3 or 4 shortened plastic tubes( Yeah, I know its not PC, but you can make these tubes out of wood, or bamboo, if you need to be authentic) in my possibles bag was a lot lighter load to carry than a half pound of powder I was not going to need or use. If you are at the range, or a rendezvous, in your finests skins, then by all means wear the horn with pride. Just remember to load from the horn into a powder measure, close the horn with the plug, and THEN pour the powder into your gun. Safety always have to come first.

 

[Swampman]

A typical 18th c. horn will hold 1 1/2 lbs of 3f. It will also hold as little as you wish to put in it.

 

[Harddog]

If you want one that is authentic for the 18th c., you'll need a very large one. I was in a tent full of horns today, and only saw one that had a proper twist. It was too small. If you look at 300-400 cow horns that are possibly useful, you might find one or two that are suitable for making a good horn. Buffalo horns on the other hand are cheap, and good ones are pretty common. Most cow horns are too straight, or the tip turns in the wrong direction for a right handed shooter, and the base is usually way to small.

Mark,

If you are talking about an F&I period 18th century horn, then I have to agree with you. The typical F&I period lobe or lip horn has a double curve and is in the range of 18 inches or longer when measured around the outside curve. Since I do the F&I period this is the type and size horn I have always carried. And you are correct about capacity. Mine holds a pound to a pound and a half of powder.

However, there were other typical 18th century horns that were not near as big nor near as curved or double twisted. Some examples of these smaller tyoe 18th century horns are the Berks County screw tip horns, the Carolina banded horns and a lot of Virginia horns. These horns typically only had one curve and were smaller in diameter as well as in length. Also, from the F&I period to the end of the 18th century the trend was for horns to become somewhat smaller. A theory about this is that as the large game became hunted out in the east the calibers of rifles became smaller to suit smaller game animals and the need for the really large capacity horns of the mid 18th century also dwindled. Of course there are exceptions to this such as horns carried to accomodate large bore fowlers.

The horns that I think are often overlooked as Eastern style horns are the Buffalo horns. Everybody thinks of them as western mountainman horns, but during the 18th century, buffalo roamed a major portion of this continent east of the Mississippi River. These Eastern Woods Bison were harvested to extinction for hides and meat. The horns of these buffalo were also used for powder horns. I personally think that a buffalo horn made in an eastern style of powder horn makes an appropriate representative horn for eastern portrayals, especially a frontiersman, Native American or perhaps a less affluent persona.

Randy Hedden

 

[Swampman]

I want mine to stay put when I'm running, and not get caught on everything. That's why I prefer the double twist. I agree on the buffalo horns. Scott Sibley has some nice ones on the TOW website. I have a real hard time finding a horn I would buy. I'd rather pay someone else to find me one. A Lee Larkin horn for $145.00 is really worth the money in my opinion. My love for big bore muskets is another reason I need a big powder horn.

 

[Stumpkiller]

If you want one that is authentic for the 18th c., you'll need a very large one. I was in a tent full of horns today, and only saw one that had a proper twist. It was too small. If you look at 300-400 cow horns that are possibly useful, you might find one or two that are suitable for making a good horn. Buffalo horns on the other hand are cheap, and good ones are pretty common.

I think buffalo were relatively unknown in the United States of the 18th century. Lewis & Clark didn't head west until the 19th century. Prior to the Revolution colonists were forbidden by King George from going far enough west to see them.

Not all shooters want or need a pound and a half of powder; then or now. Smaller hunting horns were more common than the 17 and 18" campaign horns. You don't need the bulk of 140 shots worth of powder for a two day hunt with a rifle. Heading to war or militia duty was a different story. Each soldier was often mandated to carry fixins for 60 rounds for a .75 cal musket +/-.

 

[Swampman]

"I think buffalo were relatively unknown in the United States of the 18th century."

Actually they were very common in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and a slew of other Eastern states.

It just depends on how historically accurate you want to be. Small horns are fine for folks who are just out hunting. I consider powder and ball to be a very important survival tool. I wouldn't think of entering the woods without plenty of both. I want a huge horn and I almost never see one that I feel is big enough for 18th c. use. 10" around the outside curve and smaller horns are ok for 19th c. horns. 13" around the outside curve and up are necessary for 18th c. use.

 

[Birdman]

Stump I hate to disagree but folks forget that there were buffalo east of the Mississippi in great numbers. Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tenn etc had many woods buff up to the late 1700s and maybe even into the early 1800s in smaller areas.So haveing a buffalo horn to carry your powder is not a real stretch. There are many instences of persons describing the game trails through the cane breaks left by herds of buff moving through the area.The woods buff was a smaller more compact version of what we expect to see, if ya google in European Buffalo ya might come up with a few pictures n descriptions of buff that are still living wild in Poland n some European countrys, these buff are almost the exact duplicate of the ones that were exterminated here as the country grew n people moved westward. YMHS Birdman

 

[sprucefly]

That's right. I don't think there were any east of the Applachians (sp?), however. The last one in Ohio was killed in 1806 near Symmes Creek in Jackson County. The buffalo traces were the highways in those days.

 

[DrTimboone]

"The Long Hunt: Death of the Buffalo East of the Mississippi" Ted Franklin Belue

Will help set things straight on the locations of Buffalo. Actually they existed all the way to the Atlantic when the colonists first arrived and had receded bey :grin: ond the Appalachians by the early 1700s. Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton among others killed many in KY in the 1760-1780 period.