shaman
40 Cal
First off, this may be of no interest to anyone else but me. Second, let warn y'all that there is no dead deer at the end of the story.
Quick Background
January 2022: I get a Pedersoli Brown Bess
March 2022: I finally get out to shoot it after acquiring all the necessary tackle
April 2022: I get cancer.
May - Aug 2022: I get chemo
September2022: I pass out in line waiting for powder at Friendship
October 2022: I make it out for Early ML -- hardest thing I've ever done in my life
Novemer 2022: Bag the biggest deer in a decade, just not with the 'Bess
August 2023: Declared cancer-free
Which brings me up to this past weekend. It was KY's Early Muzzleloader Season. I was back out with the 'Bess. This time, I was feeling better than I had in years. I had 3 outings with 'Bess over 2 days. Saturday AM, I went out to my favorite treestand, about a half-mile from camp. Saturday PM, I traveled to another treestand overlooking a oak-lined ravine. Sunday AM, I was in my tower blind. Everything went nominally. All 3 trips were completely without the slightest interference with whitetail, although I did get a snort from a doe on the neighboring property as I was preparing to leave Saturday noon.
Okay, Shaman. Why all this buildup?
I want to report on the 'Bess and how it worked as a hunting implement. I want to especially take back anything I might have said last year about it being unwieldy. I was weak. I was sick. Now that I'm back up to normal, the 'Bess is just fine. Yeah, it ain't a light weapon by any means. However, I have no complaints with one exception; it is hard to keep it on my shoulder when I have it slung. I've tried barrel up and barrel down. It requires constant attention. In my hands, it compares favorably with my M1 Garand for lugging about.
Now to the care and feeding of this beast. Last year, I went out with 69 caliber balls wrapped in parchment and coated with beeswax/lard. This was meant to get as close to a paper cartridge. I was still too lame in my hands to handle a standard cartridge. I poured the powder from sealed vials. In the intervening year, the neuropathy in my hands has improved. However, I found maximum accuracy over the past year using the SkyChief loading method with a .735" ball/80 gr 3F. That's what I went with for this hunt. I loaded up Friday afternoon and discharged the gun as I was coming in Sunday. In between, I primed at the beginning of each sit and cleaned it out as I was leaving the stand. After all that, 'Bess went off smartly Sunday noon. I was impressed. I had worried the olive oil-soaked wad would queer the powder if left in all weekend.
The kit for feeding 'Bess these SkyChief loads is complicated. I took enough for 5 reloads into the field. It filled up my possibles bag to the max. What I may do next time is start with the Skychief load at the cabin and then carry paper cartridge reloads with me. Who am I fooling, really? The last time I had to reload in the field with a deer watching me was 2001. The big doe, stood at the base of the tree holding my stand and waited until I was ready to put on the cap before disappearing into the cedars.
Early ML Season is a bit of a lark for us anyway. We use it as a dry-run for the Big Show in mid November. We seldom see deer. When we do, we usually pass on them. It is still warm that meat spoilage is an issue, and the processors are not taking in deer. We go out anyway. We just like hunting, and it is good to get out and work the bugs out of our gear and enjoy the good hunting weather.
I did have a chance to test 'Bess against some turkeys. Twice this weekend, I had gobblers come around to feed close by my stands. I got 'Bess up and brought it to full cock with without annoying them. I would have thought there would be more reaction with the big in-the-white barrel and the noisy lock. Nope! I could have had roast turkey each time. I tried a similar drill on the squirrels Saturday Morning. I think that is going to be the best way of using 'Bess on squirrel. I'll just wait until they're on the ground feeding and then snipe at them from a stand.
Quick Background
January 2022: I get a Pedersoli Brown Bess
March 2022: I finally get out to shoot it after acquiring all the necessary tackle
April 2022: I get cancer.
May - Aug 2022: I get chemo
September2022: I pass out in line waiting for powder at Friendship
October 2022: I make it out for Early ML -- hardest thing I've ever done in my life
Novemer 2022: Bag the biggest deer in a decade, just not with the 'Bess
August 2023: Declared cancer-free
Which brings me up to this past weekend. It was KY's Early Muzzleloader Season. I was back out with the 'Bess. This time, I was feeling better than I had in years. I had 3 outings with 'Bess over 2 days. Saturday AM, I went out to my favorite treestand, about a half-mile from camp. Saturday PM, I traveled to another treestand overlooking a oak-lined ravine. Sunday AM, I was in my tower blind. Everything went nominally. All 3 trips were completely without the slightest interference with whitetail, although I did get a snort from a doe on the neighboring property as I was preparing to leave Saturday noon.
Okay, Shaman. Why all this buildup?
I want to report on the 'Bess and how it worked as a hunting implement. I want to especially take back anything I might have said last year about it being unwieldy. I was weak. I was sick. Now that I'm back up to normal, the 'Bess is just fine. Yeah, it ain't a light weapon by any means. However, I have no complaints with one exception; it is hard to keep it on my shoulder when I have it slung. I've tried barrel up and barrel down. It requires constant attention. In my hands, it compares favorably with my M1 Garand for lugging about.
Now to the care and feeding of this beast. Last year, I went out with 69 caliber balls wrapped in parchment and coated with beeswax/lard. This was meant to get as close to a paper cartridge. I was still too lame in my hands to handle a standard cartridge. I poured the powder from sealed vials. In the intervening year, the neuropathy in my hands has improved. However, I found maximum accuracy over the past year using the SkyChief loading method with a .735" ball/80 gr 3F. That's what I went with for this hunt. I loaded up Friday afternoon and discharged the gun as I was coming in Sunday. In between, I primed at the beginning of each sit and cleaned it out as I was leaving the stand. After all that, 'Bess went off smartly Sunday noon. I was impressed. I had worried the olive oil-soaked wad would queer the powder if left in all weekend.
The kit for feeding 'Bess these SkyChief loads is complicated. I took enough for 5 reloads into the field. It filled up my possibles bag to the max. What I may do next time is start with the Skychief load at the cabin and then carry paper cartridge reloads with me. Who am I fooling, really? The last time I had to reload in the field with a deer watching me was 2001. The big doe, stood at the base of the tree holding my stand and waited until I was ready to put on the cap before disappearing into the cedars.
Early ML Season is a bit of a lark for us anyway. We use it as a dry-run for the Big Show in mid November. We seldom see deer. When we do, we usually pass on them. It is still warm that meat spoilage is an issue, and the processors are not taking in deer. We go out anyway. We just like hunting, and it is good to get out and work the bugs out of our gear and enjoy the good hunting weather.
I did have a chance to test 'Bess against some turkeys. Twice this weekend, I had gobblers come around to feed close by my stands. I got 'Bess up and brought it to full cock with without annoying them. I would have thought there would be more reaction with the big in-the-white barrel and the noisy lock. Nope! I could have had roast turkey each time. I tried a similar drill on the squirrels Saturday Morning. I think that is going to be the best way of using 'Bess on squirrel. I'll just wait until they're on the ground feeding and then snipe at them from a stand.
