Interesting info from the Lewis and Clark expedition

[Ohio Rusty]

There was a L&C member named George Shannon who got lost for 12 days looking for horses that ran off. To keep from starving, he shot rabbits with short pieces of sticks from his rifle as he ran out of lead round ball. That is a very interesting piece of information. Can anyone expound on how he may have done that and what his 'ammo' may have looked like ??
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[Eutycus]

I can imagine a wooden stick knocking a rabbit for loop. Wonder what it would do on larger game, except get them mad?

 

[Ohio Rusty]

I can imagine a wooden stick knocking a rabbit for loop. Wonder what it would do on larger game, except get them mad?

How long a 'piece of stick' ??

 

[windini]

aka Environmentally Friendly Biodegradable Hardwood Shot!

Kidding aside, it's another example of the determination & resourcefulness of our frontier countrymen of times past.

 

[Justin.P]

First air rifles and now nontoxic shot.
Them boys were way ahead of their time!

 

[snakebit]

Never shot any sticks out of a muzzleloader, but I did shoot a cleaning rod out of an M-16 using a blank I pushed the earth until I achieved muscle failure. Was worth it.

 

[TDM]

I had not heard of the stick shooting incident before but those guys definitely knew how to think outside the box.

 

[longcruise]

How long a 'piece of stick' ??

Lucky he had the right twist rate for preferred stick!

 

[snakebit]

Lucky he had the right twist rate for preferred stick!

 

[Songwriter]

At some point in his life he had probably left his ramrod in the bore and shot it, or seen somebody else do it. When he found himself without ball or shot, that previously embarrassing event was recalled and put to good use.
Like @TDM said, thinking outside the box.

 

[Juice Jaws]

There was a L&C member named George Shannon who got lost for 12 days looking for horses that ran off. To keep from starving, he shot rabbits with short pieces of sticks from his rifle as he ran out of lead round ball. That is a very interesting piece of information. Can anyone expound on how he may have done that and what his 'ammo' may have looked like ??
Ohio Rusty ><>

His ammo look like short pieces of sticks.

 

[olskool]

that had to be a "sticky situation" he was in,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[French Colonial]

I have read this before and wondered if the stick came out mostly intact or disintegrated in to splinters and had a shotgun type effect.

 

[The Miner '49er]

French Colonial, why not give it a try and report back to us. That would be very interesting.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Wonder how you get a stuck stick unstuck?

Don’t tell the feds about this or they’ll ban sticks too.

 

[Mgbruch]

Interesting. Is this something you wish to replicate? Stick to it!

 

[French Colonial]

French Colonial, why not give it a try and report back to us. That would be very interesting.

Loan me a gun and I will give it a try..........Just not in my guns.

 

[springfield art]

Never shot any sticks out of a muzzleloader, but I did shoot a cleaning rod out of an M-16 using a blank I pushed the earth until I achieved muscle failure. Was worth it.

I saw a guy in basic training, had accidently stuck mud in the flash hider of his M-14, when he shot it, the "fingers" of the hider were splayed out just like a Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd cartoon! (1960's, the M-14's were semi-auto only in basic.) I don't think they made a big deal out of it, it was simply an educational accident! BTW, that the L&C Expedition did all that, and lost no guys in the doing, is amazing! They were all Army, so maybe that was to their advantage; were used to some organized discipline.

 

[The Miner '49er]

Loan me a gun and I will give it a try..........Just not in my guns.

I'm with you, FC. Maybe somebody on the forum has a junker and would like to experiment and take one for the team. Now my brain is going crazy thinking about the grain weight of a 3" long .50 caliberish oak dowel, patched and lubed, and maybe backed with 20-25 gr of FFFg. Accuracy at 30 and 50 feet??? This might lead to a whole new way to do darts at the corner tavern.

 

[Justin.P]

Loan me a gun and I will give it a try..........Just not in my guns.

I keep thinking I'll give it a try next time I'm out. I wouldn't pound one onto my bore, but whittled down to a loose fit with a couple over powder cards and a felt wad should be just fine. I'm sure it will tumble end for end, but short range I bet I could scare a rabbit. I do usually carry a smooth bore, but I don't think it would matter.
Heck, guys shove grass, leaves, and hornets nest down the tube. A stick is the next logical progression in technology!