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Interesting info from the Lewis and Clark expedition
- Thread starter Ohio Rusty
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The most complete description of any rifle carried on the expedition is Clark's "Small" rifle. It is mentioned that the ball size was 100 to the pound and may have been by the gunsmith Small. The next description is that of the air rifle, but that is sketchy at best. The Army troops that went with the Corps of Discovery to the Mandan villages probably carried the issue 1795 smoothbored muskets they were issued. Other than a passing reference to the rifle that was used when Lewis was shot is that it was of military caliber. The Hunters from Kentucky signed on at Fort Massac probably carried their own rifles. The only description of the 15 rifles that Lewis brought from Harper's Ferry was that they were configured with the new interchangeable locks, and he brought along 15 extra locks. No gauge is referenced when describing the swivel gun. The book I have on the weapons carried by the Corps of Discovery leaves a lot of the description of the firearms as unknown.
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I once shot a stuck ramrod out of a .45 cal. flintlock with just a few grains of 4F pushed into the vent. I aimed it at 45 degrees and it went out of sight! Took me an hour to find it.
I also knew a father and son that shot deer in the archery season with their Thompson Center .45’s using aluminum arrows with broadheads. They loaded a light load with a wad over the powder and pushed the arrow against the wad. Claimed it shot more accurately than they could shoot with a bow. Vey illegal!
I also knew a father and son that shot deer in the archery season with their Thompson Center .45’s using aluminum arrows with broadheads. They loaded a light load with a wad over the powder and pushed the arrow against the wad. Claimed it shot more accurately than they could shoot with a bow. Vey illegal!
In the mid 1930s my uncle had a whiskey still in the Wekiva River swamp. He had trouble with poachers who were mostly people he knew. He didn't want to kill em so he kept his flintlock musket loaded with rock salt. He only had to burn one or two thirsty dudes and the word got around.
His whiskey may have been worse than the salt load.
His whiskey may have been worse than the salt load.
They lost one guy right at the beginning of the trip, after they left St. Louis, Sergeant Charles Floyd, who was from Kentucky.
https://lewisandclarkinkentucky.org...ntucky/charles-floyd/charles-floyd-biography/
The expedition thought he had appendicitis, but that may not have been the case.
Case Reports
J Ky Med Assoc
. 2007 Sep;105(9):445-51.
On the death of Kentuckian Charles Floyd, August 20, 1804--the only casualty of the Lewis and Clark expedition: a solution to a 200-year-old medical mystery
Charles L Dannaher 1Affiliations expand
- PMID: 17941423
Abstract
As a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Charles Floyd was the first United States soldier to die west of the Mississippi River. He was among his companions and developed the sudden onset of abdominal pain and was dead the next day. The most common medical opinion for cause of death has been acute appendicitis. However a new edition of his journal reveals signs and symptoms previously overlooked suggesting a genetically determined metabolic etiology, which is explored in this report to the conclusion that he died from acute intermittent porphyria.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17941423
Acute porphyria doesn't sound very nice:
Acute porphyrias
Acute porphyrias include forms of the disease that usually cause nervous system symptoms. A few forms also can affect the skin. Symptoms appear quickly and can be severe. Symptoms may last hours, days or weeks.The most common form of acute porphyria is called acute intermittent porphyria (AIP). AIP may last hours or days. Intermittent means that the symptoms may go away but return later. When the symptoms occur they are sometimes called attacks.
Symptoms of acute porphyrias may include:
- Severe pain in the belly, chest, legs or back.
- Digestive problems, such as constipation, nausea and vomiting.
- Muscle pain, tingling, numbness, weakness or paralysis.
- Red or brown urine.
- Mental changes, such as anxiety, hallucinations or mental confusion.
- Rapid or irregular heartbeats you can feel, called palpitations.
- Breathing problems.
- High blood pressure.
- Seizures.
There is a monument to him along the river.
I have twice paddled the Upper Missouri Wild and Scenic River from Fort Benton, MT to Peck Reservoir (200 miles) frequently stopping and camping at Lewis and Clark campsites. It is an amazing and beautiful place. I hope to do it again someday.
And the mosquitoes are as bad as they claimed.
ronaldrothb49
45 Cal.
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My guess is if you got a stick close to the right diameter you could shape it like a bullet and it might work pretty good.
A few decades ago when I was in Germany, our "Partnership" unit (a reserve unit) used wax bullets for very short range target practice indoors. I don't know how difficult cleaning was, nor what charges they were shooting.. But my point is that you CAN do the equivalent of darts that way. I imagine wood would also work but would be considerably more dangerous: You could probably put a wooden projectile through a sheetrock wall. Try it with a piece of sheetrock and see if I am right. Larger charges might produce a cloud of splinters, so start small and work up.
M-80's either.
Just drop a termite in your barrel and wait for the sound of chewing to stop.
morehops52
50 Cal.
Does anyone know of a good formula for wooden stick lube?
Does anyone know of a good formula for wooden stick lube?
5 part Pledge (lemon)
1 part Murphy's Oil Soap
1 part linseed oil (not boiled)
2 parts woodcock schmaltz
6 drops denatured alcohol
7 parts snowshoe hare tallow
3 parts bees wax (wildflower only)
Mix only during a waxing gibbous moon.
No substitutions, no omissions!
morehops52
50 Cal.
Thanks, JP. If I ever decide to try stick shooting a squirrel I'll give it a try. Historically L&C would not have had Pledge or Murphy's to use. Perhaps deer fat from the outside of the tenderloin ? I'm pretty sure that any alcohol they carried with them wasn't denatured.
I'm certain that was to lube the shooters, not the bores!
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https://lewis-clark.org/members/george-shannon/
He actually carved a bullet out of a stick.
He actually carved a bullet out of a stick.
That’s the author’s interpretation. Has anyone got the primary source to hand? I’m guessing it was more like a bolt than a bullet.
Jay
Outlaws are alive and well
!Nope. Purely medicinal
I would of sworn there was a few drops of oil of snipe in that formula.
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I remembered stories of the Japanese using wooden bullets during WW2. So, if you Google it, you'll get a lot of different information on the subject.
longcruise
70 Cal.
The read is interesting and goes way beyond the twig bullet question. A very interesting fellow and a very interesting life.
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