This small tale has quite a bit of significance for me, as I had to overcome some challenges and embark on a real learning journey.
First of all, a couple of friends showed me the way to cast my own roundballs. I had accumulated the required equipment, but lacked the confidence and knowledge to do it. Once you know how, it really isn't too hard. My first roundballs were wrinkled and marred, but they shoot alright for fun, and taught me to use enough heat. Now I'm making them as good as any bought from a shop.
Then, a problem or two developed. My friends showed me how to disassemble the lock, and put it back together. She's an old lock, and worn, and when I went to the range to test my new homemade roundballs, it was a nervous experience as the hammer wouldn't cock consistently. Furthermore, as usual, I had to aim a foot beneath what I wanted to hit, and that started to discourage me.
However... I had also bought a brand-new lock from Kapow. The Good Lord saw fit to bless me with limited practical abilities, and so fitting the thing was quite daunting. I was worried I might have to send the rifle four-thousand kilometres away to a friend who could help. However, I started to slowly scrape and whittle away at the timber, and gradually got the lock to fit, with a little help from the bench grinder, too. And then, of course, it just wouldn't work. The bar that is activated by the trigger was too bulky. I worked-out that I had to grind it down. Now it works just fine. I think. I do have a question that I might ask elsewhere on the forum.
Anyway, then the problem of adjusting the sights had to be dealt with. I took the little adjustment screw out, and it didn't lower the rear sight at all. So I took the rear sight out, bent it to make it hug the barrel tightly, then knocked it back into place.
It was time to test the lock and the sights, and happily the whole thing worked a treat! I could actually aim at my target and hit where I was aiming!
Then it was time to hunt. My first try saw a failed stalk on donkeys as I ignored the hundreds of buffalo around me.
My second hunt met with more success, and a big old donkey paused broadside halfway up a mountain. He was a hundred metres away, and, resting against a tree, I aimed at the shoulder. He dropped on the spot. My shot was eleven inches to the right, and the perfect height. It hit at the base of the neck along the spine. A ball to the brain made sure of things.
It was immensely satisfying to hunt with roundballs I cast myself, and with a rifle I repaired and re-sighted myself. It really is a wonderful, hands-on journey, this muzzleloader hunting.
Here are some pictures from the journey... Thanks again for the help and encouragement from you blokes in getting me started in this game.
First of all, a couple of friends showed me the way to cast my own roundballs. I had accumulated the required equipment, but lacked the confidence and knowledge to do it. Once you know how, it really isn't too hard. My first roundballs were wrinkled and marred, but they shoot alright for fun, and taught me to use enough heat. Now I'm making them as good as any bought from a shop.
Then, a problem or two developed. My friends showed me how to disassemble the lock, and put it back together. She's an old lock, and worn, and when I went to the range to test my new homemade roundballs, it was a nervous experience as the hammer wouldn't cock consistently. Furthermore, as usual, I had to aim a foot beneath what I wanted to hit, and that started to discourage me.
However... I had also bought a brand-new lock from Kapow. The Good Lord saw fit to bless me with limited practical abilities, and so fitting the thing was quite daunting. I was worried I might have to send the rifle four-thousand kilometres away to a friend who could help. However, I started to slowly scrape and whittle away at the timber, and gradually got the lock to fit, with a little help from the bench grinder, too. And then, of course, it just wouldn't work. The bar that is activated by the trigger was too bulky. I worked-out that I had to grind it down. Now it works just fine. I think. I do have a question that I might ask elsewhere on the forum.
Anyway, then the problem of adjusting the sights had to be dealt with. I took the little adjustment screw out, and it didn't lower the rear sight at all. So I took the rear sight out, bent it to make it hug the barrel tightly, then knocked it back into place.
It was time to test the lock and the sights, and happily the whole thing worked a treat! I could actually aim at my target and hit where I was aiming!
Then it was time to hunt. My first try saw a failed stalk on donkeys as I ignored the hundreds of buffalo around me.
My second hunt met with more success, and a big old donkey paused broadside halfway up a mountain. He was a hundred metres away, and, resting against a tree, I aimed at the shoulder. He dropped on the spot. My shot was eleven inches to the right, and the perfect height. It hit at the base of the neck along the spine. A ball to the brain made sure of things.
It was immensely satisfying to hunt with roundballs I cast myself, and with a rifle I repaired and re-sighted myself. It really is a wonderful, hands-on journey, this muzzleloader hunting.
Here are some pictures from the journey... Thanks again for the help and encouragement from you blokes in getting me started in this game.
