Made a new short starter.

[firestick]

It was for my old .45 but now I have a .50 and a .58 so I reworked it using a 1\2" oak dowel and two 3 0-06 casings. The ball is an old billiard ball. Has a hole drilled into it as a palm saver as well. End's of the cases are cupped the size of the ball to limit deformation of the ball upon loading.

 

[Treestalker]

Uptown Funk!

 

[oldwood]

Ball starters and bullet boards are art forms where the creative genius can become rampant,w/fun. oldwood

 

[Kansas Jake]

If you drop that in the weeds you will never find it.

 

[firestick]

Being a billiard ball I guess I'll have to call my shot?

 

[Kansas Jake]

Good one firestick. If I shoot like I play billiards it won't make much difference if I call the shot or not.

 

[hanshi]

Making your own stuff is a big part of the fun of muzzleloading.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Being a billiard ball I guess I'll have to call my shot?

If you have to call your shot I'll call: BR-549

 

[firestick]

If you have to call your shot I'll call: BR-549

If you remember BR-549 then you are old like me.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Yea I am old. All of the eye candy around Jr. Samples are now old enough for social security! The RFD channel just stopped running Hee Haw shows a few weeks ago! At local shoots when they say to call your shot I always call BR-549. The older shooters laugh, the younger ones get a funny look on their face and wonder what is making people laugh1

 

[mushka]

Junior Samples was a hoot, I liked the dog too.

 

[1950DAVE]

Junior Samples was a hoot, I liked the dog too.

Would,that be Beauregard?

 

[ohio ramrod]

Beauregard was the first, they had three during the series.

 

[1950DAVE]

Kingfish , Beauregard, Beauregard Jr., Buford. Anyway I believe we have gotten away from the original post. That's all.
A couple of mine . No brass just wood and walnut

Dave

 

[Eddie2002]

I've been using 38 special brass for short starter tips for my .50 caliber pistols and rifles. I found a use for some of the small primer .45 ACP brass I've picked up by using it for .58 caliber short starter tips. Though I was the only one to use cases for rod tips. LOL

 

[Nutnfancy]

The thing I like about this sport is when making accessories you are limited only by your imagination.

 

[oldwood]

Guess , if allowed , I could share why for many years now , why it might be good to put your short starter on a lanyard.
Towards the end of day on the last day of m/l flintlock season, I had reached desperation time. That's when you have unfilled permits , and no deer meat in the freezer. Three of us were hunting back toward the truck at end of day. My son and other hunting buddy were pulling my son's doe from earlier , on a tram road parallel to my path.
There was a large hump of dirt in the open woods ahead , and as I eased around it there stood 18 deer in one bunch at 20 yards . My .62 did it's work and the herd ran down hill towards my hunting buddies. I heard one of them shoot. My son said the deer came up so quickly all he had time to do was hit the dirt and cover his ears as my other buddy shot. The first deer in the herd of 17 left from my success couple minutes before was a 6 point buck. He was put down and the herd ran back to me and stood looking back from where they came and standing 10 yards from me.. In Pa. , back then , it was not legal to shoot more than one deer a day ,
There we stood not 10 yards apart , the herd of 16 , with me seeing what could have been, had I not lost my short starter in the 6" fresh powder snow. Ya can't load a .62 w/o a short starter !!!! Consequently , any short starter I need is on a.......... lanyard !!!
A classic experience of WOUDA < COULDA< SHOULDA .... oldwood

 

[Kansas Jake]

I think the butt of my knife would have been brought to bare as it has in the past.

 

[oldwood]

Jake.... I remember seeing Hershel House's first video's . He was demonstrating how a newly built rifle went bang. He did just what you suggested , and started the ball into the mouth of the muzzle. It looked cool , but when I'm hunting 'cause I travel light due to the distance we walk in to find deer , I only carry a pocket knife. When eviscerating a deer , it's how sharp the knife is , not it's size. Anyway , to each his own.
Also , back in the early 1980's , I built some 50 cal. long rifles for a family to hunt deer w/. The two teenage boys kept showing up @ my door w/ splintered ramrods. I made them new ramrods on a "while u wait" basis , as they had to hunt the next morning. Upon interrogating them as to how the r/rods were being used , they described they didn't know about what a short starter was. They left the shop w/ a couple of short starters and I haven't seen them since. oldwood