Must be nice
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longcruise
70 Cal.
Our worst winds seem to come along in the spring but there are no rules. We have had sustained winds where I live in excess of 90 mph. That's equivalent to a cat 1 hurricane. Not shooting weather.
Antelope Pete
40 Cal
Just watched another video in a treed area from back east, this time a guy shooting a Brown Bess and at the shot the smoke gently and leisurely just drifted away in a most relaxing manner. Ahh the peacefulness of it.
longcruise
70 Cal.
Not sure of your exact location but if you are anywhere near Ft Lupton the Ft Lupton Muzzle Loader Club gives pretty good wind protection from the SW thru straight north. Good tree cover. It's in the Platte River bottom and is also bermed very high on three sides.Just watched another video in a treed area from back east, this time a guy shooting a Brown Bess and at the shot the smoke gently and leisurely just drifted away in a most relaxing manner. Ahh the peacefulness of it.
http://www.flmlc.org/
Antelope Pete
40 Cal
Thanks for the information. We're east of Colorado Springs. No wind protection here.
Some probably misinterpret my posts but I think it's because I envy those conditions. I also envy the many historical events scattered all over the midwest to the east coast. Here in Colorado there aren't that many events going on. It's all about new age, hip stuff.
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There was plenty of history made in Colorado involving black powder firearms but by that time they were mostly cartridge guns, so off the table here.
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I think each locale has its challenges. Here in AZ, I am extremely limited by fire risk. My favorite hunting spot went up this spring for a human caused fire. They won’t say what it was particularly. I won’t take my muzzleloader if there is any kind of fire risk, which is definitely limiting here.
longcruise
70 Cal.
Let's not overlook the rocky mountain fur trade Era. It went hot and heavy from the Louisiana Purchase and far beyond the artificial declaration of the end of that era in 1840. I'm pretty sure that muzzleloaders were very common on the Oregon trail as well as other routes west. The Buffalo hide hunting period took off after the CW and was conducted with muzzleloaders for a long time. Many of those "Buffalo gun cartridges were introduced late in the hide hunting period and some well after the Buffalo were nearly wiped out.There was plenty of history made in Colorado involving black powder firearms but by that time they were mostly cartridge guns, so off the table here.
There were quite a few rendezvous here but like traditional muzzle loading everywhere it's falling by the wayside. In the early 80's we had a rendezvous in South Park (I think Kenny was there. Unfortunately he was killed) with over 900 lodges.
You are for sure in wind city. This club has an event going on this weekend. https://csmlinc.org/ This club is north of you. https://blgc.org/
Here's a few more things going on. https://www.csmla.net/events/upcoming-events
Antelope Pete
40 Cal
longcruise
Thanks for the link to CSML. We used to go to their Memorial Day Shoot years ago which unfortunately doesn't exist in the way it used to and I quit keeping up with them. I'll definitely check that out. Yeah you are right about this being wind country. Today it's 99 deg. with 15 to 20 mph winds. We are old school Colorado residents so we don't have AC but it's only 91 deg. in the house.
You're also very correct with Colorado history and it's sad there isn't much of any recognition with regard to that. All the surrounding states have a good appreciation for it and have living history events to reflect it. We have gone to Kansas a couple of times and volunteered at Bent's Fort , me doing a hunter impression and my wife as a cook.
Thanks for the link to CSML. We used to go to their Memorial Day Shoot years ago which unfortunately doesn't exist in the way it used to and I quit keeping up with them. I'll definitely check that out. Yeah you are right about this being wind country. Today it's 99 deg. with 15 to 20 mph winds. We are old school Colorado residents so we don't have AC but it's only 91 deg. in the house.
You're also very correct with Colorado history and it's sad there isn't much of any recognition with regard to that. All the surrounding states have a good appreciation for it and have living history events to reflect it. We have gone to Kansas a couple of times and volunteered at Bent's Fort , me doing a hunter impression and my wife as a cook.
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The people who regularly shoot in windy conditions out west eventually get pretty good at it has been my experience. Us flat landers in the east go out west and get our butts handed to us in rifle matches.
longcruise
70 Cal.
I've been shooting ML in CO for 50 years and the wind and other shooters have kicked my butt more times than I want to admit.
So, I'm going to go a bit off the rails as layed by the OP so apologies in advance. Here's a shooting in the wind story.
It was some years ago in my days of being gainfully employed. I got one day off during the week (which I rarely took) and Sunday. The next Sunday would be my deer opening day. So much for the what? And whys?
I take my day off to confirm my sight in of my TC 50. Probably didn't need to because it had been completely reliably sighted in all my previous range trips.
Anyway, I arrived at the range with a pretty good breeze blowing straight Into my face. It wasn't too bad and I've generally found that wind at my back or in my face is not much of a factor. I shot a group at 25 yards that was right where expected. Then a group at 50 which was a couple Inches above POA just as expected. This sight in always grouped a few inches low at 100.
At this point the wind was crazy. I'd guess a steady 45 mph. Decided to shoot a group at 100 and then quit. I'd already had a full ration of smoke blown in my face
the range is set up so the 25 yard and 50 yard rows of target stands share the 50 yard berm. Shooting from the bench means 100 yard shots clear the 50 yard berm by about 8 inches. I had no binoculars or spotting scope so I simply fired a five round group. I can't see holes on the target very well at that distance but my eyes were much younger and I could get a good sight picture.
When the range went cold I went to my target expecting to see a group a few inches under POA but what I found was a decent group about 5 inches above POA!!
now, the only explanation I could see was that the extreme wind bouncing up off the 50 yard berm was blowing the balls well up from the normal trajectory. 
That’s nothing more than a light breeze…
Our last big blow was Florence with 110 MPH wind and a record 26in rain that night. Scared me so bad that I did not shoot for a month after that. About over it now, LOL.
Antelope Pete
40 Cal
longcruise
Good story. Just another one of those things that make you wonder. I know mirage also plays into things. Have seen a tail wind with mirage make shots hit low with bpcr. Also seen headwinds that normally made my shots hit low to hit high with a mirage. But those things aren't set in stone either. The low sights on a lot of muzzleloaders make it worse.
Good story. Just another one of those things that make you wonder. I know mirage also plays into things. Have seen a tail wind with mirage make shots hit low with bpcr. Also seen headwinds that normally made my shots hit low to hit high with a mirage. But those things aren't set in stone either. The low sights on a lot of muzzleloaders make it worse.
Cruzatte
50 Cal.
Sounds eerily like the joke we tell here in Kansas about Oklahoma, and Nebraska...depending on the season, don't ya know.Yeah, it's a real problem and this spring and so far this summer has been especially bad. Seems like when I have opportunity to hit the range it's blowing. Having some luck by arriving just before sunrise but even that doesn't always work.
That's true but your load selection and sight in best be done in dead calm then you can work with the wind from that baseline.
Ooooooh, thats where most of our wind comes from!In Wyoming they like to say it's so windy cause Colorado sucks. Of course when texans complain about our Colorado wind guess what we tell em.
Harry Marinakis
40 Cal
Cry me a river. I went shooting the other day in my Appalachian backyard.
95 degrees F
89% humidity, kinda foggy
I was sweating profusely just standing and shooting.
The sweat pouring into my eyes made it difficult to see the sights & target.
My powder was caking up in my pan and on the spouts of my powder horns.
Constant hang fires from the wet powder.
Must be nice to shoot out west in low humidity.
95 degrees F
89% humidity, kinda foggy
I was sweating profusely just standing and shooting.
The sweat pouring into my eyes made it difficult to see the sights & target.
My powder was caking up in my pan and on the spouts of my powder horns.
Constant hang fires from the wet powder.
Must be nice to shoot out west in low humidity.
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