Newbie wanting to know what accessories to get started

[bwhoffman]

so, if you read Scott's post and do like he did, and the club DOES NOT do like ours did, I would consider strongly whether I would want to join such a club.
Like this forum, a club should welcome a "new to the game" shooter with open arms. You will figure out who is real and who is mere smoke!
I too, was in your shoes!, have never looked back or regretted it one iota. its a pay it forward thing. someone shows you, you show someone else, it perpetuates. Thats the other neatest thing about this "hobby of "ours""!

Scott, you left before shooting the trail! I turned to find you and Poof! you were gone???

 

[bwhoffman]

What-ho Pilgrim, and welcome to the camp!

You've got more than enough suggestions here to fill a couple of possibles bags, but let me add an item so far unmentioned: a copy of the Lyman black powder handbook. It's available for a free download at:
[url] http://www.lymanproducts.com/lymanproducts/LymanUsersGuide.pdf[/url]

Forgive me please, if what I am about to say is already well-known to you, but there are several safety tips this handbook offers that, as a BP newbie, you may not already know.

Large among them: NEVER POUR FROM A POWDER HORN DIRECTLY INTO YOUR RIFLE! One latent spark down in your breech could turn your hand into hamburger and your face into something that would win first place in an ugly contest with Freddy Krueger!

The Lyman handbook runs 48 pages in the pdf format linked above. It may be the best 48 pages you'll ever read on the subject. I heartily recommend it to you! :thumbsup:

..and DO NOT BLOW DOWN THE BARREL like Dan'l Boone. a lot of clubs dont go for that! no faces over the bore, period!

 

[d.thomson]

I have only one more sugestion I don't know if it has been mentioned but eye and ear protection everything else has been mentioned. Have fun and take your time. One of the reasions I love ML is it is not a rushed process. Regards Fisher King :thumbsup: :hatsoff: .

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I got started without having to even buy a gun! My local R&P club has regularly scheduled BP Matches every month. I called the League Chairman, and was immediately invited to use his gun, powder, caps, conicals, et al! . Needless to say, I was hooked! On his birthday, we gave him a pound of 2F as a gift. Now we're closer friends than ever!

Several thousand bucks later, I'm loaning my "stuff" to get more folks hooked :shocked2: .

And so the story continues :rotf: .

All the best, Dave

 

[spudnut]

And once you get some of that powder smoke up your nose you'll start thinking about wearin dead animals on your head and other funny clothes :rotf:

 

[Blizzard of '93]

when you dump the powder charge down the bore give the breech area a few whacks with the palm of your hand to jar some grains into drum before seating the ball. Pyro is harder to set off than BP and this will help expose some grains to the fire of the cap.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Once you get started, you'll never want to stop . Other threads on this Forum have alot of info with regards to loading procedures, pulling a ball (forgot the powder), sighting-in, safety, short-cuts in cleaning, etc. Do yourself a favor and read them...I wish I knew of this Forum as a resource before I dry-balled!

One more hint: I oil my gun real good, but after just oiling it, I turn it upside down on the muzzle and put a paper towel underneath. Any excess oil drains out the muzzle instead of lingering near the nipple/snail/drum/breech area. At the range I use a patch to wipe-out any additional excess oil, then I cap-off at the firing line by pointing the muzzle at a blade of grass and watching it to make sure it moves when I pop the cap. Doing thus I have never had a missfire :winking: .

Again welcome and have FUN :thumbsup: . All the best, Dave