Original short starter

[user 49399]

There are folks on here who collect original muzzleloaders and accoutrements from the 18th and 19th centuries. Does anyone here have an actual short starter from the 18th or 19th century? If so, would you share a picture of it with us?

Thanks

 

[user 49399]

I might should have posted this in the accouterments section.

 

[springfield art]

There are folks on here who collect original muzzleloaders and accoutrements from the 18th and 19th centuries. Does anyone here have an actual short starter from the 18th or 19th century? If so, would you share a picture of it with us?

Thanks

Yeah, I think I read somewhere that they really didn't use them back in the days of history. I have no opinion one way or another, that's for the scholars to argue out.

 

[tenngun]

Boxes pistol sets had them. A fine wood knob with a long rod.
Other early ones had a flat piece with immediate quick tapper.looking like a real short funnel with a long stem from the side.
Austrian military issued a small hammer
Museum of the fur trade has one that just a fat round of wood, that’s whittled down to a slim enough rod to hit the barrel about half way.

 

[user 49399]

That’s interesting. I’ll look for some pictures of those.

 

[tenngun]

I don’t have a photo of the Spanish style
Bottom from museum of the fur trade

 

[user 48679]

This one's for a .365" bore

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-bullet-starter-muzzle-loading-128126513

 

[user 49399]

Ok, there we go. Thats what I been looking for. I like the straight starter.

 

[user 49399]

Pietro, your pictures did not come through.

 

[user 48679]

FWIW, I just clicked on my link, and viola ! !

If you cannot, there may be a block/filter somewhere in your computer that stops you.

 

[user 48679]

Boxes pistol sets had them. A fine wood knob with a long rod.

( 2" squares)

 

[user 49399]

Thanks Pietro! I can see them now. Awesome pictures. I’d never seen those before.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I do believe they were called "straight starters" in days past. That image from The Mountain Man's Sketchbook, posted by @tenngun , uses this term in its caption. Captain Dillin, Ned Roberts, and Charles Hanson all used the term "straight starter" in their early to mid-20th century books. "Short starting" meant leaving a space between your ball and the powder charge... i.e. not seating your ball all the way down on the powder, which is potentially dangerous.

"Short starter" joins "tow worm" (used to be "gun worm," or just "worm" or "wiper") and "possibles bag" as modern expressions that have crept into the culture of blackpowder shooting.

Not picking on anybody here. The question is a good one. As long as we agree on what we're talking about, we're fine. It is good to know the terms that were used in the past, though, if you are interested in historical research.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[Ironoxide]

I heard in one of capandball's youtube channel videos there were Austrian troops in the 18th century with Jeger style rifles. They used a black leather bag on the side of which there was a wooden hammer to be used as a short starter.

I think that's the video

 

[.36Rooster]

They used em. I've seen examples. It was the same then as now. Some guys liked them, some said it's just one more thing to carry, others said it's just one extra thing to pull out of your shooting pouch and slow you down while a row of British are lobbing musket balls at you. But all the basic tools of the trade were there and perfected long before any of us were here. That's for sure....

 

[user 49399]

Thanks Notchy Bob. It’s good to know they were called straight starters. The comment about short starting is interesting and I’ll never look at short starters the same again.

Even my grandparents used words and terms that would seem foreign to some folks nowadays.

 

[Daryl Crawford]

https://books.google.com/books/about/Scloppetaria_or_considerations_on_the_na.html?id=AO9eAAAAcAAJThis link calls it a rammer on pg 152 and shows an image on pg 153.

 

[Mark Herman]

Typically what look like short starters in cased pistol sets were loading rods, not short starters. Although there is some information regarding short starters they were a common item as we know them today. Target rifles often had what we're called ball starters, not short starters. They were a more elaborate item wit barrel sized collars and rod tips that were more often than not bore size.

 

[Mulemauler]

Many barrels were coned so you could seat ball with thumb pressure. I suspect they did not try to load super tight ball and patch as many target shooter do today.

 

[Mark Herman]

Should have put these with my above comments. This ball "starter" is from my Henry Pierce target rifle.