Protecting your gun during hunting

[Livbucks]

I am 74 YO. Fairly new to ml. Hunted birds for years with sxs unmentionables. After decades of trading, buying selling etc I have a a few of those sxs that are my soul mates. They are light European double guns, mostly 16s, that I could hunt angels with, given the right dog.
I am late in life. But I want to find, buy, build, steal, beg for or whatever it takes to find a sxs muzzleloader that is as sweet as my game guns.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/888464178
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/892983742

 

[oldwood]

Pedersoli sxs 12 ga , or 10 ga. When I still was hunted birds , rabbits , squirrels wood cock , grouse , ringnecks , etc w/ a shotgun , I found where I should be with the above mentioned shot guns. In the 1960'si was still a ctg. shotgun shooter trained in competition trap shooting since age of 14. By 1972 , I got bored with modern trapshooting and hunting w/ctg. shotguns altogether. Bought the first Pedersoli sxs 12 ga. and never looked back. My knowledge gained from reloading ctg. trap shells I applied to the Pedersoli shot guns,and the rest is history. Loading m/l shot guns is different , but easy to learn. Speaking of learning about m/l 's , one thing that was a challenge , after the shot, was to immediately run ahead of the cloud of smoke to see if the game was down. ...Fun and Luck to ya..........oldwood

 

[Omahkapi'si]

My guns get rode hard and put up....cleaned and lubed. Any scuff marks were earned.

 

[Bob McBride]

What qualifies as ‘fancy-schmancy’ is different for everyone. I try not to bang my stuff around and treat my cheapest gun the same as my most valuable, but I’ve never found a single thing made on this Earth that I was afraid to scratch up. Nothing is worth less to me than a thing whose only use is hanging on a wall and looking purty.

 

[THBailey]

I am 74 YO. Fairly new to ml. Hunted birds for years with sxs unmentionables. After decades of trading, buying selling etc I have a a few of those sxs that are my soul mates. They are light European double guns, mostly 16s, that I could hunt angels with, given the right dog.
I am late in life. But I want to find, buy, build, steal, beg for or whatever it takes to find a sxs muzzleloader that is as sweet as my game guns.

Guess I am a young whipper snapper at only 69 YO, but I do enjoy hunting with my Pedersoli SxS muzzleloaders. I have a 10, a 12, and a 20. Now I hear you on the sweet European doubles: I don't think the front stuffer has been made that is as light or points as sweet as my little Spanish 20 ga unmentionable. But my Pedersoli 20, even though a couple pounds heavier, does come in a reasonably close second.

 

[SOLANCO]

Most of my MZ guns look like me, and I'm 76. You can guess what kind of shape they are showing. They all work as they should and haven't been abused, just used.

An antique dealer would call them patinated. At 74 I'm pretty well patinated myself.

 

[SOLANCO]

Guess I am a young whipper snapper at only 69 YO, but I do enjoy hunting with my Pedersoli SxS muzzleloaders. I have a 10, a 12, and a 20. Now I hear you on the sweet European doubles: I don't think the front stuffer has been made that is as light or points as sweet as my little Spanish 20 ga unmentionable. But my Pedersoli 20, even though a couple pounds heavier, does come in a reasonably close second.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Rock Home Isle]

What qualifies as ‘fancy-schmancy’ is different for everyone. I try not to bang my stuff around and treat my cheapest gun the same as my most valuable, but I’ve never found a single thing made on this Earth that I was afraid to scratch up. Nothing is worth less to me than a thing whose only use is hanging on a wall and looking purty.

I agree. Moving threw brush and brambles, I protect my gun...cross fences, if I lean my gun very careful to make sure that it doesn't slide and fall.

Watch others and how they treat their possessions, things sort of come clear why everything they own looks like it was salvaged from a fire somewhere...

 

[Art Caputo]

I am 74 YO. Fairly new to ml. Hunted birds for years with sxs unmentionables. After decades of trading, buying selling etc I have a a few of those sxs that are my soul mates. They are light European double guns, mostly 16s, that I could hunt angels with, given the right dog.
I am late in life. But I want to find, buy, build, steal, beg for or whatever it takes to find a sxs muzzleloader that is as sweet as my game guns.

I’m about the same age and have had the same experience. While I use my 62 cal Fowler exclusively for turkeys, I’ve never been able to abandon light weight, balance, and overall shooting qualities of my English SxS unmentionables for upland bird hunting. I have tried a few of the contemporary flintlock offerings, but no dice. Original Flintlocks by the same makers are very rare and well out of my price range. But....If I found the right one I would surely hunt with it.

 

[M. De Land]

I’m about the same age and have had the same experience. While I use my 62 cal Fowler exclusively for turkeys, I’ve never been able to abandon light weight, balance, and overall shooting qualities of my English SxS unmentionables for upland bird hunting. I have tried a few of the contemporary flintlock offerings, but no dice. Original Flintlocks by the same makers are very rare and well out of my price range. But....If I found the right one I would surely hunt with it.

What I hate worst of all is leaning a gun against a table or fence , turn around and it flops over flat on the ground or concrete. It will either bust the wrist of the stock , bugger a sight or ding a muzzle crown !

 

[toot]

On my caplock, I've found that a careful coating of black fingernail polish seals the cap to the nipple very nicely, and firing the rifle seems to remove most all of said polish. That, with a balloon over the muzzle renders my loaded rifle impervious to even a small waterfall that might develop over the rifle. Ask me how I know! LOL

just like we did in VIET NAM, using a condom over the barrel.

 

[Ranger 1755]

Morning all, when I hunt I use a lock cover and that's it. It protects the lock and for the muzzle, just be careful. My Land Pattern musket shows no worse signs of wear than any other firearm I have hunted with over the years.

 

[Crow-Feather]

only one way to protect a rifle that you don't want scratched .... keep it in the house in the safe.

 

[Pete G]

Hold it in your hands. DO NOT EVER lean a rifle against anything.
(just like hunter safety course teaches)

 

[Robby]

I am much more worried about protecting my gun(s) from the "G".
Robby

 

[Griz44Mag]

Hold it in your hands. DO NOT EVER lean a rifle against anything.
(just like hunter safety course teaches)

When crossing some of the barbed wire barriers there is no way to hold your rifle and cross.
Hunter safety is important, but like all "rules" there will need to be exceptions.
I wrap or glove the muzzle and set it through the wire, propping the muzzle end up on one of the low strings so it's not laying on the ground.
If you have ever had to cross a tight 6 wire quad double long barb 7' fence you know what I am talking about. (think buffalo) You don't keep them in with a 4-1/2' 4 or 5 wire fence.

 

[olskool]

well i do the best i can at not scratching any gun up and keep them oiled and clean. but the way i look at it if i can't use it i don't need it! all my hunting guns get hunted with,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I am much more worried about protecting my gun(s) from the "G".
Robby

I’m nervous

 

[Grizzlybear68]

I’m nervous

Lol.....

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Another thing that I do to protect the gun...when I carry it, I tuck the lock and trigger section under my arm. That protects the whole area from any weather or moisture.

And if I slipp, trip, stumble, whatever... while out in the woods...the gun barrel goes UP as I fall down. I've tripped many times in the last 40 to 45 years while hunting, I'm not clumsy...but never have I jabbed a barrel into the ground. I'll take the hurt before my gun ever does...