Proud of My son...shooting

[54ball]

I'm proud of my 13 year old son in so many ways but last week he made a heck of a shot with his Carolina Gun.

A couple of weeks ago he finally got to shoot his Clay Smith type G Carolina for the first time. On it's very first shot he knocked the X out of the ten ring at about 30 yards. I almost put it back in the case;you know the whole confidence thing, but we shot it some more to make sure that first shot was not a flier.

His next four shots, two holes nearly touching about 3 inches above the X; two holes touching a couple of inches below the X, and his last shots were just to the right of the X. I shot it once to get a feel of it and hit right at the X.

I was very impressed with his shooting and that Clay Smith Carolina. I did not have to touch the sight adjustment. Pretty Impressive for a brand new gun.

The next weekend we hunted a pretty hot field from a shooting house, hoping he would take his first deer. We had a deer on the patch, a resident doe and he missed an opportunity as a nice spike walked right by the house. We had trouble getting that long gun out the window. I left it up to him but advised him along the way.

Alright he is in range now.
Ok son where he is at right now your pushing it on range.

It was still pretty early so he decided to watch the deer and see if anything else showed. We heard an oink and the deer left in a hurry. The woods behind the field were flooded and we could hear a large group of hogs crossing through that water. Quickly the field filled up with with about thirty hogs. Most the size of a regulation football.

He picked out a big red adult bore. The range was pushing it so I was on it too with my scoped centerfire rifle. He shot his gun vented into my field of view. The instance he shot I shot as my view from the scope turned white. It was pretty much a ragged volley. As the smoke cleared he could see the hog down and he let out a big Yes! This was his first big game harvest.

As we were coming out of the house I let him know I had fired also. I need not to have shot.

We got to the hog and there was a small hole with a trickle of blood from his neck. But in the center of his shoulder was a .20 bore sized dent.

Dang son, did it bounce off.

We rolled him over, that .61 ball went through him like a freight train and exited through the ribs just be hind the opposite shoulder. The 30/06 exited the front of the opposite shoulder. I need not to have shot at all.

I stepped it off, 72 strides, very close if not right at 72 yards. That has to be one of the best smoothbore shots I have seen and the best smoothbore shot I've seen on live game.

20 bore Clay Carolina Type G
.61 ball too tight for the thinnest patch
Over powder wad of Lubed Spanish Moss ball
Over ball wad of lubed Spanish Moss ball
On top of 80 grains of Goex 2ffg
primed with Goex 2ffg

 

[azmntman]

HE'S HOOKED NOW! Awesome. I Love hearing about father and son/daughter hunts! I'm taking a kid from church out (who has a deadbeat dad that left the family) for turkey this spring and having him shoot my 20 ss BP. Try to get him hooked as well.

CONGRATS! :thumbsup:

 

[cynthialee]

I'd trade venison for bacon any day!
:thumbsup:

Sounds like he has a first rate gun and a first rate dad.

He hit the target on the X first shot, and he nailed that boar in the boiler room. Yet when he was target shooting after subsequent shots his targets were not as good. He is a great shot by nature. You just need to strengthen up his arms and get him some more stamina. Soon he will be busting clay like a champ.

Edit to add: I just re-read your post. He hit that boar with a bare ball!? No patch?

 

[flintlockmdj]

Very impressive, I am building a 20 gauge canoe gun, 28 1/4" barrel. I got several ideas from your post such as the Spanish Moss wadding. Locally available inexpensive and about as HC-PC as could be found for central Georgia. Also the loads are a good starting point.

 

[54ball]

Thanks Cynthia :redface:

Yes it was bare ball wadded with dead Spanish Moss.

"A Voyage to Georgia, Begun in the Year 1735", Moore, Francis, London: Jacob Robinson, 1744.

"“I observed here a kind of Moss I had never seen before; it grows in great Quantities upon the large Trees, and hangs down 3 or 4 Yards from the Boughs; it gives a noble, ancient and hoary Look to the Woods; it is of a whitish green Colour, but when dried, is black like Horse-hair. This the Indians use for wadding their Guns, and making their Couches soft under the Skins of Beasts, which serve them for beds. They use it also for Tinder, striking Fire by flashing the Pans of their Guns into a handful of it, and for all other Uses where old Linnen would be necessary."

Spence

The bare ball is very tight, a light push fit past the muzzle then it will drop down in a clean bore. The moss wraps around it some what when you force it down so that may take care of the additional windage.

My 28 does not group near as well with the moss as Bear's trade gun. I think I need to mike the bore and go with a .540 or .550 ball if it mikes out to be a true 28.

I simply roll the dead moss into little balls then rub them in a bees wax olive oil mix, a waxier "Moosesnot".

I only harvest dead dark Brown/Black Moss when I'm down south. I live about 70 miles north of the Moss Line.

That Spanish Moss is an interesting critter. It only hangs from the tree. It is not a parasite in the true sense of the word as it gets all it needs from the air and sun, it takes nothing from the tree. The only way it can hurt a tree is from very very high winds or ice.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Very interesting and congrats to both of you :hatsoff:

What ever you do don't give your son a rifle or nothing will be safe :wink:

B.

 

[TinStar]

I love to hear these kind of things!! Congrats!

TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!

 

[gunmaker43]

Yet another generation gone to the "hogs" :grin: I love it when that happens. Got 3 sons a my own, nothing beats a young fella and a big fish or a critter....Way to do it 54ball.....Tom

 

[Wes/Tex]

Excellent story! :thumbsup: It's so rewarding to lead the next generation into our sport and teach them to respect the method and the game. My heartiest congratulations! :hatsoff:

 

[Alden]

Good for you guys. How big was the pig, and cutters?

 

[razorbritches]

Sweet dude, great story with the best possible outcome. I seem to recall though you said something about posting pictures of this gun (in an earlier post) would love to see how it came out.

 

[btech]

My daughter was visiting me about a month ago and got her to shoot my 45 Kentucky. She had shot a 12 gauge before and it was too much for her. She actually enjoyed my rifle and wants to go again when she visits. Think she's hooked.

 

[Alden]

Btech:
hotoSmile:
Of the gun too maybe...
:wink:

 

[54ball]

Barrett's Clay Smith Carolina Gun

Sorry Razor, I've posted some Pics of of it but in other threads.

Alden, sorry no pics of the hog. Normally there's a camera at the hunting club but not this year. I almost took a photo of the shoulder with a great big hole through the center before I put it in the freezer. I guess the hog would have gone 120-150 lb. Pretty young hog no real tusks to speak of.

 

[btech]

Here's an action photo of both:

 

[hanshi]

Restocking our BP pond, one youth at a time. :hatsoff:

 

[KHickam]

Damn I like that gun :thumbsup:

 

[razorbritches]

thanks, the gun looks great. If he keeps shootin like that he'll be kickin us old codgers's butts. A deer would've been nice true but I like pig alot, in fact I plan on dying of pork poisining.

 

[Lonegun1894]

That is a great looking gun! And congrats on the great hunt. I'm not sure if I like eating hog or deer better. Tend to do better cooking hog though, so would have to lean that way just very slightly.

 

[Lonegun1894]

Pork poisoning seems like an excellent way to go. May have to sign up for that plan, if you have any spots still available.