Stupid things I have seen people do with a Muzzleloader, or while shooting a muz

[walruskid1]

flinch, i'd repond to the cap popper with a swift boot in the butt! tell 'em to wake up!

not bp related but still funny; while working at a gunshop, a local officer stopped in to show us a malfunction with his back-up pistol. the hammer was following the slide when racked. he then proceeded to shoot our cash register. he was quite upset, probably more than i was.

 

[Poor Private]

It is amazing that gun shop owners who are well versed in modern weapons and can tell a 9mil from a .32 at 50yards, do not not a blessed thing about PB weapons. It is a shame that they don't instruct, or lead the newbie in the right direction to someone on how to fire and clean.
Cablea's even have a video on their web site on how to load and clean. I watched it just to see how well it was done.

 

[philo426]

About the dumbest thing that I did was to forget to put powder under the ball in my 1860 Army.After busting three caps on the "Loaded "chamber I set the muzzle down range and waited a minute or two.I then pulled the nipple and worked some Pyrodex P into the opening.After replacing the nipple I capped it and she fired!Taught me to be more careful whilst loading my revolver!

 

[rebel727]

I did that the other day with my brand new 1860. First time in I don't know how many years. :redface:

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Heard about this tragic stupudity: Some guy at the local range decided that it would be a good idea to use several cap & ball cylinders along with a cylinder loader for his .44 Remmy. Not such a bad idea, only the catalog he bought them out of didn't tell him to NOT PUT THE CAPS ON THE NIPPLES BEFORE INSTALLING THE EXTRA CYLINDER! :nono: You all guessed it...He DROPPED ONE OF THE FULLY LOADED & CAPPED CYLINDERS onto the concrete, fumbling and bumbling and grabbing for it, reached down to catch it just as it hit the cement and BANNNGGG :shocked2: , he caught two in the head and torso and went to "Boot Hill". This was at a privately owned range open to the public. The range was almost closed over this. From that point on, no more BP firearms were allowed at the range! Sad story indeed! :shake:

Dave

 

[guncobbler]

Pulled the trigger on a spike one morning and only the cap fired. The deer ran off, I pulled the nipple, fed a few grains of powder under the nipple, reinstalled the nipple and recapped. Looked up to see a doe staring at me for what all I know was the entire operation. I was busted. The doe ran off and I had to laugh. Lesson learned. Any time you take your eyes off the scene look up real careful before make any movement. That deer walked up to me not knowing I was a human. GC

 

[Slamfire]

First time out with my CVA Bobcat Christmas present. I touched off 3 caps and the charge of Pyrodox refused to fire. I grew suspicious, and dropped the rod down the barrel. On no, a dry ball. However, I knew the trick of dropping a few grains of powder down under the percussion cap, so I did so. Capped it off, Poot! and there went the rod down range. Argh, I'll never find that black rod in the leaf litter. Walked downrange looking closely on both sides. Found it stickin' up like an arrow with a bird point. Whew! :shake:

 

[pulaski]

Sitting on the ground , back to a tree , while deer hunting . Thought I'd catch a little snack before moving on . Deer appears off my right side , no clue I'm sitting there , I have him dead to rights . Raise right knee , take rifle into left shoulder (gun is a right hand flinter) assume crossed arm shooting position . Tap one of and kill deer .
Sounds like no problem ? Gotchya , unknown to me the hot gasses from vent hole ignite area below right shoulder on outside of arm . As I aproach downed deer I notice said problem and begin a manuver that is undescribable to this day . :hmm:

 

[paulvallandigham]

I think they call that the " Richard Pryor dash", now. I hope you didn't torch the woods, too. :thumbsup:

 

[Mulebrain]

Heard about this tragic stupudity: Some guy at the local range decided that it would be a good idea to use several cap & ball cylinders along with a cylinder loader for his .44 Remmy. Not such a bad idea, only the catalog he bought them out of didn't tell him to NOT PUT THE CAPS ON THE NIPPLES BEFORE INSTALLING THE EXTRA CYLINDER! :nono: You all guessed it...He DROPPED ONE OF THE FULLY LOADED & CAPPED CYLINDERS onto the concrete, fumbling and bumbling and grabbing for it, reached down to catch it just as it hit the cement and BANNNGGG :shocked2: , he caught two in the head and torso and went to "Boot Hill". This was at a privately owned range open to the public. The range was almost closed over this. From that point on, no more BP firearms were allowed at the range! Sad story indeed! :shake:

Dave

What utter stupidity that others pay for anothers!

 

[bob243]

I've spent quite a bit of time at a friends shop. I can tell you your definately not the only person who fired the ramrod down the range. Usually there would be 3 or 4 who bought a new inline or something and would come back later thinking they didnt get a ramrod. When asked if they shot it yet, they would say "once". :rotf:

 

[philo426]

What I don't get is,how can you not know the ramrod is still in the barrel after you ram the ball home?I always put the ramrod back in its channel before capping and firing.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I've never even used my ramrod, only a rangerod for me...it's harder to miss seeing as your aiming down the barrel :rotf: .

Dave

 

[Robert Egler]

I've never left the ramrod in the barrel, but on the range I use a spare rod rather that pulling my regular ramrod out and putting it back for each shot, so I could see how it could happen.

 

[rebel727]

I don't put mine back under the barrel but either stick it in the ground next to me or prop it up against something.

 

[Slamfire]

What I don't get is,how can you not know the ramrod is still in the barrel after you ram the ball home?I always put the ramrod back in its channel before capping and firing.

Ah, but you missed the part, where I just dropped it down the barrel to verify a dry ball. I still don't know how I managed to get powder in the flash channel and reinstall the nipple without it fallin' out on it's own.

 

[54mountain]

we had a rondi a few years back and after the days shootin' we were playin' a friendly game of poker when this idiot decided to see how much powder he had left,so he stuck a lit cigarette down the end of his horn for light. We had his camp tore down and his pickup loaded before he realized what was happnin'
Thank god that horn didn't go off.

We let him Know He was not welcome at any more of our shoots.

 

[Zonie]

Well, the guys on the next bench were saying,
"Hay, look at that guy. He forgot to pull his ramrod."
"By golly he sure did! Look, he's removing the nipple."
"I think he's gonna try to shoot it out of there."
"NO Way! He can't be that dumb can he?"
"Yup. He poured in some loose powder under the nipple and he's screwing it back in. This is gonna be sumptin to see!"
"I hope he don't shoot my target."

THUMMMP

"There she blows! :rotf: Ah think he missed his target and yours. That reminds me... What did you ever do with that bow I lent you last season...?"

:rotf:

 

[2172]

it seems to me that most of our club's shot ramrods are shot during the woodswalk...our rules forbid range rods for that event, and you must shoot out of the bag...I think this is unfamiliar enough to most guys, especially not using a range rod, that they forget to return the ramrod to the pipes...it is something they don't do with a range rod in their regular routines...too, the difference between woodswalk shooting and from the loading bench shooting unnerves some guys..a friend of mine has the club record of shooting two during the same woodswalk...the second borrowed from a partner...Hank

 

Many years ago when I was just a young pup, I was standing directly behind an old gentleman shooting the pistol target with a revolver. He pulls up and fires and it sounded real funny. He looks at his revolver and streaks of lead down both sides of his gun. I asked him if he had put any lube over the balls. He told me that he didn't know he was supposed to. We both learned a lesson that day and I won me a friend. He never had another problem with chainfires. Not a funny story but is a strange story. I never would have suspected that an older gentleman would have never heard about grease over the balls in revolvers. We were members of the same club and had attended many of the same meetings.