The Best Muzzleloading Movies

[William O.]

Oh God, that's awful! It looks like they raided the set of Bonanza!

 

[toot]

Only the handguns were muzzleloaders, the Sharps rifle, not so much.

was the SHARPS a 50/ 120. Cal? the cartridge was as long as a pencil.

 

[toot]

was the BLACK ROBE a true story? the JUSEITS rely went through all of the hard ships depicted in the film? and for Religion.

 

[tenngun]

I read an account of that, it described Smith as sitting reading his Bible while one of his men sewed his torn off Ear back on.

Now tgat you said that, that’s the way I recall it. Smith was a a very religious man and Methodist. Very stoic

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

If you want to see a western that is historically correct and shows the west as it really was forget the muzzle loaders and watch Paint your Wagons. The best western ever made!

The idea of "forgetting the muzzleloaders" is blasphemy to those of us who love them. Apparently, not everyone here feels that way.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Shooting an Indian with a ram rod was in the very very old B&W Last of the Mohicans.

You are in a fire fight. You are reloading. The powder is in there and you've just seated the ball. You see that your foe is nearly upon you. Out of options, you point your rifle at him and fire. He falls dead at your feet, impaled upon your ramrod. Very cool---except you hadn't primed or capped your rifle. No loud bang for you, just a spike tomahawk sticking out of the top of your head. But Hollywood doesn't know this and could care less, Ditto for the average film goer.

 

[Columbus]

Lots of muskets, pistols and hand to hand in the mud in this one.

 

[Prairie Banditti]

I think know this but did Jedediah Smith live or trap in far Northern California and Oregone ? I think I read that he was mauled by a grizzly bear and had his scalp ripped off and he stitched his scalp back on himself. Hope this is not too much off topic.

Hey Gold Grizzly,
Yes, Jedediah Smith and a party of his men crossed the freakin' Mohave Desert (talk about men hardy and tough as leather) and into Southern California (under Mexican rule at the time...the Mexican authorities couldn't believe that a party of Americanos had crossed the barriers of the Sierra Nevada and desert). And yes, Smith's party explored and meandered their way up to northern California and into southern Oregon, trapping beaver and mapping their routes, which were to become invaluable to later explorers like John Fremont in the opening of the West...
As for the grizz encounter, yes, he got the best of the beast, but had a chunk of his scalp ripped away (including, I believe, a portion of his ear). The story goes is that he sat there calmly and instructed one of his men to take a needle and sinew and stitch back his scalp as best they could!

 

[Gold Grizzly]

Hey Gold Grizzly,
Yes, Jedediah Smith and a party of his men crossed the freakin' Mohave Desert (talk about men hardy and tough as leather) and into Southern California (under Mexican rule at the time...the Mexican authorities couldn't believe that a party of Americanos had crossed the barriers of the Sierra Nevada and desert). And yes, Smith's party explored and meandered their way up to northern California and into southern Oregon, trapping beaver and mapping their routes, which were to become invaluable to later explorers like John Fremont in the opening of the West...
As for the grizz encounter, yes, he got the best of the beast, but had a chunk of his scalp ripped away (including, I believe, a portion of his ear). The story goes is that he sat there calmly and instructed one of his men to take a needle and sinew and stitch back his scalp as best they could!

I thought I read that in one of my books, thanks for clarifying that. I went to a nice lil museum in Yreka, far Northern Ca, and they had some nice exhibits and had a portrait of Joseph Meek and how he was in that area living the life of a Mountain Man Badass. Oregon has lots of interesting history of the Old West, as other States do and I live very close to part of The Oregone Trail. Those Folks was a lot different then and tougher than nails too. I know life was tough back then, but I still would have liked to live in the Old West where a person could survive off the land and live an adventuress life.

 

[Marshhawk]

We have to remember that they make movies to entertain the public. We also have to remember that nowadays 95% of the public is mostly ignorant and don't know the difference and most don't care. Thank the Lord there are people like us.

Yeah, I agree. But my wife gets annoyed at me when I point out firearm idiocies during a movie (e.g. Patriot).

 

[deGheyn]

The Sharpe's Rifles series. For the pre-flinter type, Alatriste and Admiral.
The "shoot the bad guy with your ramrod" scene:





Some of these are also available on Prime.

 

[Tanglefoot]

How about “Across The Wide Missouri” (1951) or “The Big Sky” (1952)? The rifles used in both were largely originals because there weren’t a lot of replicas made then. The “Sharpes” series is BBC and is about the Napoleonic Wars from the perspective of a British Rifleman using the Baker Rifle and his unit and uses either original Baker rifles or excellent copies. Doc White has made several replicas of that gun, BTW.

 

[TDM]

I’ve been trying to remember the ram rod shooting episode I mentioned earlier. I do remember that whatever show it was the main character was captured by the Indians and had to fight the top brave. He was given one ball and some powder. They hunted each other, shot and both missed. The brave reloaded thinking he had an easy kill coming, but the hero kept just enough powder to propel the ram rod and killed the brave. Would have been back in the 60’s. Made an impression on me, but that’s all I remember.

 

[Eutycus]

That scene in Jeremiah Johnson where Will Greer let's the grizzly chase him into the cabin ruined that movie for me.An athelete like Jim Thorpe couldn't have outrun a grizzly much less an old man like Greer.

 

[TDM]

I love Jeremiah Johnson, but I agree, that scene was hard to swallow.

 

[Gold Grizzly]

I’ve been trying to remember the ram rod shooting episode I mentioned earlier. I do remember that whatever show it was the main character was captured by the Indians and had to fight the top brave. He was given one ball and some powder. They hunted each other, shot and both missed. The brave reloaded thinking he had an easy kill coming, but the hero kept just enough powder to propel the ram rod and killed the brave. Would have been back in the 60’s. Made an impression on me, but that’s all I remember.

If I remember right that movie was Mountain Men with Charleston Heston, but that was made in 1979. I could be wrong.

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

Here in Australia its regarded as a crap PC movie, Whites being typecast and pilloried.
BTW a fella would have to be built like a Gorilla to hold a full length Sharps rifle, off hand steady enough to hit anything out to range.

I understand what you are saying, but it's a movie, mate.

 

[TDM]

If I remember right that movie was Mountain Men with Charleston Heston, but that was made in 1979. I could be wrong.

They did it there too I believe, along with a few others. But what I remember was on TV, my best guess was a Daniel Boone episode.

 

[Gold Grizzly]

They did it there too I believe, along with a few others. But what I remember was on TV, my best guess was a Daniel Boone episode.

Oh ok.

 

[thomasgunn]

was the SHARPS a 50/ 120. Cal? the cartridge was as long as a pencil.

.45-110.