touch hole is dangerous?

[ebiggs1]

Do you always shoot that close to your neighbor’s house of do you have 2 garages?

There are no houses close around me. The building in the background is my wood shop. The smaller one it the tractor shed. To answer the unrelated question! :hmm:

 

[Ray-Vigo]

Middleton disagreed with this as the primary motivator in his history of the Revolution. His view was that a certain unit/professional pride drove men to participate. My own view is that it was probably some combination of the two, though it's hard to get inside anyone's head.

(another unrelated item I guess)

 

[Stumpkiller]

I'm sure there was some of that. In the Civil War and later as well. You feel if you break ranks you're letting your unit down so you just keep wading into the fire. Was it the 44th of Foot that crossed a field towards the earthworks at New Orleans until every enlisted man of the regiment was dead or down? Look at the tens-of-thousands who died in single days of WWII walking at emplaced machine-gun nests.

At that point it's just shock keeping you putting one foot ahead of the other.

 

[ebiggs1]

”¦ I heard of the dangers of being too close to the flash hole or how it can set something on fire, like dry grass or someone's beard. ”¦

Actually this has gotten way off my original thought. There has been “a failure to communicate”, to quote a well known phrase. I am referring to some statements that some made when I first joined and some afterward about how a flintlock can set things a blaze. I was somewhat surprised when some made folly by indicating to try something that would do actual harm. This and some other statements have since been shown to be untrue. I don't think the touch hole is a great problem with respect to setting anything on fire. Although I admit it is possible, anything is under certain circumstances I suppose, I still think it unlikely. Just like a cook off. Yes it can happen and it does, fortunately it is rare. But, so is a conflagration from the touch hole!

 

[ODG34]

I agree that it is not likely that you will set anything on fire. It is a very real danger that someone could be hurt from standing too close in front of the touch hole. That part is a fact as many can attest to.

 

[Dphar]

To this day I can't believe grown men actually did that...and they did it over and over and over.

I did "on line sweeps" in 1971. But the napalm helped with the NVA in the tree line (it really is great stuff). We only had one WIA.

Apparently a considerable segment of the American Militia and many rifle units of the Rev-War had the same opinion of linear tactics I do.

Dan

 

[Dphar]

One problem with the flintlock is it often drops flint chips into the pan which are then launched by the high pressure gas escape.

Dan

 

[Larry Pletcher]

Ebiggs,
your concern about fires is valid. Glad to see a test done. In very dry areas I would be more concerned about a smoldering patch starting a grass fire. There's no question that fire from vents can burn skin that is too close, but I'd speculate that grass fires are more likely caused by smoldering patches. IMHO,

Regards,
Pletch

 

[peter hawbaker]

Many years ago, near the beginning of my flintlock experience, I inadvertantly started a fire with my flintlock. I had a "Bulls Bag" sandbag, and lined it with a T-shirt to protect the brand new finish on the TC Renegade kit I was so proud of. I took a shot, then walked down range to check my target, leaving the rifle in the sandbag. I turned around to walk back, and observed a fire on my shooting bench. The T-shirt had caught fire, and was in flames. It slightly burnt the stock finish I was trying so hard to protect. Lesson Learned !!

EDIT: the fire was started by the lock and the ejecta from the vent, as the muzzle was well beyond the shirt.

 

[hanshi]

Though it wasn't a flintlock I set a towel on fire not long ago by having it on my arm when I fired an H&A underhammer (the percussion cap spit). I'm talking flame, too. I have no doubt a flintlock could do it as well.