Versitility of Horns

[tg]

Horns can be used for many things these are ball containers with a hole in the top that lets a ball come out after a brass pin is pulled back a bit, they also work for shot, buckshot,over powder/shot/cards and wads, the imagination is the limit, they are wrappped in leather to cut down noise from bumping on things

 

[Sharp Shooter]

That sounds cool. Do you have a pic?

 

[tg]

Yeah here it is I forgot to add it to the above post

 

[roundball]

Good topic...like you, I've read where they were used for most anything...salt, pepper, sugar, sewing needles, etc...the list goes on

 

[Birdman]

Horn back when was much like todays plastic. It could be sawn, molded,heated, shaved thin, used for anything from mundan everyday articals to extremely fancy items. It is amazing stuff to work with n so much is being relearned about its propertys every day.

 

[tg]

Yeah it is neat stuff, I found lots of uses years ago when a friend asked if I wanted some cow horns, I naturaly said yse and he showed up with a small pickup truck full of whole cows heads with horns, he had picked up from a friend who worked at a slaughter house,so I fired up the trap dying tubs and by 2 O'clock in the morning we had them all removed and I had several years worth of horns to play with, all are now gone and I have pretty well got the "horn" thing out of my system.

 

[BillinOregon]

Hoooeee, TG, what did your down-wind neighbors think of that horn-harvesting escapade?

 

[tg]

I live in town but am somewhat isolated as my Dads place and mine take up a couple of acres with a creek/canyon on two sides....many years from now archeologist will have a field day figuring out the Beaver and other animals massive graves.

 

[bwhoffman]

Yeah it is neat stuff, I found lots of uses years ago when a friend asked if I wanted some cow horns, I naturaly said yse and he showed up with a small pickup truck full of whole cows heads with horns, he had picked up from a friend who worked at a slaughter house,so I fired up the trap dying tubs and by 2 O'clock in the morning we had them all removed and I had several years worth of horns to play with, all are now gone and I have pretty well got the "horn" thing out of my system.

All the shops around my end of the county basicly told me to go suck eggs. wasnt worth their effort and they get "some" value from the rendering company. go figure!
now,those 2 brothers that do farm kill on contract for some of the local cut/wrap shops, they have been known to do stuff for beer money. might have to track them down!
Althouh I did manage get geta box full of Roseberg area deer horns, mostly 3 and 4 pt stuff froma guy at work. there are some knife handles and powder measures there!

 

[tg]

I think these came from the Carlton Meat Packing Co. but this was in '91-'92 they may not let go of them now and I do not know the whole story of how Ken got them and decided not to ask to many questions.

 

[bwhoffman]

Funny...
the 2 brothers I mention work for carlton pack!
They moon light!

 

[tg]

Small world! the meat cutter in Dundee used to sell raw horns pretty cheap but you had to be on his list, I have not seen him in ten years so I don't know what the deal is now.The smaler outfits may be the best shot.

 

[tom deinek]

I was a Detroit cop. 25+ years ago I decided to make a horn and went to the city's massive farm market. Most everybody thought I was nuts. But I met some trucker from IN who told me to meet him the next week at 5am and he'd have one for me.

Took 3-4 weeks of missing him and him forgetting but he eventually gave me a set from the same carcass which his pal in IN had already boiled out for me. One became a shot horn and the other a powder horn.

Wish I had the trucker's name and address -- started me on a lifetime of fun making horns.

 

[bwhoffman]

Small world! the meat cutter in Dundee used to sell raw horns pretty cheap but you had to be on his list, I have not seen him in ten years so I don't know what the deal is now.The smaler outfits may be the best shot.

Time to stop in there again and see! if nothing else, they have the best 5 foot pepperoni stick around!

 

[tyspappy]

A farmer gave me 2 horns today and i would like to know how you get the inside cleaned out whats the best way . I found a site that shows you how to make a powder horn

 

[paulvallandigham]

The best way is to hang them from a fence out back in the farmer's property, where the birds and ants will clean it out.

However, you probably want to do it yourself. SO-O-O-O, OUTside on an open fire, or a BBQ grill, boil a large pot of water, put some pine sol in it to improve the odor, and maybe even some Lysol, and drop the horns in the water to boil. That will loosen the core, so that it can be pulled out. Wear gloves to protect your hands from being burned by the hot horns as they come out of the water. Until the cores are removed, the cores will retain heat and moisture for a long time.

You will want a large wood screw to turn into the softened core, to pull them out, and you will want to stay upwind of the boiling. This process stinks. Once the cores are out, put them in a plastice bag, like a bread wrapper you were going to throw out anyway, and put them in the garbage. Then dump the water, to help get rid of the odor.

Use fresh water, and use it to loosen any tissue that remains, so you can scrub out the horns with a brush. I like those brass bristled brush sold at craft stores, because the bristles are strong enough to remove sinew, but soft enough not to scratch the horn too much.

Let the horns dry, and then scrape off the scales on the outside to get a smooth finish.