What Muzzleloading Stuff Did You Do Today?

[Felonious]

Had my 32 in the woods squirrel hunting,saw 1 no shot so no animals harmed in this story

Sometimes it's all about just getting outside. I almost hate to admit that I'm relieved when I don't kill anything sometimes because it doesn't take hours to prep and clean my gun when I get home.

Nothing quite like getting up at 2:00am for a 12-hour duck hunt and having to clean your gun in the tub for 30 minutes after you get home, plus the game prep.

 

[Ohio Rusty]

It has been a rainy dreary day so I went to the forge and made a camp wear tripod. Looks like it will work fine.
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[Ed C.]

Took my no frills workhorse out today and the gun ran fine through 3 cylinders. Offhand shooting. That guy is dead. Good enough!

 

[wiscoaster]

Took the transportable convertible pistol loading stand to the range today to test it out with a couple guns out in the real world. Pics here: The Transportable Convertible Pistol Loading Stand

 

[Terrier]

I was doing a little practice offhand shooting yesterday with the 40 cal SMR to prep a little for the club shoot this weekend.

I’ve been toying around and collecting rocks and some of the tools to start trying to make my own flints, just to see if I could do it. I’m almost there.

Couldn’t locally find the type of hammer I wanted to use and really didn’t know the name of it. I described it to my neighbor, but he didn’t know, but said he only ever uses one hammer and offered any of his others if I found one I liked. He had a bricklayer hammer that was close.

The collection of rocks I’ve been gathering is sitting on my shooting bench. In the middle of the practice session yesterday, I picked up the bricklayer hammer that was lying there and one of the rocks and took a couple of whacks at it. I got lucky and sheared off a piece about the size of a silver dollar. A few more taps and it almost looked like a rifle flint! Even though it was a little too big, I decided to give it a try in the SMR. I don’t even know what kind of rock it is, but my fire striker makes sparks with it. It’s kinda blue gray and seems to have some fossils in it.

The last ten shots of the day using my new flint worked perfectly. I was tickled! It had the satisfying feeling you get just like catching a fish with the fly that you tied…

I did some tree work with that same neighbor this morning and came home with a really nice hunk of maple to make a flint work station out of.

The hammer I wanted was like the one @IanH works with in his instructional videos. Turns out it’s called a “Rivet Hammer”. Got a 2 oz and a 4 oz ordered from the big box store in the clouds.

 

[nhmoose]

Loaded my 20 ga club butt for the ml deer season opener tomorrow.

 

[Terry Lightle]

Made my first rifle flints this morning,really ugly but sparked a bunch.Will be deer hunting with one in the morning.

 

[64Springer]

Time for me to go crawling around in the crick in search of flint stones.

 

[Terrier]

Time for me to go crawling around in the crick in search of flint stones.

Tell Fred and Wilma that Goober says, "Hey!"....

Oh... and where I am, I found some of and the most of, the best sparkers on the fire trail on the way down to the creek. So, you may not have to get your feet wet.

 

[IanH]

I just used the hammer I had handy fir the job. It's not a magnetic tack hammer but I figured it was the other kind. Riveting hammer, interesting.

So the real gunflint knappers use a hammer made from a section of file, bent in a slight arc, with chisel points ground on both ends and a handle welded in the middle. They are fairly light and have very long handles. I just use what works and for irregular rock find the flat face an indispensable option.

 

[Terrier]

I just used the hammer I had handy fir the job. It's not a magnetic tack hammer but I figured it was the other kind. Riveting hammer, interesting.

So the real gunflint knappers use a hammer made from a section of file, bent in a slight arc, with chisel points ground on both ends and a handle welded in the middle. They are fairly light and have very long handles. I just use what works and for irregular rock find the flat face an indispensable option.

What you’re doing seems to work well…. I managed to get a workable flint with a bricklayer’s hammer (much larger and curved more) but I’m looking forward to the lighter riveting hammer like you use to have that lighter touch and better precision.

Again, Ian, thank you VERY MUCH for the videos you did. Very helpful. I hope you do more.

 

[IanH]

I intend to try and do a better video about getting useable flakes off of the rocks since that's the part that really tripped me up in the beginning and seems to do the same for others as well. Hopefully I'll be able to get some good surface rock from a friend's ranch this weekend or next and do a better demonstration.

 

[deerstalkert]

I intend to try and do a better video about getting useable flakes off of the rocks since that's the part that really tripped me up in the beginning and seems to do the same for others as well. Hopefully I'll be able to get some good surface rock from a friend's ranch this weekend or next and do a better demonstration.

the beginning, the middle, and am afraid the end too! have been making little sharp rock out of big dull rock for a while now, and still have the most trouble in driving good blades. my ancestors would disown me!.
i did drive a few today from a nice piece of mottled Georgetown. have enough for a couple dozen flints.
Today i worked some more on my latest build. made a toe plate out of some flat stock and inlet it. It and the butt plate are browning right now. the inletting looks like a wood worm did it in the photo, but it actually cleaned up as i went deeper. tried to do it without my glasses at first, being to stinking lazy to wheel my butt into the house to get them. always makes more work in the long run.

 

[smo]

Crocs….

The fuzzy lined ones, great for that early morning trot too the hooter…

They would have worn them if they had em’!

 

[Grenadier1758]

In my case, @smo, it is sabots (wooden shoes). They had them, well the French colonials had them.

 

[Loja man]

Just finished this dagger! It’s a copy, as close as I could make it, to a dagger that was picked up off the Perryville battle field in Perryville, Kentucky. First pic shows the original in the display case. I had some help from forum members on the sheath style.

 

[Jamie Hurley]

While patiently waiting for my Chambers PA Fowler kit to ship, I decided to order a second Kibler, this time going with a fancy maple, .54 caliber Woodsrunner. I got it yesterday and am very impressed with just how much handier it feels compared to the Colonial rifle I just put together. Really looking forward to getting this one together.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Was going to shoot, but this morning is 0F and very windy so will wait a bit. I guess something I did muzzleloading related was change my Forum name as some may have noticed. I don't ranch rope anymore, horses are long in the tooth (just them not me...haha). So new handle for the forum.

 

[Loja man]

Was going to shoot, but this morning is 0F and very windy so will wait a bit. I guess something I did muzzleloading related was change my Forum name as some may have noticed. I don't ranch rope anymore, horses are long in the tooth (just them not me...haha). So new handle for the forum.

Is there a translation for the new name?

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Is there a translation for the new name?

It's Blackfoot for Timber Wolf.

My wife is a wildlife artist and loves to paint wolves. We also get wolves tracking through our place frequently, often see their tracks in winter. I am studying Blackfoot language (or trying to) so I just thought it was appropriate and "mountain-manny" too as the early 1800's is the era I am drawn to.