Father??s Day weekend we took Adopted File down to Orofino for a family shindig with his ?ÿbio-maternal grandfather- who is failing fast with throat and colon cancer- he gave Adopted a black powder rifle that he??d originally given to his own father -who??d passed it back to him just prior to his own death.... pretty cool heirloom from a family without many. Anyway- I need to get up to speed with it and get Adopted behind it as soon as he??s able. ?ÿ ??Murcia!
Connecticut Valley Arms .50
I don't know why they quit using those in the military. You shoot, instant smoke screen!
Smoke screen was the problem. Couldn't see the enemy after a while. That, and the residue is a lot more caustic than modern powder. Have to clean black powder weapons religiously after every shooting session.
My father had an interesting .45 caliber muzzle-loader. The trigger guard served as the spring for the hammer, which was under the barrel just ahead of the trigger guard. Only 3 moving parts. You had to wear long sleeves if you didn't want to get your forearm peppered with sparks from the nipple.
I've built a half dozen of the kits from the 70's. The last one had been sitting in Dads garage for decades. During the downturn 2 of my daughters helped me finish the parts and build it.
Now the issue is which of the 4 gets it when the time comes...
Nice gift!
Thankfully, its a percussion cap, and not a flintlock. I teach a muzzleloader class for hunter safety and always extol the virtues of the advancement from such primitive nonsense of click, flash, then....bang.?ÿ Great way to learn about site picture and not flinching.?ÿ Good times!
One guy I heard talk about black powder shooting said when you pull the trigger on a flintlock, you are making an appointment with the bullet.
My dad had a kit built .50 cal with double triggers.?ÿ He had a bad habit of loading it at the beginning of muzzleloader?ÿ season and if he didn't get a shot, sometimes it would remain loaded all season.?ÿ He'd simply replace the percussion cap with a plastic cap over the nipple to keep the power dry between hunts.?ÿ Several years ago he forgot and left it loaded all winter....actually until late the following fall just prior to the new season opening.?ÿ We were at the range and rather than pull the ball and reload it he decided to just fire it as is.?ÿ The first cap failed to ignite the powder.?ÿ Dad kept it sighted on the target for a couple of minutes before deciding to replace the cap and try again.?ÿ He re-aimed, set the front trigger and then prepared to pull the hair trigger.?ÿ Just as he touched the hair trigger it fired without ever dropping the hammer on the fresh cap.?ÿ The recoil nearly knocked him off the bench because he wasn't prepared for it yet.?ÿ Thank goodness he'd kept it pointed down range continuously after the first misfire.?ÿ Three plus minutes between trigger pull and firing can get you killed.
Moral of the story: Never leave a muzzleloader loaded for an extended time and if you do, be sure to pull the ball and reload before trying to fire.
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Thank goodness he'd kept it pointed down range continuously after the first misfire.?ÿ Three plus minutes between trigger pull and firing can get you killed.
Moral of the story: Never leave a muzzleloader loaded for an extended time and if you do, be sure to pull the ball and reload before trying to fire.
We cover the safety of this ad nauseam and many other facets too.?ÿ It takes a deliberate process to get into muzzleloader, and this like archery weeds out most of the chaff... most.?ÿ 😉
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I have a vague recollection of the Army soaking damaged or miss-fired rounds in oil at the ranges to make them inert.?ÿ
