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The Campfire / Re: Rifle or fowler
« Last post by Wislnwings on April 12, 2021, 09:37:10 PM »Thanks for the advice Rob
News:
“Smell that? You smell that? Black powder, son.
Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love
the smell of black powder in the morning ..... "
Recent Posts
12
The Campfire / Re: This shooting bag is heading to Mexico
« Last post by vtmtnman on April 10, 2021, 08:05:22 AM »Beautiful work sir
13
Hunting / Re: Ole John Pruitt got 'er done!
« Last post by vtmtnman on April 10, 2021, 08:03:00 AM »Nice one 
14
Events / TMA Postal Match
« Last post by Rob DiStefano on April 10, 2021, 06:58:36 AM »Check this out for some fun shootin' ...
http://tradmla.org/tmaf/index.php?topic=25389.msg231320#msg231320
http://tradmla.org/tmaf/index.php?topic=25389.msg231320#msg231320
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The Campfire / Re: Rifle or fowler
« Last post by Rob DiStefano on April 10, 2021, 06:14:58 AM »Welcome to the BPGang cyber campfire! 
Choosing a traditional muzzleloader is clearly a personal thing.
If I had to have only one, it'd be a full stock, long barrel 20ga flintlock smoothbore for personal reasons in that it will load ball or shot to varying degrees, is well suited to hunting squirrels and fowl as it is hog and moose, is typically lighter in mass weight and thus easier carrying afield than a rifle of comparable size, is aesthetically the most common long arm of the 1700's and the prerequisite firearm for warfare (for the most part, rifles were not allowed in 18th century general armies and militia as their rate of fire is inferior to a smoothbore - firepower was more important than accuracy).
The one concern that might crop up with a smoothbore is accuracy, particularly past 25 or 35 yards. *IF* need be, that can be helped by adding a rear sight, and thus turning a smoothbore into a "smooth rifle", which was also a popular 18th century firearm. Be aware that some club and organization shooting matches will not allow rear sights on smoothbores, if that matters.
A turkey choke bbl will be the better way to go for turkey hunting, but would probably turn that smoothie into a one trick pony. I've never had a turkey choke smoothie bbl, so I can't comment on how well or not it would take to loading with patched ball or naked ball. In any event, not for me as loading patched balls is about 90% of how I use a smoothbore. I doubt that a straight cylinder bore bbl is that much of a handicap for fowl hunting, didn't seem to be an issue for farmers of that bygone era.
The good part about all muzzleloaders is that you get to create each "cartridge", and therein one can experiment with different loads to find what the gun likes best in terms of different ball diameters, patching, lubes, shot size and volume, black powder granularity and charge volume.
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Choosing a traditional muzzleloader is clearly a personal thing.
If I had to have only one, it'd be a full stock, long barrel 20ga flintlock smoothbore for personal reasons in that it will load ball or shot to varying degrees, is well suited to hunting squirrels and fowl as it is hog and moose, is typically lighter in mass weight and thus easier carrying afield than a rifle of comparable size, is aesthetically the most common long arm of the 1700's and the prerequisite firearm for warfare (for the most part, rifles were not allowed in 18th century general armies and militia as their rate of fire is inferior to a smoothbore - firepower was more important than accuracy).
The one concern that might crop up with a smoothbore is accuracy, particularly past 25 or 35 yards. *IF* need be, that can be helped by adding a rear sight, and thus turning a smoothbore into a "smooth rifle", which was also a popular 18th century firearm. Be aware that some club and organization shooting matches will not allow rear sights on smoothbores, if that matters.
A turkey choke bbl will be the better way to go for turkey hunting, but would probably turn that smoothie into a one trick pony. I've never had a turkey choke smoothie bbl, so I can't comment on how well or not it would take to loading with patched ball or naked ball. In any event, not for me as loading patched balls is about 90% of how I use a smoothbore. I doubt that a straight cylinder bore bbl is that much of a handicap for fowl hunting, didn't seem to be an issue for farmers of that bygone era.
The good part about all muzzleloaders is that you get to create each "cartridge", and therein one can experiment with different loads to find what the gun likes best in terms of different ball diameters, patching, lubes, shot size and volume, black powder granularity and charge volume.
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The Campfire / Rifle or fowler
« Last post by Wislnwings on April 10, 2021, 12:57:12 AM »I'm ready to dive into flintlocks. I'm torn between a rifle or fowler first. I'm leaning toward Fowler for versatility. I could use it to hunt deer, hogs, small game and possibly turkey. I'm also considered a Fowler with a Colerain turkey barrel but I'm assuming going that route would eliminate using round ball for deer. If I go with a standard 20ga barrel, is it possible to still develop a tight enough pattern for turkey out to 30 or so yards or would I have to go with the choked barrel ?
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The Campfire / Re: Time spent with my squirrel rfle
« Last post by doc nock on April 09, 2021, 08:14:49 PM »Glad you posted....things gettin a bit quiet around here...
I've heard that TIP builds some fine, fine guns
I've heard that TIP builds some fine, fine guns
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The Campfire / Time spent with my squirrel rfle
« Last post by goingoldskool on April 09, 2021, 07:42:42 PM »I found some time to spend with my Tip Curtis .36 cal flintlock. Shots were at 25 yards. Load was 30 gr of Swiss fffg, .350 ball and .015 patch lubed with Gato feo ( beeswax, lamb tallow and canning wax).
Wound up shooting about 35 shots.
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Waiting on squirrel season now!
Good luck, shoot straight and God bless,
Rodd
Wound up shooting about 35 shots.
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Waiting on squirrel season now!
Good luck, shoot straight and God bless,
Rodd
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Hunting / Re: Ole John Pruitt got 'er done!
« Last post by Rob DiStefano on April 05, 2021, 05:44:51 PM »Awesome bird for ol' John!!
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Hunting / Re: Ole John Pruitt got 'er done!
« Last post by doc nock on April 05, 2021, 02:46:13 PM »Your buddy, John, is a caution, for sure...
Been a few years since you posted a pic of him...
He's a marvel, for sure!
Been a few years since you posted a pic of him...
He's a marvel, for sure!