Post by beaudro on Apr 8, 2008 7:06:14 GMT -5
Here's a tip from one of the poison river party members, Allen Hall. This might strike a cord with some people, maybe a bad one. But in the life of a mountain man, this is probably more like it was really done.
Are Your Balls to Big?
by Allen Hall
Any good ride and camp has lessons learned for those who’ll listen. Our 5 day ride was no exception. Hey, I’m getting to the point of this title. This is serious, get your mind out of the bog! Really.
Anyway, the first day out we came across grizzly tracks in the middle of the trail. Now this area is known for this grand beast, and so it made life a lot more interesting. About 2 hours later we came across a REALLY BIG black bear. This was really nice, as you don’t generally see all that many bears in the woods. Especially with a trapping party on the move, going through their territory. Shortly thereafter, the guns were all loaded. Now I’m getting closer to the point here.
When we read the old journals, it is routine to hear about them pulling their loads at night, and occasionally in the morning. This was to ensure that the gun would go bang when it’s supposed to. In the world of combat shooting, reliability is the primary objective, again the gun should go bang when you want it to.
What has happened in modern black powder shooting, is that we are obsessed with accuracy. That ball needs to be tight to obtain this accuracy. It’s not unusual to see folks having to pound their lead balls down the barrel with a short starter, then use their ram rod to take it home. But would this practice be period? I don’t think so. How many times have you read about a short starter in the journals? I don’t recall any references to this.
I believe that the old boys started their balls with their thumbs, and finished the job with the ram rods. Now they would be able to load much faster, and shoot longer before things got tough. I’ve done a little experimenting with this. I shoot a .54 caliber, and like everyone else had to shoot .535 balls, and had to have my short starter. Then I got some .530 balls and found it a little easier to start. Finally I found some .520 balls and found that they could easily be started with my thumb, and I could shoot longer before I had to clean. And the really interesting part was, for combat/hunting accuracy, I can’t tell a difference in accuracy! So you’re not losing anything, but gaining a lot.
The tightness of your balls becomes a really big issue when you go to pull a load (for whatever reason). Yaro and I had a heck of a time pulling a load from his pistol. And by the way, you DO carry a ball puller with you, don’t you?
We should consider cleaning our guns in period fashion and having the tools to do that. Tow makes a really good cleaner, and you can use it over and over again. That eliminates having to carry a pile of patches with you to throw away on the trail. Let’s spend some time thinking about this very period practice, and maybe doing it at camps (where guns are loaded, but of course not primed or capped).
This article is food for thought. You may find that it doesn’t apply to you. On the other hand, when you’re in grizz country, making sure that your gun will go bang at the proper time, takes on a whole new
Are Your Balls to Big?
by Allen Hall
Any good ride and camp has lessons learned for those who’ll listen. Our 5 day ride was no exception. Hey, I’m getting to the point of this title. This is serious, get your mind out of the bog! Really.
Anyway, the first day out we came across grizzly tracks in the middle of the trail. Now this area is known for this grand beast, and so it made life a lot more interesting. About 2 hours later we came across a REALLY BIG black bear. This was really nice, as you don’t generally see all that many bears in the woods. Especially with a trapping party on the move, going through their territory. Shortly thereafter, the guns were all loaded. Now I’m getting closer to the point here.
When we read the old journals, it is routine to hear about them pulling their loads at night, and occasionally in the morning. This was to ensure that the gun would go bang when it’s supposed to. In the world of combat shooting, reliability is the primary objective, again the gun should go bang when you want it to.
What has happened in modern black powder shooting, is that we are obsessed with accuracy. That ball needs to be tight to obtain this accuracy. It’s not unusual to see folks having to pound their lead balls down the barrel with a short starter, then use their ram rod to take it home. But would this practice be period? I don’t think so. How many times have you read about a short starter in the journals? I don’t recall any references to this.
I believe that the old boys started their balls with their thumbs, and finished the job with the ram rods. Now they would be able to load much faster, and shoot longer before things got tough. I’ve done a little experimenting with this. I shoot a .54 caliber, and like everyone else had to shoot .535 balls, and had to have my short starter. Then I got some .530 balls and found it a little easier to start. Finally I found some .520 balls and found that they could easily be started with my thumb, and I could shoot longer before I had to clean. And the really interesting part was, for combat/hunting accuracy, I can’t tell a difference in accuracy! So you’re not losing anything, but gaining a lot.
The tightness of your balls becomes a really big issue when you go to pull a load (for whatever reason). Yaro and I had a heck of a time pulling a load from his pistol. And by the way, you DO carry a ball puller with you, don’t you?
We should consider cleaning our guns in period fashion and having the tools to do that. Tow makes a really good cleaner, and you can use it over and over again. That eliminates having to carry a pile of patches with you to throw away on the trail. Let’s spend some time thinking about this very period practice, and maybe doing it at camps (where guns are loaded, but of course not primed or capped).
This article is food for thought. You may find that it doesn’t apply to you. On the other hand, when you’re in grizz country, making sure that your gun will go bang at the proper time, takes on a whole new