Reading Dennis' statements about "hog rifles" brought to mind an incident that my grandpa related to me. The year was 1910 in the backwoods of WV (not a lot different from 1818 in that locale) and my grandpa was a boy walking back to the farm from the coal mine where he worked as a blaster. It was hog killing time and a local man who was mentally challenged went around to the farms and killed and dressed the hogs and stayed on until the work was complete. As my pa came up the path the man took a shot at a hog in the pen with a flintlock Honaker rifle. The rifle misfired ( as Honakers are want to do)and he laid it across the rail fence and took a wire from his hat and proceed to jab the touchole. At that moment the rifle fired
Hit a hog in the side and the man became so excited and flustered that he was just out of it. My Grandpa took his knife and jumped into the pen and dispatched the wounded hog. How about that for a hangfire. Johnny
