Bob (“Rat”), As a kid in the 1960’s I road my bike to to a local antique store to see if they had any blackpowder firearms or Civil War relics for sale. I was in luck. In the corner, there was a Civil War vintage .54 caliber Austrian Lorenz rifle musket for sale. While checking it out, I ran the ramrod down the barrel. It stopped about an inch short of the breach plug. I notified the proprietor that her rifle musket (RM) might be loaded. She asked me to unload it. I explained that I could not do that with the tools at hand (and in fact, I probably didn’t own a “tool” more elaborate than a Barlow knife). She called the local police and asked them to come out and unload the rifle musket. She was told “We don’t provide that service”. After a few moments to digest this information, she asked me if I would buy the RM for the price that she paid for it, which was $75.00, if I remember correctly. I told her I did not have $75.00. Remember, I was just a penniless kid out for a ride on his bike. She said “No problem, you can make payments and take it home when you pay it off.” A lot of mowed lawns later I took it home. I took a coat piece of coat hanger wire, or the like, and ran it down the barrel as a worm and extracted the “load”. It was one inch of old newspaper and rotted rubber bands. Now doubt rammed down the barrel by some kid years earlier. 50 plus years later, it has been my experience that those old load muzzleloader contain all kinds of junk more often than a round ball and powder. Anyone else have a similar experience?
John.
