Another near miss..

[Roger Fisher]

So, we were enjoying the last Sunday's w walk and our group of 9 or 10 shooters were standing in a cluster.  (Bad to start with re:incoming) I remarked that I smelled smoke  and others agreed that they did also.  Looked around for burning patches in the leaves.  (No snow here this day). I then remarked 'H    its me' I was on fire.
The small finger on my gloved left hand was glowing red and smoking like crazy.  Of course I put that out in a hurry.  I realized then and there that a cloth, wool,, cotton glove can catch and hold a spark quite easily.   I/we dodged a bullet with that one.  Imagine holding the measure with the glowing gloved hand and pouring powder out of the horn with the right hand and igniting the horn.

So, to all of you/us that 'enter' here beware the gloved hand and holding close to the lock.

Change your method/methods.     There must be someone 'up there' looking after 'us' fools on this earth. 

I'm pondering what kind of a finger glove would shed sparks so that it could be used with safety for these cold weather shoots..?   Anybody. 

[Longknife]

Maybe look in to some welders gloves??? They would be fireproof but maybe too clumsy to wear---I once lit the fringe on the cuff of my riflemans coat while shooting--I then trimmed all the fringe off of both cuffs, problem solved...Ed

[Dan]

Leather....

[Canute Rex]

It's not HC, but I often use thin military surplus polypro woven glove liners inside 100% wool fingerless gloves. 100% wool is fire resistant and the polypro tends to melt instead of burn. Painful, but not explosive. You can also get relatively thin 100% wool military glove liners from army surplus places. Not as thin as the polypro and a bit more fumbly, but they won't burn or melt.

You can get thin gloves made of the fire resistant material Nomex. Various industries use them for fire protection, and I believe I read that auto racers use them as glove liners.

For the biathlons I'll usually wear those wool fingerless gloves with the floppy mitten covers. They generally have full thumbs, but I'll cut off the tip of the right thumb and hem it so I have bare first finger/thumb contact for dexterity. I'll put on a glove liner under the left hand fingerless glove. Whenever I'm not loading the mitten flaps go on.

I have Reynaud's Syndrome (and he has mine), so it's always a battle in the winter.

[blunderbuss]

   


  Last year I was standing to close to a camp fire in my hunting frock and the fringe on the lower portion caught fire ,I didn't think I could move that fast .I was taking it off as fast as I could and bystanders were throwing coffee. A Kodak moment for sure

[Ephraim]

Wow a new sorce for char cloth 
Ephraim

[hanshi]

One summer I used a towel draped over my arm and lap for protection while shooting my underhammer.  Same thing; smelled smoke and quickly saw flame.  Had to stomp it out and was lucky not to have been burned.

[Vomitus]

  Another thing to watch out for Roger is the frocked coat that many longhunters like. The sleeve (frocked) on my trigger hand caught fire from the flash or spark from my flinter. These threads(mine was cotton) caught fire like steel wool does when a spark catches it.Just another heads up.

No joking here.

[Roger Fisher]

Leather....

Depends on the leather (dry & frayed and greasy)  although a lot safer than the cotton and/or wool for certain.

[Roger Fisher]

Wow a new sorce for char cloth 
Ephraim

Would have worked well for some such... I had a minor problem getting the glow out..

[Roger Fisher]

  Another thing to watch out for Roger is the frocked coat that many longhunters like. The sleeve (frocked) on my trigger hand caught fire from the flash or spark from my flinter. These threads(mine was cotton) caught fire like steel wool does when a spark catches it.Just another heads up.

I do wish everyone that shoots muzzleloaders and pour the loose black would be able to read these lines and take them  seriously..

[axelp]

living back in the day was not for the faint of heart...

[Dennis Glazener]

Roger,
Captain John Smith wasn't as fortunate as you with the spark, below is an account of how he was badly burned while on a trip up the James river below Richmond VA. The "match" was one used to fire a matchlock gun.

Asleep in the boat, Smith said, he was terrifically burned when a spark fell from a match and touched off a gunpowder bag he wore at his waist. He jumped into the river to douse the flames and was recovered half drowned.

See this link for more of the story: http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/smith.cfm the account is in the 10th or 11th paragraph from the BOTTOM of the article.
Dennis

[ken]

Roger this just reminds us to always be awear of our seroundings. This is  where large groups get distracting. Good thing you didnot have a cold!!  Now I know how you get those good fire start times.  You will do better on sunday.   Ken

[Daryl]

So, we were enjoying the last Sunday's w walk and our group of 9 or 10 shooters were standing in a cluster.  (Bad to start with re:incoming) I remarked that I smelled smoke  and others agreed that they did also.  Looked around for burning patches in the leaves.  (No snow here this day). I then remarked 'H    its me' I was on fire.
The small finger on my gloved left hand was glowing red and smoking like crazy.  Of course I put that out in a hurry.  I realized then and there that a cloth, wool,, cotton glove can catch and hold a spark quite easily.   I/we dodged a bullet with that one.  Imagine holding the measure with the glowing gloved hand and pouring powder out of the horn with the right hand and igniting the horn.

So, to all of you/us that 'enter' here beware the gloved hand and holding close to the lock.

Change your method/methods.     There must be someone 'up there' looking after 'us' fools on this earth. 

I'm pondering what kind of a finger glove would shed sparks so that it could be used with safety for these cold weather shoots..?   Anybody. 

Roger - didn't this happen to you with your woolly mitts with the flip-up finger covers - just a couple years ago?  This situation sounds so familiar to me - maybe someone in your 'group'.

It's certainly a situation that bears vigilance. Just a couple Sunday's ago, Taylor had to put Hatchet Jack's 'fire' out.  His "Frock' had caught fire on some sleeve fringes - from his flinter or maybe someone elses.

[blunderbuss]

 

  I went to the range once with my match lock when I returned I was a nervous wreck I had burned holes in the table the sand bags and my clothes not to mention if the glowing end of that match touches any other part of the match it will light it too. Can you imagine shooting in volley with matchlocks? Not only would you have to worry about your matchlock but everyone else's too. You know holding the other end of the match between your fingers had to be problematic. I'll bet you could tell a matchlock shooter by the burn marks between his fingers.

[Roger Fisher]

So, we were enjoying the last Sunday's w walk and our group of 9 or 10 shooters were standing in a cluster.  (Bad to start with re:incoming) I remarked that I smelled smoke  and others agreed that they did also.  Looked around for burning patches in the leaves.  (No snow here this day). I then remarked 'H    its me' I was on fire.
The small finger on my gloved left hand was glowing red and smoking like crazy.  Of course I put that out in a hurry.  I realized then and there that a cloth, wool,, cotton glove can catch and hold a spark quite easily.   I/we dodged a bullet with that one.  Imagine holding the measure with the glowing gloved hand and pouring powder out of the horn with the right hand and igniting the horn.

So, to all of you/us that 'enter' here beware the gloved hand and holding close to the lock.

Change your method/methods.     There must be someone 'up there' looking after 'us' fools on this earth. 

I'm pondering what kind of a finger glove would shed sparks so that it could be used with safety for these cold weather shoots..?   Anybody. 

Roger - didn't this happen to you with your woolly mitts with the flip-up finger covers - just a couple years ago?  This situation sounds so familiar to me - maybe someone in your 'group'.

It's certainly a situation that bears vigilance. Just a couple Sunday's ago, Taylor had to put Hatchet Jack's 'fire' out.  His "Frock' had caught fire on some sleeve fringes - from his flinter or maybe someone elses.

Yes, it was me, goes to show that as the years pass by we tend to get sloppy.  I am now going to smooth leather finger glove for the forward hand and use bare hand for the trigger.  I will admit to using the lightweight handwarmer when it's cold enough...  Sure you had to remind me of the earlier incident.. Seems you have a memory much like my woman. 

[Daryl]

  if the glowing end of that match touches any other part of the match it will light it too.  I'll bet you could tell a matchlock shooter by the burn marks between his fingers.

Both true for sure, blunderbuss. Also, his clothes and hair would stink of burning match as well, I'd just about wager.  O'course, that might cover the other stink?

Oh yeah - TKS Roger. Funny how I have such difficulty with names and other important happenings and 'stuff' ,while some things just seem to stick.

[omark]

daryl, as you get older it gets worse, sorry.   mark

[camerl2009]

ive done it before too i also found out you should not shoot a flintlock in a ground blind