Serious four...

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

We four journeyed forth in the wind and snow today, and enjoyed the camaraderie of trail shooting filintlocks.

[490roundball]

must have been cold, I see one guy's fingers turned blue   

[rtadams]

11-15-09

D. Taylor Sapergia,

Living in Charlotte, North Carolina we don't have snow often! That gathering looks and sounds like a lot of fun and friendship. Would you identify the Gentlemen in the posted photograph?

Best Regards,

R Taylor Adams

[Don Getz]

Taylor.....hate to look at stuff like that, it looks cold, makes me think of things to come.    As for us here in Pa. right now,
I had the window open last night, kind of warm and stuffy.    Weather is supposed to be in the 50's and 60's this week,
Was out last evening and it was too warm for a coat.......eat your heart out...........Don

[Roger Fisher]

Jeez and here we are enjoying near 70 degree temps (at least yesterday at Langehorne Turkey shoot)  I'm glad I had Barbara cut me out of the longjohns yesterday morning Did I say we hauled home 'some' turkeys.   Whew!

We'll get winter sometime soon I suppose!

Taylor I gotta ask does that heavy vest get in the way of settling in the rifle butt?

And Daryl, Those fingerless woolen gloves are the same kind that caught 'fire' for me from the flinter ignition   Good to hear we are all still using these long rifles for what they are/were intended.....

[Daryl]

Got up this AM to about 4" of the white stuff.  The weather has been kinda nutty this year, but this snow (along with a LOT more) might stay for the duration, that could mean April/may in the bush.

Picture -  L to R - Taylor, Daryl, Clarence, Hatchet Jack.  3 of us were shooting 20 bore custom made smoothbores, while Clarence was shooting a .50 Traditions rifle - all were flintlocks. (edited - my diction was poor, as usual)  The shooting was excellent yesterday, except for the .50 for some reason.  Clarence usually shoots it better and does really well with his Chamber's English Flint rifle&smoothbore - 2 barrels.

This was the second time out with my short English style 1/2 stocked 20 bore.  Did better this time, missed very few targets, even getting the 92 yard fox twice in a row and splitting my card.   Second one with this gun.  Smoothbores RULE - unless I'm shootng a rifle, that is.

As to the gloves -  saw that myself, last week when I wore them.  It was my right (gun wrist) hand that caught a spark, not the left that holds the gun. By this time of the day, we didn't need gloves, but I was too lazy to take them off.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

R. Taylor Adams:  Daryl answered your question before I could get to it - sorry, I should have introduced them myself.  One correction though - Clarence is shooting a Traditions .50 cal rifle.  I cut the wrist and comb down so it doesn't punch him up so badly now.

Don :  I'm the only one who has trouble with the cold, and it's only my fingers that suffer.  I don't know why my circulation is so poor in the fingers - maybe from too many cuts over the years....maybe because of a 40 bpm heart rate.  But it does not stop me from going out and shooting - what fun!  And Heather and I have our bedroom window open at night year round...I love a little frost in the mustache in the morning!

Roger:  The "Vest" is brain tanned elk buckskin with otter skin starting on the back, splitting at the neck and going down the front.  It is very light and not especially thick.  It does not interfere with shouldering the gun in the least.

[Daryl]

Don :  I'm the only one who has trouble with the cold, and it's only my fingers that suffer.  I don't know why my circulation is so poor in the fingers - maybe from too many cuts over the years....maybe because of a 40 bpm heart rate.  But it does not stop me from going out and shooting - what fun!  And Heather and I have our bedroom window open at night year round...I love a little frost in the mustache in the morning!

 

I wish I could say we don't mind the whining.

[Jim Thomas]

I always enjoy the photos you fellows provide.   Is the size of that powder horn because of Canada going metric?   

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

That's Clarence's first attempt at a horn, and he did a pretty nice job too.  It's a big-un...holds 1 1/2 pounds (that's about 2/3 kilo)  of powder.  We all carry horns that hold about a pound or more...we generally shoot around 80 rounds on a Sunday.

[brokenflint]

You guys almost make me wish for snow ALMOST 

Broke

[Daryl]

Last couple days, we went from no snow to about 5" now that seems to want to stay - more of course, in the bush than in town. We're having abnormally high temps, above freezing most of the day, but the snow isn't melting - go figure.  I suspect any day, it will really start snowing and we'll be in for the normal 4 or 5 months of cool, white weather.

[Candle Snuffer]

After getting about 20 inches of snow just before Halloween, it all melted away and we've had pretty nice weather (40's to mid 50's) temperature wise.  I expect we'll get some more snow soon.

Great picture.  I love being in the snow covered woods hunting the December muzzle loading deer season out here.  It's just like stepping back in time.  Those wood walks have to be some kind of fun out there!

[TXEBONY]

I, Hatchet Jack, being of sound mind and broke legs, do hereby leaveth my bear rifle to whatever finds it, Lord hope it be a white man. It is a good rifle, and killt the bear that killt me. Anyway, I am dead. Yours truly, Hatchet Jack.   -----JEREMIAH JOHNSON

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Our "Hatchet Jack" ain't quite dead, though he smells like it!  Ha ha.  One thing for sure though...I doubt there's any living soul, or dead one, that loves and shoots black powder as much as "Hatchet Jack".  He literally lives for it.  He's a piece of work.

[Roger Fisher]

Our "Hatchet Jack" ain't quite dead, though he smells like it!  Ha ha.  One thing for sure though...I doubt there's any living soul, or dead one, that loves and shoots black powder as much as "Hatchet Jack".  He literally lives for it.  He's a piece of work.

Good to hear - I thought he froze setting on that log Hawkin in hand!!

Yes, we need a $#*! of a lot more die-hards in this game.....

[TXEBONY]

----@!*%! He was a wild one, old Hatchet Jack. He was livin' two year in a cave up on the Musselshell with a female panther. She never did get used to him

Sorry about the quotes, but I love that movie.  Figure this may be my only chance in life to use them. 

BTW, great picture of the guys there.  Good luck this season!

Carl

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

That all brings back a lot of memories.  Good stuff.

[Daryl]

TKs Carl. Word is we're not getting a heavy snow fall this year but then, the weather man isn't always right. .  This is last 'season' whereone need only step off the packed down trail and you're up to your crotch in the white stuff.

[hammerhead]

great pictures looks like a lot of cold feet and fun

[Osprey]

Taylor, what's that sign in front of you?  The pic looks like four guys standing at the property line, looking at all the big bucks running over on the next property you don't have permission to hunt!    

[Daryl]

Taylor wasn't there, that day Osprey.

This is today -  a mere 6 showed up, once smoothie, and 5 rifles.  Only one a cap gun.


left to right
Crispy .50 rifle, Hatchet Jack 20 bore smoothie, Taylor .50, Daryl .32, Clarence .50, Brad .54.  Notice the difference in tyhe heioght of snow on the sign's tree trunk.  Of course, it's early yet.  It doesn't show well, but it's snowing pretty good - note the fuzzy ghostly streaks against the darker backgrounds like the Spuce in the background - yet the humidity was only around 82, I think.  It had been raining earlier when we started the trail.  This is the end of the rifle trail.