General discussion > Black Powder Shooting
Jinxed Guns
northmn:
I have been hunting the part of the ML season with my 54 flintlock. All the deer I have seen were either too far or presented some intriguing shots. The first time I wanted to hunt with it the frizzen spring broke and I had no replacement. This year I found the sights no longer fit aging eyes. Whats left of the season is too short to try to break the jinx. I like venison and will go to my 30-30 with 190 cast bullets or the 50 percussion which has gotten deer. (To me shooting a percussion is not all that much different than a cartridge gun) . Its been a really screwed up season for weather. Deer aren't moving normally. Years before I could hunt with ML's and not see a deer. Take out a modern gun and there they were. I have gotten deer with logbows and recurves (hate compound bows more than I hate the new plastic ML's and now make my own bows) and have had a harder time using ML's. MN permits the purchase of a ML license this year if you hunted in the modern season and did not use the regular license. Also allow up to 4 bonus does in my area. Unless I see a real trophy, I think I will hunt the Ml season and try to get a meat deer with the 30-30. Fallen arches and age has limited my pheasant hunting anyway. Easier to sit on my tail and let the game come to me. Got to break the jinx with that 54 sometime.
DP
don getz:
Talk about jinxed. One year we had just built one of those Isaac Haines rifles and had it hanging on the wall of the shop.
It was one of those years when the special flintlock season was only 4 days, the balance of a week in which the first two
days were doe season. I took the gun home on friday and sighted it in, worked great. Went out saturday morning, had
three doe run up to me about 20 yards....guess what, I couldn't get that gun to go off...no spark, couldn't get the prime
to go off....of course, the deer ran away. Another time, I had a flash in the pan....prime went off, gun did not. I eventually fired the gun and re-loaded. When I went home that evening, I merely dumped the powder out of the pan and stuck the gun in the car. When I got home, I stepped out around the house and closed the frizzen...NO priming
powder..and pulled the trigger...naturally, the gun went off. I built a neat little english sporting rifle in 60 calibre. We
went hunting, about 5 of us, and they drove a deer past me, I took a shot at it and clipped it across the brisket, at least
that is what we figured. Found a little hair, nothing else. So, we went down to our clubhouse and went out back and
were having some fun. My powder measure help up to 80 grains, so I was dumping 80 grains in, then running the measure up to the top, which held about 30 grains, and dumping this in...a total of 110 grains. Shot several shots like
this. We then decided to come back the next morning. We did, and I loaded the gun, and went on a stand, nice snow
on the ground. Two doe ran up in front of me and stopped....I shot and I could hear this strange bang that one gets
with 30 grains of powder..forgot to change the measure. Being a so called "expert" in this business, one cannot do things like this and not get heckled. I got the "bowling for doe" bit, they had a cartoon in the clubhouse of the ball bouncing toward a deer, etc., and so it goes...............Don
Mike R:
Don, can we assume you missed the doe with 30gr ? Did it really ?bounce off? I ask only because of an episode with my brand new homemade .45 longrifle back in 1978. I dry balled it [1st and only time] and as it was a percussion I unscrewed the drum and dribbled in a few gr of fffg. Replaced the drum, capped it and pointed the rifle at a seasoned oak post about 15 ft away. The ball buried itself into that hard post with only a few gr fffg! Gave me a new respect for light loads...
Roger Fisher:
--- Quote from: Mike R on November 19, 2008, 06:02:40 PM ---Don, can we assume you missed the doe with 30gr ? Did it really ?bounce off? I ask only because of an episode with my brand new homemade .45 longrifle back in 1978. I dry balled it [1st and only time] and as it was a percussion I unscrewed the drum and dribbled in a few gr of fffg. Replaced the drum, capped it and pointed the rifle at a seasoned oak post about 15 ft away. The ball buried itself into that hard post with only a few gr fffg! Gave me a new respect for light loads...
--- End quote ---
Don't mind my inquiry; but did you mean to say drum or did you really mean that you unscrewed the Nipple ??? ;D
I'm beginning to think my Jaeger .54 is ferhex'd - jinxed - whatever. Having a tough time getting a decent shot at a deer lately with her...! It started when I took a running shot (the deer was running not me) close in and caught the doe low in the far side of her chest - she nearly dropped on her nose but recovered and kept going in a trace of snow. 2 of our guys insisted on me not taking the track and they did and later lost it in a conglomeration of other tracks very little blood. Since that session the ol Jaeger is seemingly jinxed! But, we keep at it. :)
Mike R:
--- Quote from: Roger Fisher on November 19, 2008, 06:30:36 PM ---
--- Quote from: Mike R on November 19, 2008, 06:02:40 PM ---Don, can we assume you missed the doe with 30gr ? Did it really ?bounce off? I ask only because of an episode with my brand new homemade .45 longrifle back in 1978. I dry balled it [1st and only time] and as it was a percussion I unscrewed the drum and dribbled in a few gr of fffg. Replaced the drum, capped it and pointed the rifle at a seasoned oak post about 15 ft away. The ball buried itself into that hard post with only a few gr fffg! Gave me a new respect for light loads...
--- End quote ---
Don't mind my inquiry; but did you mean to say drum or did you really mean that you unscrewed the Nipple ??? ;D
I'm beginning to think my Jaeger .54 is ferhex'd - jinxed - whatever. Having a tough time getting a decent shot at a deer lately with her...! It started when I took a running shot (the deer was running not me) close in and caught the doe low in the far side of her chest - she nearly dropped on her nose but recovered and kept going in a trace of snow. 2 of our guys insisted on me not taking the track and they did and later lost it in a conglomeration of other tracks very little blood. Since that session the ol Jaeger is seemingly jinxed! But, we keep at it. :)
--- End quote ---
I built the rifle with a cylindrical drum and nipple. I removed the drum to work in powder. Seemed easier than trying to feed grains thru the nipple hole and drum into the barrel...
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