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]

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... 

Don't mind my inquiry; but did you mean to say drum or did you really mean that you unscrewed the Nipple

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]

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... 

Don't mind my inquiry; but did you mean to say drum or did you really mean that you unscrewed the Nipple

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.

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...

[Dphariss]

I have been having "problems" but I hope I finally beat the jinx (it started last year no less) about 1pm.

Who says out of state hunters are bad? They went into an area walking down wind and basically drove this deer to the road as I was driving past. After he crossed I got out, crawled under the fence and shot him.

I had decided after the latest fiasco that I just needed to persevere.
Apparently this was the buck I was supposed to shoot this year. 20 yards off the county road was nice too.
So DON"T GIVE UP...

Dan

[don getz]

Dan....I can see a lot of good eating there, should be young and tender....Don

[Dphariss]

Dan....I can see a lot of good eating there, should be young and tender....Don

He should be good. He was acting pretty stupid as bucks sometimes do but is probably only 3 years old.
Going to be interesting to see how the onside shoulder looks for meat damage. Was the classic John Taylor shoulder shot that took out the arteries over the heart. He was walking and would not stop for the shot once he realized something was out there so I held in the middle with a little lead.
Bummer is that I forgot the heart... Left the truck with just my rifle and pouch and had no plastic bag for it... Darn...

Dan

[northmn]

Nice way to break a jinx.  Know a few others that want us to let the smaller bucks live so they can grow up and let them shoot trophies.  Fork horns and six pointers taste the best, better than does that have had young on them all summer.  One of the worst eating deer I ever shot was an 8 pointer grey from his nose to his eyeballs.  Funny how we can do everything "right" and get or see anything and then have a chance thrown into our lap when we do not expect it.   Should be a good eating deer Dan.

DP

[Dave Faletti]

Dan did you need horses   to pack that deer out?      After spending several days packing my elk out this year I almost wish I had been near a road.  Nice thing is nobody else in the area was willing to go that far in.

[R. Hare]

I think I too have a jinxed "jaeger"  style I made a few years back.
No M-loader season here, (Alberta)

was out yesterday, walked mi legs off with said Jaeger.  does and fawns here and there, no bucks. (either mulie or w-tail)

went back to house, as I was only hunting on the farm, & got truck & went for drive.

Two bucks, one real nice, and the other a real big old topper below house on river flat.
The old boy was heading north for the bush on other side of a pasture.

Thought;  "I gotcha now!" as I could cut around with truck and get there ahead of him, dump truck in yard and leg it to the bush and be waiting for him!

here's where hex set in;
A perfectly timed neibour stopped on the road to talk.
Told him what I was about.
had to tell me all about a buck he'd shot and lost and found eaten up later.  (.25-06)
Lost time, lost initiative, never saw the old boy again!!

Never shot anything yet with this gun..............

Richard.

[Daryl]

Nice buck, Dan. Sometimes it's easy - sometimes it ain't.

[northmn]

Used to hunt with a 270 (still have it) .  Seemed like when I really wanted a deer I could take it out.  Problem was that deer hunting with it was about like butchering a beef.  No real fun.  Tried all kinds of "fun" weapons, like recurves and longbows, and have gotten deer with them, which I will likely try again next year, but have been gun  hunting while my 17 year old daughter enjoys it.  My percussion 50 got me deer.  Also shot deer with a BPC 45-70 and quite a few with an old 303 British my father bought me for $20 when I was a kid (still have it).  Got one with a cap and ball revolver, others with a 44 mag.  Its just that #$@** flintlock that I screw up with.  Haven't really had a decent shot with it yet.  Decided to hunt ML season after Thanksgiving even though the long range forecase call for $#@*.  Would like a picture like Dan's with my rifle and deer in it.

DP

[long carabine]

This has happened to me two times this year...shooting my ML at the public range and someone starts to ask questions about the gun and the workings. HA HA I got them hooked now on ML. I offer to let them shoot my rifle and would you believe no spark! Re prime and just smoke. This goes on for about 4 or 5 times then I re prime and the gun goes off! Guess the ole gun is  partial to who shoots her. Tim

[Dphariss]

This has happened to me two times this year...shooting my ML at the public range and someone starts to ask questions about the gun and the workings. HA HA I got them hooked now on ML. I offer to let them shoot my rifle and would you believe no spark! Re prime and just smoke. This goes on for about 4 or 5 times then I re prime and the gun goes off! Guess the ole gun is  partial to who shoots her. Tim

Flintlocks often misbehave in front of "company". I have had similar experiences at times.
No real explanation for it that I have found.

Dan

[Roger Fisher]

This has happened to me two times this year...shooting my ML at the public range and someone starts to ask questions about the gun and the workings. HA HA I got them hooked now on ML. I offer to let them shoot my rifle and would you believe no spark! Re prime and just smoke. This goes on for about 4 or 5 times then I re prime and the gun goes off! Guess the ole gun is  partial to who shoots her. Tim

Flintlocks often misbehave in front of "company". I have had similar experiences at times.
No real explanation for it that I have found.

Dan

Must add also that do not do any kind of work on a rifle in front of company unless it is of the most very basic job   I refuse to say why I say this

[northmn]

Maybe there is a reason guns used to get female names such as old Betsy?  same problem showing off a good bird dog also.

DP