A green horn's green horn

[Nordnecker]

I managed to complete a functional horn last August. I was inspired by a gorgeous green banded horn I saw at Dixon's last summer. Mine has all the grace and beauty of a fat zucchini. I suppose it could be carried on either side. The stem of the zucchini is a piece of anter that is really pourous on one side so it holds stains really well. The other side isn't as porous so it stays nice and white. It is a screw on tip so it is relatively easy to load with powder. The threads are really loose so it probably would leak and probably would break if you were to drop it or bang it against something.
I was not able to make bands for it. All of my attempts failed.
So, I console myself in that I'm a greenhorn at muzzle loading, and my horn is an outward sign of this. Sometimes I think about trying to slim it down a bit. I am a fairly accompished craftsman, and can do most things out of shear determination, but this banded horn thing has me beat. I read Tim Crosby's tutorials on this and when he sais he has 80 or so bands ready and NONE of them are right, I have to ask myself, Why did they (the old horners ) go through the trouble? I mean, the bands aren't really functional, they're just decoration, right?

[Marcruger]

I am no expert, but have read that bands may have served as sacrificial wear areas to protect the integrity of the main horn. There are some originals where the bands are heavily worn where the bag rubbed against it. Are you replicating early 1800's Piedmont NC or southern Virginia? Those banded horns fit a pretty narrow time and location. Best wishes, Marc.        PS.....trust Tim's knowledge!

[trentOH]

If you decide to scrap it, DON'T throw it out, or dissect it, or destroy it. Stash it away.
When you are an accomplished artisan you will be able to look back at the Zucchini Horn and enjoy it. Just last week my first pair of moccasins re-appeared in the garage with some other Boy Scout Order of the Arrow costume pieces. Man, but that stuff screams Farb now, but I was glad to have it "in the day". Now it belongs to the Middletown Ohio Historical Society.

[Tim Crosby]

 How about a Pic or two of what you've got. Functional, yes to a point, as Mark said but with all things in the horn world that is probably debatable also

   Tim C.

[Nordnecker]

Can't do the photo thing.

[Marcruger]

You've got a point there Tim......banded horns DO look cool. 

[Marcruger]

Hi Nordnecker,

Ron Hess asked me to post the following info and photo about the horn he had for judging at Dixon's last year.  Perhaps this was the one you saw?  Best wishes,   Marc
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"I saw the messsage about a green horn at Dixon’s last year.  Here is a pic of the horn I took there to be judged.  There is no stain on this green horn. It’s all natural, and the bands were turned from an egg colored donor horn.  The base plug is ash, and the tip is elk/whitetail. I used some clear wax to seal it. The judges gave it some good scores but did not win a ribbon.  Just wanted to post it so whoever it is can see the example he was trying to follow.    Thanks, Ron Hess
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[skillman]

Having held and examined Ron's work, I can say with certainty that it is good. I like green horns like this one. I have had a number of natural green horns and I always like the way they turn out. Since I have started making banded horns, I have not gotten my hands on any. If I do I couldn't do much better than this.

Steve

[Nordnecker]

That might very well be the horn that caught my eye. Thanks so much for posting this. Does the tip unscrew?

[Marcruger]

In zooming in on the image I can see pins on the antler tip. That would tell me it is not a screw tip horn. Best wishes, Marc

[Shreckmeister]

I remember seeing that horn.  Very nice.