I shoot southpaw, and have a rather long goatee.

[Wombat of Doom]

Will shooting a flintlock pose a problem with its lock facing my face with the initial flash in the pan? I am wanting to jump in with a flintlock blunderbuss, but want to make sure it is safe to do so. Any thoughts from you shooters of black powder?

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[Andy54Hawken]

Short answer...Maybe...
Not sure of just how long and thick your goatee is ...Wow that reads just as strange as it sounds...

Generally speaking .You do not need a lot of pan priming , nor do most locks stick out real far... so I would think you could...

I'd be happy to let you try one of mine...And I promise not to laugh too much if you start to smolder...
Andy

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Short answer...Maybe...
Not sure of just how long and thick your goatee is ...Wow that reads just as strange as it sounds...

Generally speaking .You do not need a lot of pan priming , nor do most locks stick out real far... so I would think you could...

I'd be happy to let you try one or mine...And I promise not to laugh too much if you start to smolder...
Andy

Geez, do you guys need to get a room?

 

[41mag]

asbestos chin bib.....or a stiff application of Moustache/Goatee Wax will help keep it back outta the flash pan fire ball pathway....

 

[Deavis]

There is a super nice left handed ML rifle at Eds Guns in Albany

 

[notazombie]

I'm completely distracted by the thread title. You just won the internet.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

If it were really long, I guess you could throw it over one shoulder?

 

[Roundball58]

Firing the left barrel hasn't set my mustache on fire yet. The locks just aren't that close to your face.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

I just want to be safe. My wife doesn't let the goatee get to its length I had for a while. (Below the sternum) But it can still get to about 7 or 8 inches VERY thick. I just don't want to set my facial hair on fire again. I think I will be safe. It is not as if most mountain men were clean shaven. But speaking from experience, putting your beard out is not fun. I'd rather avoid that. And yes, I do believe I am going to be diving into this world soon. I already reload and cast bullets, so it just seems logical.

 

[ConcernedCitizen]

Tightening

I'm completely distracted by the thread title. You just won the internet.

I keep feeling like the only appropriate response is "Congratulations?"


OP, on a more serious note, you might try bundling it up tight with some hairbands, or possibly even braid it. Loose, fluffy hair will go up like a rocket, but a tight bundle of hair will likely smolder.

Just a thought.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I think I will be safe. It is not as if most mountain men were clean shaven.

Actually most mountain men were clean shaven...As a general rule.

The Frederick Remington and "Grizzly Adams" beads that are commonly thought of as the norm , just weren't , for the period of 1800-1840...
Razors and soap were shipped out to rendezvous and fur trade posts...In fact many fur trade posts had a dress code for the "mess hall" and if you showed up dirty , unkempt and in "buckskins"...you didn't get to eat there.

If you look at fur trade ledger books and journals you can see many references to shaving.
Take a look at the Alfred Jacob Miller paintings , the only known painter to have attended an actual fur trade rendezvous
( 1837 ) ...very clean shaven , even when out in the field trapping , hunting , etc...
Note that if facial hair was to be seen , it was close cropped and or tidy...

Now this is not to say that they shaved every day or looked like and dressed like Cary Grant...folks did have beads and mustaches then , not often though , as it wasn't the style and not as full and bushy as a Remington painting or a Grizzly Adams approved beard.

Now to be sure there are period paintings (1850's-90's ) and even actual pictures of mountain men with big bushy beards...but again later than the fur trade / rendezvous period of 1800-1840.
Andy

 

[Roundball58]

....... I just don't want to set my facial hair on fire again.

AGAIN??

 

[Wombat of Doom]

AGAIN??

Suffice it to say I will not be using gas grills again anytime soon. Bad regulator valve, went boom, set my goatee on fire.

 

[Ura-Ki]

This is what ya call a "Slow Match!
Massage in a little whale oil and bees wax and yer good to go Ala Black Beard!

My beard was even longer then yours ( up to a few weeks ago) and I never got more then a few flecks of powder in it, and it never burned! Never even got caught by the lock works in a stiff southerly breeze, so chances are your good to go!
If ya do torch it, be sure to post video! ROTFLMAO

 

[Roundball58]

If ya do torch it, be sure to post video! ROTFLMAO

You can find pretty much anything on YouTube.

 

[Sbarton]

Black beard set his beard on fire to scare his victims.
Maybe you're on to something?

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Actually most mountain men were clean shaven...As a general rule.

The Frederick Remington and "Grizzly Adams" beads that are commonly thought of as the norm , just weren't , for the period of 1800-1840...
Razors and soap were shipped out to rendezvous and fur trade posts...In fact many fur trade posts had a dress code for the "mess hall" and if you showed up dirty , unkempt and in "buckskins"...you didn't get to eat there.

If you look at fur trade ledger books and journals you can see many references to shaving.
Take a look at the Alfred Jacob Miller paintings , the only known painter to have attended an actual fur trade rendezvous
( 1837 ) ...very clean shaven , even when out in the field trapping , hunting , etc...
Note that if facial hair was to be seen , it was close cropped and or tidy...

Now this is not to say that they shaved every day or looked like and dressed like Cary Grant...folks did have beads and mustaches then , not often though , as it wasn't the style and not as full and bushy as a Remington painting or a Grizzly Adams approved beard.

Now to be sure there are period paintings (1850's-90's ) and even actual pictures of mountain men with big bushy beards...but again later than the fur trade / rendezvous period of 1800-1840.
Andy

No facial hair.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

View attachment 568007
No facial hair.

That is one of my favorite Miller paintings...Its a fella named " Pierre"
Miller is a good resource and yeah facial hair is mostly absent in his on the spot drawings and paintings.....
Andy

 

[Ura-Ki]

Most of the period paintings and even the really rare pictures of "Mountain Men" were of clean shaven men, it was rare to see a bearded man, especially a long beard, but there were a few! I think the image comes from the Alaskan/Canadian territories, but you could find them in the lower states from time to time!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

In a few of Miller's paintings you see a bit of facial hair mostly on Antone Clement , Sir William Drummond Stewart's hunter..What looks a bit like the "Don Johnson" 3-4 days worth of stubble...on few other guys , "Bill Burrows" comes to mind here...
Sir William had a mustache...so some guys did have facial hair...Again just no ZZ Top , Grizzly Adams or Remington style beads and such.

A great book to see some cool mountain man gear is :
In the Shadow of A.J. Miller
By Shawn Webster.
In this picture book a group of reenactors , recreate some of Miller's paintings ...also there are reprints of Millier's work...
Andy