Please do not take your muzzleloading gun for granted...

[Andy54Hawken]

I am posting this in the General Firearms Section in the hope of reaching those not familiar with Muzzle loading firearms.

For those of you who do not know me very well...
I have a few original muzzleloaders that I like to display and share with folks.
I do this throughout the year , but mostly in the summer.

Many folks have no real idea about muzzleloaders except thru movies and TV.
Over the course of time , I have found that many people take muzzleloaders for granted and will do things with them that they would never do with a cartridge gun.

Often I have heard the statement:
That folks in the past would load rocks , glass , chain , nails and their ram rod down the bore and shoot the gun.
This is simply not true.
Your gun was designed to fire lead round balls ,lead shot or lead conical bullets... Not rocks , nails or anything else.
Would you fire your gun with the cleaning rod down the bore?

Please load only with black powder or its substitute along with a lead round ball , lead shot or conical bullets.

I urge anyone here who is interested in learning about black powder and muzzleloading to please contact : The National Muzzleloading Rifle Association or someone who has experience in shooting a muzzleloader if you have questions.
Thank you,
Andy

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[Bon Sauvage]

Would you fire your gun with the cleaning rod down the bore?

It worked for Clark Gable in Across The Wide Missouri.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Yes it did ... but that was a movie. ( I get the humor / joke )
Many folks have also shot their ram rod as well ... but it was usually a mistake.
I have seen a barrel "bulge" at about mid length from the intentional attempt to shoot the ramrod.
Also this action may cause excessive pressure in the barrel or the ram rod may get caught in a pit in the barrel.
Will this happen ... More than likely not ... but why go there?

Normally I am a bit more easy going ... but this is a safety issue.
Andy

 

[Certaindeaf]

And for God's sake, don't go fighting wolves without proper training!

 

[cigars]

According to Johnny Horton, the Singing American... during the battle of New Orleans they muzzle loaded a gator. Well, cannon, muzzle loader...Meh. Just saying.
Anyway, I rarely get to throw Johnny Horton lyrics around. Lol.

"We fired our cannon till the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round
We filled his head with cannonballs 'n' powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind...."

 

[MountainBear]

No need to contact the NMRA, we have you...

 

[Andy54Hawken]

No need to contact the NMRA, we have you...

Thanks MountainBear.... I am indeed very happy to answer any Muzzle loading question ... but I am far from being an expert.
Andy

 

[MountainBear]

You're the only one I know with a traveling museum. That's the closest thing to an expert I know.

 

[CountryGent]

That folks in the past would load rocks , glass , chain , nails and their ram rod down the bore and shoot the gun.

Yikes. I've heard the nails one, but not the rest. Regardless, they all fall well within the "bad idea" zone.

You're the only one I know with a traveling museum. That's the closest thing to an expert I know.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Everyone knows you need some good stout fletching on your ramrod for this.









just kidding

 

[etrain16]

I thought the nails, glass, etc. were more likely to be put into a blunderbuss - but then I'm no expert.

I prefer to stick with doing things properly and safely. So since I don't have a YT video and money to throw away, I want to keep my guns in tip top shape, and safe to boot.

This may be appropriate for this thread - it's some testing on a muzzle loader, not with nails, glass or shooting the ramrod, but showing what can happen if you're not paying attention and maybe double charge, triple charge or more. OR if you accidentally (Very, very bad idea) use smokeless powder in your BP gun instead of black powder - spoiler alert - never do this.

Anyway a few of you might find this interesting:

 

[shibbershabber]

If anyone feels the urge to do something stupid with their ML... send it to Andy or I for safe keeping.

Unless its an inline. Go ahead and blow it up

 

[CLT65]

I was never into muzzleloaders at all until recent years.

Some years back a friend who's always been really into hunting brought out his new flintlock. He wanted to hunt the muzzleloader season but said if he was going to do black powder he was going all the way old-school.

We couldn't hit much that first time, but the next time he brought it out he had studied up and practiced, learned about the right flint to use, proper priming and loading, etc. His accuracy had improved dramatically.

Nowadays I have my own. I had to go traditional also with a flintlock, though it's a cheap one. It sure is a lot of fun.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

The youngest member of the Lewis & Clark expedition was teenaged Private George Shannon. He became separated from the expedition for two weeks or so and ran out of ball although he still had a little powder.

He carved himself a ball out of hard wood, stuffed it down the barrel of his firelock, killed a rabbit with it, and ate good that night.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I get it ... And I know that folks have indeed shot items out of their guns that the gun was not made for.
I started this thread , because many folks think that shooting items other than lead projectiles was done on a regular basis.
It just wasn't done regularly and to do so may be unsafe.
Andy
Edit to add:
One reason that this practice / question / idea is on my mind is that over this summer's trip , if I had a nickle for every time I heard "You can stuff your gun with rocks or shoot your ram rod" , I could retire and live comfortably.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

I wonder how many ramrods were sent spinning towards the enemy, by green troops, during the ACW. I have read of at least two injuries sustained that were treated by army medics.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I am sure there were many ...

My last word on this , in this thread :
Yes , many things other than lead projectiles were shot from muzzle loading guns....Most were shot down range by mistake.
More than likely you will not harm yourself or your gun.... But why take that chance?
Do not shoot anything but the proper lead projectile out of your muzzle loader.
Andy

 

[MountainBear]

Trying to bring logic and reason to the land of the perpetual "what if".

 

[CLT65]

Absolutely. I've heard the same silly stuff myself. Isn't it funny how people will hear some unsubstantiated tidbit of information, believe it solely because someone said it was true, and later repeat it as gospel fact? Human nature I guess; we've all done it at some point or another.

The point is, just because something possibly can be done does not mean that it should. Sure, if it was life and death and I was all out of lead and there was no other choice, I'd probably try to figure out how to fit a rock down the barrel of my muzzle loader. Any other circumstance, no way!

 

[Velzey]

I think most of the misinformation comes from Hollywood and the blunderbuss.