Fired Up Some Charcoal Today

[wildcat junkie]

Along with some sulfur & salt peter. It smelled delicious and I think the charcoal burner bug has bitten me again.

Since the 2 boys failed to connect this year and 1 buck won't keep 3 of us in venison sticks & burger, I decided to break out my charcoal burner to try for some more meat for the freezer.

It's a half stock .54 cal Plains Rifle I built in 1983 on a 35" Sharon barrel, 1 in 70" twist .540 @ the lands, .570 in the grooves with an L&R "Hawken" lock. It shoots a .535 RB with .020" patch over 100 gr a FFFg (real) black powder. Mv is in the neighborhood of 1900 fps and it has a + or - MPBR of about 150yds. It's a bit long, but balances well for offhand shooting.

I took 7 Indiana White Tails with it before I switched to flintlock and 5 NY White Tails from 1998 to 2001 when I lost interest due to exclusion of bucks in our area during the early season..

The powder seems to have weathered 16 years well as have the CCI #11 percussion caps. I even used some caps that were lying around in the bottom of the possibles bag to clear the breech & take a few shots after I got it cleaned up. (lots of LPS-3 gunk in the breech) I loaded 10 fresh caps from the tin in the MAC capper.

I set up 3 jugs @ 60 yds and after missing the 1st few shots getting used to the sight picture, I busted 3 in a row. I was shooting over so I drew down with a 6:00 hold. The 1st hit (on the left) was a bit low, but the next 2 pretty well centered the jugs.

I load from the bag using traditional accouterments I can load & fire 3 shots a minute after the initial shot..

In the center under the bag are my short starter tried to the loading block that holds 5 patched balls pre-lubed with Crisco. To the right is my brass powder flask with a 100 gr charging spout. A little below on to the left of the flask is a MAC capper that holds 10 caps and is very quick & handy to use. Since the bag does double duty for my .54 flintlock I keep some flints, a priming horn, a 120 gr charging spout and a knapping hammer for dressing flints which are group near the top and to the left. A wrought iron screw driver is also in the bag as well as some extra .535 balls, patches, Crisco and caps "just in case. I carry cleaning patches in the patch box of the rifle. (not sure how my camera battery and charger got into the picture)

The small leather pouch carries a cleaning jag, nipple wrench, a spare nipple and a ball/patch puller.

 

I've taken deer from less than 5 yds to over 150 yd with that rifle. I expect my shots to be from 40 to 75 yds from a rest. I want to get out every evening over gthe next 4 days with the possible exception of Saturday if the wind is out of the Northeast as predicted.

 

Edited December 6, 2017 by wildcat junkie

[wildcat junkie]

Damnit I m-missed a 70 yds broadside shot shooting over the rail!

I couldn't see the front sight very well even though it was 3:30 PM. After the fact, I scraped the small beveled section at the top/rear of the silver blade with my knife. Now it stands out against a brown background.

I should have done that in the 1st place. It's been a loooong time and my 67 YO eyes definitely aren't getting any better. Oh well, hunting with a muzzle loader is all about the challenge of doing it the way our ancestors did it IMO.  Most likely I shot over. I was able to see the direction she ran and tracking her in the (dry) rain packed leaves was easy. I followed the track for about 150 yds to the old abandoned town road that borders my property and never found a trace of blood or hair.

I'm going out this afternoon, but the wind direction will have me sitting on the ground. It's a good spot  and a pretty good hide to boot. My Hammock Seat will make it a comfortable wait. I originally bought it for turkey hunting, but it is so handy to carry and quick to set up, I've been using it for deer hunting when I'm not hunting my woods or wind direction dictates a ground stand. 

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