Flintlock

[Tbeck]

Our regular deer hunting season is soon to close. I got a nice 9 point so the freezer is full. I still have two doe tags I can fill but no freezer space for more venison.
Unfortunately my son still hasn't gotten his first deer. I put him at my deer stand for opening weekend and he did see my big buck I call Bullwinkle because his rack is so big you can't count the points. Unfortunately for my son Bullwinkle is very cautious and rarely gives you a clear opening to shoot. That was the case for my son. Saw him just didn't have a good target for shooting.
Your probably wondering why I haven't shot him yet? He's a BIG beautiful specimen of a whitetail and he rules the woods where I hunt. So no other buck is going to challenge him which means he's been making loads of little Bullwinkle's for the future. So I've passed on shooting him for the past 4 year's.
Anyhow the thread title is flintlock which comes in the day after Christmas, so we'll be back in the woods after Christmas to restock the freezer and hopefully get my son his first deer.

[HARRIS]

LET BULLWINKLE LIVE FOR A LONG TIME, HE DESERVES TOO ...

GO TO BURGERKING

[FallenAngel]

A true die hard hunter hunts with a muzzule loader
Sure you can use rifle and scope with a 5 round magazine if you just want to stock the freezer
But nothing will prove your skills as a hunter like challenge of a flint lock

Unless its the compound bow

[Tbeck]

FA, other than making sure you keep the powder dry in the pan, my flintlock is as reliable and accurate as any rifle. I use black powder rather than alternative powder's but I have found that pyrodex shoot's just as well if you preload a few grains of black powder before the pyrodex to speed up ignition.
You do need to spend a lot of time at the range working up the load's but once you have that sorted they're just as accurate as a modern rifle.
I've used traditional buckhorn sights but I much prefer a peep sight with my poor eyesight.
Effective range for flintlock is really about 50yds but 109 yard's is still manageable with the proper load. PA has a dedicated flintlock season which comes in the day after Christmas and runs through the middle of January. It's a good excuse to get out in the snow and fresh air. Unfilled antlered deer tags can be used to harvest a buck or doe, and if you have doe or dmap tags you can take a doe only.
Yes it requires a little more dedication to hunt flintlock but I really use it as an excuse to get out in the woods.

[Herb]

A true die hard hunter hunts with a muzzule loader
Sure you can use rifle and scope with a 5 round magazine if you just want to stock the freezer
But nothing will prove your skills as a hunter like challenge of a flint lock

Unless its the compound bow

I have never hunted except to provide food. Any other reason is not a reason.

[FallenAngel]

I have never hunted except to provide food. Any other reason is not a reason.

Except maybe here in the forums
Where in my post did I suggest that I hunted for anything less the to provide food for my family
Or better yet Where in my post did I claim to hunt at all

[Yooper]

[quote=
I have never hunted except to provide food. Any other reason is not a reason.
[/quote]

Never hunted predators? Lots of winter fun.

[Herb]

[quote=
I have never hunted except to provide food. Any other reason is not a reason.

Never hunted predators? Lots of winter fun.
[/quote]

Only if they are a problem.

[Tbeck]

Herb hunting serves a number of purposes in my neck of the woods.
First as you suggested it provides a source of food. Secondly it keeps the deer population in check, and third which relates to the second, it keeps some of the deer off the roadways which makes riding and driving a bit safer.
I'll add in a fourth reason and that's communal in nature. My entire family gets together at the hunting camp every year. Some folk's hunt, some just hangout but it's a great opportunity to get together and enjoy each other's company.
Personally I just like the fresh air and peace and quiet in the woods. This year I shot a buck, butchered it up and filled the freezer, but in the past 5 year's I haven't pulled the trigger even though I could have.
Flintlock just provides me with another opportunity to get out with my son. If I don't shoot anything, I'm good with that.

Yooper, I have some Coyote's that I need to address. Hate when they kill my fawn's.

[FallenAngel]

FA, other than making sure you keep the powder dry in the pan, my flintlock is as reliable and accurate as any rifle. I use black powder rather than alternative powder's but I have found that pyrodex shoot's just as well if you preload a few grains of black powder before the pyrodex to speed up ignition.
You do need to spend a lot of time at the range working up the load's but once you have that sorted they're just as accurate as a modern rifle.
I've used traditional buckhorn sights but I much prefer a peep sight with my poor eyesight.
Effective range for flintlock is really about 50yds but 109 yard's is still manageable with the proper load. PA has a dedicated flintlock season which comes in the day after Christmas and runs through the middle of January. It's a good excuse to get out in the snow and fresh air. Unfilled antlered deer tags can be used to harvest a buck or doe, and if you have doe or dmap tags you can take a doe only.
Yes it requires a little more dedication to hunt flintlock but I really use it as an excuse to get out in the woods.

I have to agree You really need to be dedicated to the sport to consider a flint lock or any muzzle loader for that mater. Not many understand the time and patience it takes to learn how to hit the target, After working out the draw backs and obstacles of shooting one of these guns.
And then there is the cost
I would really enjoy learning more about your experience with Muzzle loaders but it seems to me this thread has taken a domesticated turn off topic

[Tbeck]

FA, would love to discuss muzzleloader and flintlock with you. You just ignore the toilet draggers and post back and forth with me.

[Tbeck]

FA, I guess I will take the lead for the discussion
I picked up two identical Lyman flintlock rifles in 50 cal. About 5 year's ago. My son likes shooting so my thoughts were that it would give us something fun that we could do together. I really hadn't done much black powder shooting in about 35 year's and I had only shot silhouette black powder pistols back then.
Worked like a charm and my son and I went to the range every weekend from that Christmas until the following year's muzzleloader season.
We added Lyman adjustable peep sights to both rifles, worked up load's for round ball and different bullet's. We both like shooting the "no excuse" bullet's, very accurate. I prefer a traditional round ball and patch over Goex black powder. We have loads worked up for 2x and 3x depending upon weather conditions and the location composition which determines if 50 or 100 yard's will be the intended shooting distance. We also each carry a bipod shooting stick's but we really haven't used them in the woods hunting. If you haven't heard of them, look them up, great stabilizing tool.
I've worked up load's for pyrodex in both P which is a 3x and pyrodex select which is a 2x. Basically it's the same as black powder loads but you precharge with 3-5 grains of 3x black powder before adding your pyrodex. With the flintlocks you get an immediate ignition without the usual pyrodex delay. Of course we use 4x in the flint pan. For caplock muzzleloader you don't need the precharge like you do with the flint using pyrodex. My caplock is a 50 cal Pedersoli scout carbine with walnut stock.
That should be a good start

[Suzuki Johnny]

Never hunted with a muzzle loader as our Bow season coincides with same. In Louisiana bow/ muzzle season opens one month (October) before the rifle/shotgun/pistol begins.
Squirrel season also opens on October the first so there's more than enough hunters in the field to cause some conflict..
In that month we bow hunted exclusively in one game reserve, Lutcher Moore located about 75 miles northeast of my home.
More than once I've had a doe come close enough for a safe shot when a squirrel hunter would casually walk right through the same area I was hunting causing me to miss an opportunity to down one. We hunted hardwood bottoms with creeks running through them where most white tail hung around. And also where the abundance of squirrels were located making for a conflict of the two hunts.
It was a constant hassle as most of the reserve was planted with pine trees and the bottoms none..
We also hunted there during the gun season(s)..Our group hunted together for over 25 seasons, consisting of wives, girlfriends and children those of age of 16 or better. At times we were 20 +gathered in our primitive campground and usually we were the largest group there.
Our all night and into the morning card games were legendary with copious amounts of the spirits consumed and shared.

[Tbeck]

SJ, here bow season comes in during October with a bunch of small game like squirrels. We then have muzzleloader season which lasts just one week in the middle of October and it's doe only. Bow season continues during this week. The Saturday after Thanksgiving is the beginning of regular rifle/handgun deer season which is buck and/or doe if you have a doe tag. The day after Christmas is the opening of the special flintlock hunting and that runs through the middle of January. In flintlock season you can use an unfilled buck tag to shoot either buck or doe, and of course if you have doe or DMAP tags you can take doe with those. A DMAP tag is a land management doe harvest tag for deer over populated areas, or for farm land where the deer are damaging crops. It helps to reduce herd sizes so they don't starve because there's too many deer in a particular area. It's a good management tool.
I remember in the 1970's one of those save the animals group's got an injunction to stop a property owner in NH from holding a deer hunting lottery on his property. Mid winter the property owner sued the group in the same judges courtroom for damage to his property and animal cleanup. The save the animals group had to go onto his property and remove all the dead and dying deer as a result of the case. Hundreds of deer died or were dying because they had eaten everything from ground level up to about 6' off the ground due to over population.

[FallenAngel]

Johnny
TBeck
You guys are awesome
Hunting with a Flintlock and a Bow
Two of the purest forms of hunting
Johnny I think you nailed when you said
" close enough for a safe shot"
Im going to assume safe as in safe and clean because I know your a good person


I myself have only been hunting once and I just went along for the camping part not so much the hunting part Im not apposed to hunting or those that hunt. I just dont see much point and I would need to learn how to dress the kill.
My first experience with a muzzle loader was at the range with my grandfather when I was 14.
I think he was sighting in a new scope on his .308(??) and I was setting up his ,22 Magnum bolt action for target shooting.
Lots of rifles being fired and next to us was the hand gun range. I remember noticing that they sounded different. Then a heard a very loud BOOM and a huge cloud of smoke I asked Grandpa if he knew what that was and He told me that it was a muzzle loader.
It looked longer then I was tall. I had to grow older to really understand the purity of such a firearm. The dedication and patience that it takes to master such a firearm.
My experience with the bow is a bit more extensive
Mine was a re-curve starter set that I got pretty good with and I have been thinking of getting another bow.
Now not to get to far off topic I do have extensive experience with Hand Guns Single and double action.

Anyone that hunts the early ways has my respect
Again you guys are awesome
You keep posting your hunting story's Ill keep reading them

[Tbeck]

FA, you don't have to hunt to appreciate shooting flintlock or muzzleloader rifles. You can pick one up for just range use, or if you really like it join a club. There's hundreds of them and some of those folk's are real dye in the wool shooter's. They go to competitions, and annual retreats for fun and learning.
Wish I still had my old TC black powder silhouette pistol, that thing was a fine piece of craftsmanship. Would group on silhouette's at 200.

I gave up archery at 17 year's of age. I was shooting hay bails for practice, target arrows, and my buddy Blaine ask me how accurate I really was. I told him pretty good and asked why. He told me there was a rabbit a few feet from my bail and he didn't think I could hit it. I did but the arrow travelled through the fatty area between the hind legs and belly pinning it to the ground. I can still hear that rabbit screaming as it ran in a circle pinned to the ground. When I finally got to it and released it from my stupidity, I no longer wanted to hunt archery. Makes the hair stand up on my neck just thinking about that rabbits cries. Yep I was an idiot.

[Yooper]

[quote=I can still hear that rabbit screaming as it ran in a circle pinned to the ground. When I finally got to it and released it from my stupidity, I no longer wanted to hunt archery. Makes the hair stand up on my neck just thinking about that rabbits cries. Yep I was an idiot.
[/quote]

Not an idiot, you were being a kid having fun. These things happen, we both know that eventually you are going to have a bad shot. It's gonna happen. Any hunter that says otherwise is a damn liar. I've still had deer injured even with very careful shots, and clear shooting lanes. I always carried a handgun and a knife just in case of a bad hit.

On another subject, I sold two 80 pound longbows yesterday. I found out I can't pull a full draw and hold it any longer. Being 75 sucks, but the alternative, well, may or not be better. Good hunting Tim.

[Herb]

when I was about 20 there was a woman that shot a buck. She went over to cut it's throat, she stuck the knife through and it jumped up and she was asride the thing. She was carrying a pistol and pulled it out and shot it in the head. Both went ass over tea kettle.
Her first shot hit it right at the antler and only stuned it. Her husband was about 50 yards away and it scared hell out of him.

[Tbeck]

Herb, there's some really crazy stuff in the woods hunting. I saw a guy must be 45 years ago, shot a spike buck right across the eyeliner. It was a particularly warm season and the guy was wearing what we call a duck hunting outfit. Khaki pants and jacket with blaze orange chest and back. Anyhow the Deer went down and instead of shooting it again he pulled out the longest hunting knife I ever saw raced down the hill, placed the deer in a headlock and proceeded to stab it to death. All you could see was leaves flying and an occasional arm come up and go down. When it was all over the deer was dead but the guys outfit looked like a buckskin coat and pants. The deer shredded him good. Don't know how he didn't get killed.

[FallenAngel]

FA, you don't have to hunt to appreciate shooting flintlock or muzzleloader rifles.

Thank you for that
I was going to pick up a Flint lock kit and then I just lost interest. Honestly I dont think I have the patience to use one efficiently.
I still may pick one up Your thread sparked a n old interest but I dont go to controlled firing ranges
And Clubs are really my thing