AmarilloMike:
Don't be surprised when your dog, who generally keeps a couple yards radius from you, moves out to at least 10 yards. And don't be caught of guard when fielding questions line have you have started a brush fire or are you burning pine knots after the 1st few palls(not balls, but palls) of smoke linger.
Possibly a little lengthy and could be considered verbiage but here it is:
The above is true but you need to begin after cleaning, moping and drying by checking the depth of each unloaded tube with the ramrod for reference. Flash the tubes at home before you depart and be sure to carry the wormscrew with you especially on damp, foggy mornings and a light mallet/hammer wouldn't hurt. HomelessJoe is correct in that it is best to reload after firing both barrels. "Shooting flying" with a muzzle-loader results in a good follow thru and concentration due to the pall of smoke. Don’t even consider the longarm to be a handicap(with the exception of reloading) due to the fact that it will neutralize game just as well as a breechloader. But do pattern it. Don't follow Greener's reloading pic with the butt away from you and the tube near your nose. Always keep the muzzles from your face. If you are right handed, put the butt near your right foot and hold the gun at your left arm's length with the ramrod in the barrel you didn't fire with its hammer at half-cock. Also at this stage it's good practice to look down to see which hammer has been tripped just for a double check. I don't know if it's better to leave the tripped hammer on the nipple or pull it to half-cock which would be the state if you forced some air thru. Always take the time to slightly crimp the cap as you’ll spin around in all the commotion and be without a cap. And you better have either toughened your thumbs or taped them because shooting a muzzle-loader for a couple days will make your thumbs a little sensitive. Do not get in a hurry because you will double either a powder or shot charge or forget the wad and mix powder and shot, which will lead to a long delay. If the birds are relatively high and continuous, I wouldn't worry with the overshot card because in a rush it gets pressed to the side and lands up vertical atop the shot. If the nipples aren't too hot, force a little air thru them and this is where blowing thru the tubes has its origin. A rigid long sleeved shirt is a must as your left wrist will be black, you will smell like spent powder and your wife will think you’ve been to a Civil War Re-enactment. I'd scan over a powder MSDS sheet like
http://www.federalpremium.com/pdf/msds/Shotshell.pdf , inhaling all that smoke will irritate your throat and I had a headache for a day which could have been sinus related. After shooting some, I'm even more amazed how the sportsmen of the 19th Century did what they did and I tip my hat even more to them. But Colonel Peter Hawker's Instructions seem to be misleading and I’ve read that he chased down fowl with his horse before shooting them with his flintlock; which using a flintlock as a fowling piece appears to be more difficult requiring even more follow thru and possibly an adventure later on this season. Last, be sure to discharge the longarm in the field or you will definitely need the wormscrew. Carry some water with you and while everyone is packing up, wash the tubes with it and the crowd will know you are crazy.
Kind Regards,
Raimey
rse
