doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Time to get ready for dove season

Perry, what birds are you referring to at Arch? Don't think they are releasing doves. Pheasants? Bobwhite? What is the date? Do you have a contact # in Arch? I am originally from Portales and Clovis. Maybe we can meet in Arch. --Jack

I'm all but convinced of trying to get the limit with a 16 bore muzzle-loader. Anyone have any advice besides not to get in a hurry and shoot the ramrod at the birds. I've read of using dry grass, hemp or tow in lieu of an overshot card to tamp the shot down. But I'll have a leg-o-mutton or 2 with hammer breechloaders.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Raimey I have no experience with that but certainly encourage you to do it. Single barrel or double?

Best,

Mike

I've shot doves a few times with a muzzle loader. I finally came to my senses and started shooting black out of cartridge guns....

Tip don't stop to reload untill you shoot both barrels because when you do doves will trying to land on your head and two barels load about as fast as one.
Reloading can be done fairly quickly with a shot snake and a proper powder flask. Myself I like the Irish measure on a shot snake....I "think" Highsmith prefered the English measure.

AmarilloMike:

It's a Belgian double with a 16.7mm stamp on the right and a 17mm stamp on the left.

HomelessJOe:

Yeah, Mr. M.V. Highsmith is my inspiration. I wouldn't doubt it if High just made a mound of powder in his hand to suit him and then dumped it into the barrel. I'll ask him and see. One issue I have is that if my left shirt sleeve cuff isn't fully extended(possibly taped), the underside of my left arm smarts when the left lock fires. I wouldn't shoot one in short sleeves and short britches to check the 96:1. And then there's a very slight delay before the powder ignites. Hell of a cloud of smoke, smell of spent powder, sulfur and it really excites the dogs. I almost think they like to watch the gun rather than the game.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Well, with the mist this a.m. and the overcast afternoon, I decided to shoot the muzzle loader but didn't harvest the limit of 15 for Alabama in that I fell 5 short. I just don't see how the folk in the 19th Century shot as well as they did. The smoke for one thing pretty much eliminates a closer follow up shot. With the weather they were high and the muzzle loader seemed to cotton to that. And there's the reloading issue. I had a campaign chair as a gift from my mother-in-law that I used as a make shift reloading station. One can really go thru some powder. And occassionaly during a rush you get a weak one and sometimes a strong one from a double dollup somewhere. If anyone is interested, I can tell you what not to do.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Dove season finally opened at noon today in the humid Georgia heat. We had a good group of guys and a reasonably good set-up with a narrow powerline r/w in the 4 year old pines planted in corn and partly mowed and harrowed with the rest cut up with a silage cutter and sprayed over the bare ground. I was a little out of the flite-line but surprized myself with some pretty fancy shooting using a 1908 Ithaca Flues.

Someone gave me this closet gun wrapped in a sheet and rusted shut last spring. I cleaned her up so she's presentable at least and she responded today in her 100th birthday year with some clean kills. I used 14 RST lite shells and picked up 9 out of 11 shot down in the thickets...Geo

It finally got here today in Bama. Took out three guns to shoot. The Twin Ports hammer gun did ok, took 4 with it. Took the same with the LC Smith 16 ga. The old sterlingworth 16ga took the rest of the limit. Was good to be out shooting.

Good for you!

OK - now tell me what not do please.

Best,

Mike

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