doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT-since I couldn't hunt grouse...

Nice buck! Wow! A little late in the year to be hanging onto the antlers.

It has long been said, with a lot of justice, that anyone who gets a deer during PA's post-Christmas flintlock season has both earned that deer and a lot of recognition for their hunting skill. Well done!

On the LH flintlock - I've seen LH lock sets and kits for sale on one or another of the websites of suppliers of such to DIY types. Also, at the Oaks, PA gun show this past spring I came across an antique arms collector display of OG flintlocks that included a LH rifle. I have a pic in my phone, somewhere.

Lloyd,

Nice dear and you certainly earned it in this weather. Though I am a Pennsylvanian, flintlocks (muzzleloaders in general) seem to be the one firearms niche I haven't delved into. Heaven knows I don't need another interest pulling at the purse strings. I like to think of them as something I'm "saving" for when I get a bit older and have a bit more patience. I suppose time will tell...

Congratulations again...

Gentlemen, Thank you!

I'd love to take credit for being a steely-eyed Chingachgook or even an Uncas, but alas...most of the credit goes to my local brother-in-law who knew where to go and when. He'd already gotten his buck in the regular rifle season, but knew where this deer was reportedly running. I would have happily settled for a nice fat doe if this fellow hadn't stepped onto the scene when he did. It was just dumb luck on my part, and little more. In my experience, successful hunting is so many-times nothing more than just being-there, getting up and then getting out. It is what keeps me going, keeps me moving, and... it ultimately keeps me involved, interested, and fully alive. I plan to do it (along with casting a fly rod or two) as long as I physically can.

That is certainly true of the Pennsylvania firearms deer seasons...

Lloyd;
Happy to here PA has held on to their primitive weapons hunt. At one point in time I believe that KY also had one, don't know if they still do or not. TN has simply gone to ML'er hunts only & inline's have taken over. One would be hard put to find a "Real" ML'er at a local store anywhere near my area I believe, would have to build one or mail order it. I built my only ML'er rifle back around 1968-70, a Lancaster Co PA style long rifle though not an exact copy, just the general lines. At that point we did not have a ML'er deer hunt in my part of the state so built a .45 cal round ball gun (66" twist Douglas bbl). Although I am aware deer have been killed with a .45 round ball & even a .40 for that matter I consider these a bit light for deer so have not pushed it as such.

I'm seriously considering having true longrifle built for deer hunting (mostly in PA, but I believe I could occasionally use it out here as well). Since I really like to walk in the woods (I get cold when I just sit in ambush) I'd like to see if I can create something that is as long, light, & lovely as some of my more-favored birdguns. My reasoning along those lines would be to first...try to keep the caliber down around .45 (the legal minimum in PA and maybe other states as well?) to help manage barrel-weight (tapered or "swamped" barrels would likely help here too). I would also focus on the more-minimalist & petite schools of muzzle-stuffers (Pennsylvania Schimmels, Tennessee Beans, etc.) as things like patch-boxes and other adornment tend to only add weight and cost. I'm frustrated by the lock-time on my pre-fabbed Hawken clone and I'm seeing much better results from the more hand-made stuff. Much to learn here. These guns are a spectacular history lesson when you finally dig into them.

Miller, a .45 roundball will shoot clean through a 200 lb. whitetail, side to side lung shot. I killed a 200+ lb. buck once with a .54 roundball that entered his white neck patch and exited under his rt. hind leg. Absolutely wasted everything in between.

Lloyd, I have a .36 cal. Appalachian Po' Boy longrifle (squirrel rifle with a 42" barrel), very little furniture, and that which it does have is all iron. It ain't a deer rifle, but I once killed a buck with it with only 25 grs. GOEX black. (If you're interested in how that happened ask) It resembles a Bean rifle somewhat ........ no buttplate, no nose cap, etc. If you'd like pictures, to get ideas, I could take and send you some. It won the South Carolina M/L Championship numerous times.

I've been shooting m/l shotguns and rifles for 34 years, and have never touched off a load of black powder substitute in my life. If it ain't true black, I ain't interested.

SRH

Stan: I picked up a handmade Pennsylvania Schimmel in .36 last August (at Dixon's Muzzleloading) that took my breath away. It handled like a fine birdgun and really had me salivating. It was, however, in a caliber too-small to legally hunt deer in that (and most) states, and it was a right-handed flintlock (I fight flinching with even a left-handed lock). The old boy who made it (he's 80!, bless him.) had even moved the rear buckhorns down the tube a bit further to allow for older shooters to still see the darn sights. I flat loved it. It was a work of art for almost no money and I was sorely-tempted to buy it anyway.

What exactly defines a "Po-boy" rifle? That may be exactly what I'm looking for. Also, will my english shotgun measurements mean anything at all when it comes to fit in a traditional flintlock rifle?

A Po' Boy is a rifle that was originally built in the Appalachians ........in several states, actually. But, it is very plain, as far as embellishments go. Embellishments meaning anything brass, carvings in the wood, German silver, or anything other than iron furniture. It will have no buttplate, no nose cap, and iron thimbles. The ramrod will have no ferrules of any kind, and the sights may vary somewhat. I made the sights on mine back when I was competing with it. They look traditional, but are a very narrow "square" notch in the rear sight, and a very narrow "post" front blade sight.

Po' Boys have a subtle beauty about them, being minimalist in decoration, but elegant in their lines and shape. I absolutely love mine. I hunted squirrels with it many times, taking head shots only with the 25 gr. load. The buck I killed with it was illegal actually, because .45 is the minimum legal caliber in GA, but I "succumbed to the moment" one Thanksgiving morning while squirrel hunting with my son and took a shot on a jumped buck, running, and broke his neck at about 80 yds.

SRH

Sorry, I overlooked the second question. Probably, no. A m/l longrifle butt is usually seated in the little "pocket" between the bicep muscle and the "shoulder muscle"(sorry, I'm not a doctor), on the arm and not in the shoulder pocket, where shotguns are usually mounted. They also have a lot of drop (DAH), and require an upright head stance to shoot the best.

SRH