doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Had a good day at the gun auction today.

2-piper, usually the hole in a platinum plug is MUCH smaller than a flintlock flash hole. It is often very difficult to see in a photo and sometimes in person.

That muzzle loader was a bargain. I keep toying with the idea of getting a large bore muzzle loader. They are getting more popular over here in Britain as it is cheaper to load loose Bismuth in one than try to source or re-load cartridges. I have a friend who shoots nothing but on geese; even using flint and tube lock guns. A 4 bore or 6 bore will do quite nicely. Lagopus�..

I could just imagine a game warden here trying to check a duck hunter for non lead use using a muzzle loader.

Skeetz how do you get the photos to post instead of the darn address?

What auction was it?

Rush2Arms.

I used to shoot my flintlock at the end of a day's hunting, before my state made it legal to transport a loaded flintlock, so long as the pan was empty.

Of course, this meant I had to go through a thorough cleaning process when I got home dog tired. Then I finally got smart and started using a ball puller to pull the bullet. I'd think it would be just as simple to use a worm to pull the over-shot wad, and then dump the shot in a muzzleloader shotgun.

Keith;
Some years back an older gentleman of my acquaintance asked me if I could unload a muzzleloader 12 gauge for him. I told him yes so he brought it to me. This gun had belonged to his Grandfather & he said it had been hanging on his wall for around 50 years, loaded all that time. He was planning on giving it to his Grandson & wanted it unloaded.

I first saturated the bore with oil.
I used a worm as you said & pulled the top wad & the shot poured out as a gray matter from oxidation. I then proceeded to pull the over powder wads which tore & came out in chunks & dumped out the powder which was now a Black Gob from the oil. I dumped this on a flat steel plate & lit a propane torch & played the flame over it dry it a bit. The powder then went with up a Poof, black powder has an extremely long & stable life.

I know of an instance where one of my 2nd cousins carried our G Grandfathers old muzzleloading rifle to school for a "Show & Tell". She said they had played with it for years & snapped it many times, a cap lock. On this particular day though while on the school bus she cocked it & snapped it, with no cap on, & proceded to shoot a hole in the top of the bus. All those years they had played with it no one had even realized it was loaded.

"Never, Ever" assume an old MLer is not loaded nor that it will not fire, even if uncapped or unprimed in the case of a flinter. In transporting a loaded flintlock make certain to have the frizzen open & the hammer down.

Amen Miller. I use my cleaning rod and drop it down the bore, marking the place it stops. Then I lay the rod alongside the barrel and make sure the mark on the rod matches up with the total length of the barrel...Geo

A friend of mine was an inveterate WBTS artifact collector......used a Nautilus metal detector incessantly. Once found an unexploded cannonball at about 6' down. He got the fuse out, dumped the black powder, which was grey in color, loaded it in a flintlock and shot it. 120 years underground, and still good.

SRH