New found appreciation for the modern cartridge

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DennisCA

New member
I recently purchased a black powder muzzle-loading pistol and it has given me a new-found appreciation for the modern cartridge. With a "modern" firearms (to include C&R firearms) that shoot cartridges, you load and
shoot (more or less) and that's it.
With percussion or flintlock type guns, it's a whole different ballgame!
(These are general terms)
Pour powder, Get Patch and Ball, Start Patch and Ball, Get Ramrod, Push Patch and Ball down the Barrel, Put Percussion on Nipple. (or Put Powder in Pan) Cock Hammer, Fire.
Or yea almost forgot: You'll need to run a patch down the barrel (with a muzzle-loader) every so often - because of the powder.
:D
How they did that in middle of a battle (when someone is shooting at you) I am in just in awe. Then there's hunting, esp large game like a bear - you're fairly close and you have one shot!
:eek:
 
In reading about the Civil War, there were rifles recovered from battlefields with numerous loads rammed into the barrel. In the heat of the battle with all the smoke, noise, etc they/some went through the motions even though the shot was never fired. Not all that different from a hunter in "Buck Fever" ejecting all their cartridges out of the rifle!
Then on the other hand, what did they have to fall back on? a Sabre, Bow, Club, Spear, The Muzzle loader had to have been better.
Then there are tales about the likes of Simon Kenton who could reload his Flintlock Rifle on a flat out run and fire, where the Natives would say his rifle never went empty, or so the story's are told.
 
Reload is slow and involved, but it sure gives you a reason to work on accuracy rather than depend on volume of fire.
 
Not all guns were single shot, they had a few repeating guns back then. They were rare and expensive. I cant remember what it was called but imagine a steel block with holes. you slid it over after each shot. I can't remember exactly how it worked. There's also the revolving rifles, you can get a reproduction of a Remington. I have more books than I can count from the civil war, I think one is specifically on the guns used in the war. Which by then some cartridges were out, such as the Volcanic and the .44 Henry Rimfire. Lincoln actually tested the Henry at the White House, lets see a president do that now.

I've got a .45 modern black powder rifle but haven't take it hunting yet. I think the Ruger Army looks like a fun gun to try hunting with.
 
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Of course they had repeating rifles back then!!

President Lincoln fired both the Henry and Spencer repeaters. (Lincoln actually enjoyed shooting guns and had a range at the White House!) He liked both of them but eventually decided on the spencer for the Union Troops. However, General Ripley of the northern army didn't like the idea of these new fangled gizmos in the hands of soldiers, and despite Lincoln's push to give his troops a substantial arms advantage, the Union Army only had repeating rifles in very limited numbers (usually when the soldiers bought them with their own money). Eventually the north got the better guns, near the end of the war. But, had they gotten repeating rifles in mass earlier, many of the 'great battles' of the civil war would have been decidedly different.

Congrats on the gun, I got my first chance to shoot a black powder rifle a few weeks back. I loved that the cloud of smoke drifted down the entire firing line at the range :D. It made everyone stop and look, lots of fun!
 
Yep, that's the style of gun I was referring to. I think the books I have call it a slide gun perhaps. I want to say there was that, the revolving rifles, and another that I can't remember. I'm gonna have to look it up.
 
I did my first BP shooting today, fortunately it was one of those newfangled "revolvers", only 150 years old, and it let me shoot SIX TIMES before a reload was required. :eek: :)
 
Some of the earliest repeaters were flintlocks with multiple barrels, rotated by hand.
A web search will come up with lots of examples.
It was a very long time before they were faster than the bow and arrow, though.
A decent archer can put a second arrow in the air before the first one hits the target.
 
Dennis, I share you're admiration for the metallic cartridge. We are spoiled. Years ago, i went with a friend to shoot his .50 Hawken replica for the first time. He was super careful as we had no experiebce witn black powder, and he didn't want to blow us up. In 2 or 3 hours, I think we got off 3 or 4 shots. I don't know how people reloaded black powder guns back in those days under the pressure of other people trying to kill them...
 
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Though I have shot a muzzle loader (long gun) a couple times in the past (where it's owner did all of the work), I had never shot a cap & ball revolver before. My buddy bought a Ruger Old Army and I was duly impressed with the build quality, looks and function of this item and was looking forward to sharing some time with him and it on the range.

It was "fun" and it was accurate, it was a fine experience and I am richer for having had done it.

I am also very much OVER it! :p;)
What an ungodly mess, a ridiculous volume of work and a tedious list of tasks just for a couple of shots. I tell you, if I was stone cold broke and lost all my guns and had almost zero budget for shooting but I still had the burning desire and lots of time but little money, I'd probably consider this route.

You can have an all-dang-day range trip and not fire off a hundred rounds. :eek:

It was neat, enjoyable, and absolutely accurate. I have no burning desire to ever own one or spend the time and energy replicating that session. :cool:
 
It was "fun" and it was accurate, it was a fine experience and I am richer for having had done it. I am also very much OVER it!
Click to expand...

Quite so. A very good description of the experience.

I've shot an Old Army and it was a hoot. Even given the mess I'd do it a lot if I had a place to shoot it. (There's the problem-a place to shoot it.)

But I agree with all that you said.

I also think it's a great experience for anyone just getting into firearms to see once-like you said.
 
I had been shooting my uncle's Savage ML-10II and found it quite enjoyable. Muzzleloader season came around and I figured I'd borrow my dad's gun so I could go out a time or two. He told me he left it at camp, so I went to get it.

My first thought on seeing the gun was "Left it at camp!? Yeah! Since the day you got it! This thing hasn't been cleaned in... maybe ever!"

So, I spent about an hour cleaning it. Looked almost brand-new when I got done.

Figured I should make sure it was sighted in. Loaded up 2 pellets and a Hornady SST. Shot it.

Went back inside and looked over the gun. My first thought was "This thing looks like it hasn't been cleaned in... maybe ever!"

So, yeah, not only do I have a profound appreciation for modern cartridges but even more so for the powder, along with a strong desire to leave every black powder weapon in the hands of the masochists who enjoy them.
 
You said it, brutha. What those early pioneers had to contend with - the corrosion of black powder etc. Not to mention reliability in the rain. Not to mention same with flintlocks. Not to mention smoothbore muskets. Not to mention same with matchlocks! Heck, I'd rather have a bow for hunting than a flintlock or matchlock, or even a smoothbore with percussion cap ignition. Even our relatively-non-corrosive BP substitutes are a cakewalk compared to the pioneer / settler days... We've got it so easy, it's ridiculous. Well, except for relative scarcity of the game themselves.

Of course, there's bows..... then there's BOWS (modern compounds, with sights, rests, releases, carbon arrows, fancy steel broadheads). I can see how a smoothbore flintlock trumped primitive archery gear with flint head lashed to a split stick for an arrow. Smoothbore matchlock would have still be a close call against such a primitive bow, though - lol.
 
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