[ACP230]

I tried it a couple years ago at a club turkey shoot.
The Hawken-type rifle had a double set trigger and I shot too soon and missed the axe blade.

I didn't see anyone else split the ball and break the two clay targets on either side of it that afternoon. I've heard it has been done at the club at other shoots.

Anyone here succeded at this trick shot? If so, was it luck or skill?

[mhdishere]

If I do it, it's skill. If anyone else does it, it's luck. :D :D :D

Seriously, unless your rifle will make groups less than the size of the ball at that range, there's gotta be a good share of luck involved.

[Iggy]

The secret is the bigger the caliber the better the chance.. ;)

Another interesting one is the egg shoot.. Egg hanging on a string. You miss you eat it.. Oh yeh, They are raw!!
Saltine crackers on a string... A real challenge in a breeze.. (They spin)
Charcoal briquets hanging on a string..
Stake shoot... Team shoot.. First team to chop off a surveyors stake with round balls (within a given space marked on the stake) wins.
Again bigger calibers are advantageous.


Another fun one is a nail shoot.. Start a shingle nail..(fairly large flat head on it)into a stump with a hammer etc.

Object to drive the nail into the stump with a rifle ball...

Sure is disgusting when you hit and knock half the head off the nail, but fail to hit close enough to the center to drive the nail in and the next guy up drives it in with only half a nail head left to hit... :eek:

The bottom line is don't ever under estimate the accuracy of an ol muzzle stuffer!! They will shoot if you do your part.

[4v50 Gary]

I've done it once with my 45 cal rifle.

Thanks Iggy for the suggestion. Maybe next time it'll be a .62 cal. rifle or Bess loaded with buck and ball & shot. ;)

[Iggy]

Now that Bess is a whole nother ball game!!!:D

[Edgeofthewoods]

Ran into a rendevous while on vacation in Misiouri a few weeks ago. They had a good rendevous. We did the Charcol and clay birds and also tried the axe. I did fair in the swinging targets but I never broke both birds by splitting the ax There was a couple of old timers one with a Hawken style flint and the other with a Traditions Shennendoa like mine in flint that both split the ball and broke both birds. talk about shooting!
My Shennedoa will group all right but not like this guys, until I seen he had a Green River barrel an a L&R Lock. He said he loved the way the Traditons stock looks but was not happy with the shooting. Said he could never get better than 2.5" at 100 yards. Heck I was happy when I got that!!! took a lot of patch changing and load changes to get it!!!!

Chuck

[blue86buick]

What ranges are these events done at? It seems like hitting charcoal or a saltine would be hard enough for me at 7 yards, let alone the 25 to 100 I bet they're at...or the nail at any range!

[Iggy]

The eggs, briquettes and crackers were around 25 yards.

The axe split was around 15 yards and the nail drive was closer.

Far enough away that you could just see the head of the nail imbedded in the stump..

That nail drive still bugs me.. I hit the nail just to the left of the shaft. It took half the head of the nail off clean but didn't move the nail..

Next guy drove that sucker right into the stump with only half a head to shoot at.
He beat me on the crackers too, but I got him on the axe split and he had to swaller that raw egg!.

I did buy him a beer to wash down the egg!!:D

[repsychler]

The axe blade trick sounds pretty cool, I'll have to give it a shot if I ever get the chance.

I gotta say though, anyone else see the thread subject and think about some horrible wood chopping accident? :D

[Iggy]

:eek:

[Harve Curry]

I have done ball splitting on a ax with my 50, with paper behind it you get 2 half circles. I made a handle of angle iron I drove into the ground to hold it. Hickory handles are expensive.

Another is split a playing card stuck edge wise in some cardboard to hold it. Step back till you can barely see the card, then one step to the side should do it. Now your seeing more then the edge of the card. Hold your front sight on that verticle edge and if your sighted in to Point of aim it will split. Of course it's easier with a 58cal then a 36cal . Pistols or rifles.

I have seen Bob Munden do it with a the card thrown edge wise in the air and he draws and splits it with a Colt 45 SAA.:cool:

[Warren]

I gotta say though, anyone else see the thread subject and think about some horrible wood chopping accident?

Caused me to flinch as I scrolled by. :eek:

[Harve Curry]

Not till you mentioned it:what:
Maybe you had a bad experience in a previous life:uhoh:

[Iggy]

"I have seen Bob Munden do it with a the card thrown edge wise in the air and he draws and splits it with a Colt 45 SAA."

Yeh, but can he do it with a flintlock??;)

Not that I can you understand!!:D

[Jim K]

Doesn't have to be big bore or black powder. A friend of mine used to do it just about every shot with a .32 Walther PP at a distance of about 6 yards. One factor is that you don't have to worry about elevation, so you can concentrate on windage.

Jim

[JoeM]

The club I belong to will sometimes have splitting the ball on the axe competition, but not to often... I have spit the ball on the axe and many of our member's have too... I would like to think it's skill rather then luck...

When we do shoot this competition we will generally shoot from 20 yards... Not a great distance, but it keeps everyone interested... The club I belong to is a fur trade club, 1820 - 1840, so our shoots are pretty informal, but ran safely...