Flintlock on a Rainy Day

[Ratdog68]

I'm interested in learning about it too...

I have to admit I'm puzzled by how anyone has time to:
1) remove the feather from the touch hole, then
2) wipe the flint and frizzen dry, then
3) prime the pan, then
4) close the frizzen, then
5) bring the gun up to aim, and then finally
6) fire.

What do you do with the feather, the cloth and the primer charger - put them in the possible bag or just drop them on the ground?

Do the deer just stand there and watch all that motion?

After reading his reply to you (agreed, it did sound rather sarcastic and condescending in tone)... I've begun to suspect that you:

Wipe the flint and frizzen dry, then
prime the pan, then
close the frizzen, then
cover it all with a feather which (if you choose your feathers correctly) will shed water away from your mechanism while you're hunting, then

Remove the feather and store it in the ring behind the trigger guard and bring the rifle to bear as you're cocking the gun and preparing to aim.

Upon firing... reload and withdraw the feather and replace it over the mechanism once again.

How far off is my thinking?

 

[arcticap]

mykeal, I can answer that even though I'm not a flint shooter because I've had enough experience hunting deer.
The trick when hunting deer, especially when still hunting, is to see, hear or be aware of the deer first before the deer is aware of you. If the deer is not disturbed, or if the hunter waits until the opportunity presents itself like when the deer is not looking up, is feeding and not alerted, then the hunter can use good judgement and the stealth of cover to make the necessary motions to perform the tasks.
If the hunter/predator is forewarned and made aware of the deer's incoming movement far enough in advance, then the hunter can be primed and ready to fire once the deer is first in the fringe of the field of view.
There's all kinds of different scenarios where the hunter is allowed the opportunity to makes undetected movements to make ready to shoot.
The motions being described may only take 12, 15, 18 seconds? That's not such a long period of time for a deer to be busy feeding, looking away or walking through a wooded area unaware of the hunter's presence nearby.
I could relate some stories about myself being a dumb, novice hunter and still harvesting a deer because some deer were even dumber and sometimes successful hunting is just dumb luck. It's just about being in the right place at the right time and doing things good enough when the right opportunity presents itself.
And I don't even hunt from treestands like most bowhunters do and they can sometimes get away with a lot of movement because deer don't always look up. They can't see through trees trunks either. Nothing is better than a day when there's wet leaves on the ground for still hunting into the vicinity of a deer.

 

[sundance44s]

It is no harder than drawing a bow unseen .

 

[StrawHat]

mykeal

I have to admit I'm puzzled by how anyone has time to:
1) remove the feather from the touch hole, then
2) wipe the flint and frizzen dry, then
3) prime the pan, then
4) close the frizzen, then
5) bring the gun up to aim, and then finally
6) fire.

What do you do with the feather, the cloth and the primer charger - put them in the possible bag or just drop them on the ground?

Do the deer just stand there and watch all that motion?

I can't answer how the other gent does it but for me it goes like this.

I use my thumb and shirttail or coattail or sleeve to wipe the frizzen and pan, Nothing to drop.

Priming is done with a priming horn.

Closing the frizzen and cocking are usually one motion, done while presenting the piece.

I still hunt, you know, creep along in the woods looking for game. I can do all the above and not disturb the quarry because I know how they act. Watch how they are moving and what they are doing. I've never hunted from a box in a tree but I can imagine priming etc would be even easier up there.

 

[mykeal]

I've been a whitetail hunter for more than 40 years. I've used centerfire rifles, shotguns, longbows, compound bows, crossbows, percussion sidelocks and flintlocks. I've been successful with all but the crossbow, which I cannot seem to master. I've taken deer from ground blinds, tree blinds and simply walking/standing. I'm very well experienced with the whitetail's alert mechanism and how to stalk them in both dry and wet conditions. I'm a state certified hunter safety education instructor who specializes in muzzleloading. I no longer hunt due to a mobility problem; I can move about in the woods but cannot harvest the animal once I've taken the kill shot, so I fall victim to the old adage: those that can do, those that can't, teach.

The scenario I describe above is complicated and contains far too many unnecessary movements, in my opinion. If you've mastered it and it works for you, well done. I'm afraid I'm not that talented and simply couldn't imagine that it could be done reliably. I'll practice it and see if I can get there; it may be something my students will prefer.

 

[sundance44s]

Mykeal I`ve never done any jump shooting deer ...
My normal deer hunting ......I give myself every advantage as possible .
With all the advantages and range of my rifle ..I have plenty of time before I make the shot to do many things unseen by a deer .
On many deer hunts I`ve taken the time to put out my smoke , and whistle at the deer to make him stop dead in his tracks because he has reached range I feel comfortable shooting .
What you have described in your post asking( how anyone has time too )sounds more like a dove hunt than deer hunting to me.
I have never deer hunted anywhere but in the south .....do deer west of the Mississippi do things different ?

 

[mykeal]

The position of the Mississippi isn't a discriminant - the type of cover is. In general western US deer hunting involves longer range shots due to lack of cover, so yes, in a sense, the deer do act differently. But like any generalization, there are many exceptions to that.

My shots average less than 50 yards; I've taken several at less than 20 yards. Most of my whitetail hunting is done in medium to heavy cover; 'jump' shooting is almost never an option. I don't understand the perception that my description of the events means haste. You can do each of those steps slowly and carefully; if fact, I'd think you have to, to have any chance of being successful. I'm simply pointing out that there are several steps involving motion; the more motion, the more chance that you're going to trigger one or both flight alerts. Speed has nothing to do with it.

 

[sundance44s]

Mykeal your post # 21 says haste to me ........I have seen new hunters miss shots over haste ....if one does his homework before the hunt and plans his hunt , there is no need for haste in harvesting deer in my part of the country .
I would need tips on hunting open country for sure ...its always been an ambush hunt for me in the southern woodlands .

 

[SammyIamToday]

Well, it didn't rain but for a few minutes. I ended up picking up some beeswax on the way out of town and put it all over the cow's knee. Wind was blowing different directions constantly, so I did some stalk hunting. First successful one, which was great. I had been changing the priming pan every couple of hours because of the high humidity, but that might have been unnecessary.

Anywho, got me a doe at about 40 yards while she was feeding. The image of her running off with the blackpowder smoke everywhere will be a good memory and has definitely got me hooked on the muzzleloading hunting. She's now part ground venison in the freezer and some jerky marinading in the fridge.


Anyways, thanks everyone for all of the tips, this weekend was great.

 

[Ratdog68]

Congrats on the happy end to a hunt !! Mmmmm.... deer jerky !!!

 

[mykeal]

Congratulations, Sammy. That's what it's all about.