Just completed my mid-Winter week of deer hunting - PA flintlock late season - a few weeks ago whilst setup in a primitive camp (end Dec '15). Many deer sighted, but I didn't get a shot off
.
Nights
I'm completing a muzzleloading flintlock musket/smoothbore build (95% done!) and completing some home projects
Weekends
-Lots of muzzleloading shooting, flintlocks only - Both smoothbores & rifles
-Winter camping/trekking/scouting - wearing/using all circa 1740s gear, which means wool & linen for clothing and leather or canvas for other gear (boots, leggings, etc.)
-On SATs, I've been attending
offhand matches at my range - Starting with the Garand or Mosin-Nagant, switching to a single-shot black powdah cartridge rifle and ending with one of the flintlocks or the matchlock. Gotta love it :LOL2: when I beat the guys using mil-surp arms (50-yds offhand) while I'm using a pre-1700s to 1750s technology!
In the picture shown, I'm completing the 3rd one down. It is a left-handed French
Fusil de Chasse, 20-gauge (62-caliber, roundball size 0.600") built to the specifications of the 1721 contract to the Tulle factory in France. These were sent to the NDNs (Indians) as hunting guns, being very lightweight, ~6-1/2 pounds when done, with a 44.3" barrel. I started that one with a bunch of raw metal cast parts and a sawn block of wood (barrel inlet rough cut & ramrod hole drilled for me). In the upcoming match 2-weeks away, I'm bringing that 54" :shock: barreled club butt
Fusil de Boucanier (65-caliber, 54" barrel) to the offhand matches ...
more or less just to shake everybody up :shock: , LOL! I'll bet they'll make me stand further back from the target ...
Other
For FEB thru March, I'll be attending a few primitive muzzleloading snowshoe biathlons - Wooden snowshoes and flintlock musket or rifles. Can't beat that for a ~2-mile run through the woods! Stop every 1/2-mile to take 2 shots at gongs, with typically 3-shots at the last station; with targets 30 to 50 maybe 60-yards away. I'll use my smoothbores to make it tougher on me ... as I ain't fast on S-shoes, plus just had a torn knee fixed last Fall.
And then -
boat launch date - by end of April!