Flintlocks and Deer

[hondo1892]

Been waiting for this season for a while. Our early muzzle loader season opened today. It was crisp and chilly this morning. I've been working on getting my daughter a deer but she couldn't make it back home soon enough to go out this morning. So I decided to go out behind the house and try to make some meat with my flinter. I keep a little corn out to keep them coming back and sowed a small patch of winter wheat for them also. I have a crude blind set up about twenty five yards from the corn on the ground and the wheat starts at the corn and passes by my blind. I've been out in the blind watching deer for about a month now. I had a little one come within ten feet of me one evening. There have been four or five does coming in with small ones and a couple small bucks. About ten after eight this morning two does started to come in. There is a little creek that runs through my place and the does wouldn't cross it this morning for some reason. Wind was not blowing towards them and they couldn't see any more of me today than the other days. But they just wouldn't come across. So I waited for the doe closest to me to get in a spot that had a clear shot. She had turned to leave and when she stepped out in a opening I touched off a shot. When the smoke cleared I could see her heading up the hill across the creek. I went to check for blood and hair but couldn't find any. My daughter arrived minutes before I shot so I went to get her for help. She found hair in about sixty seconds. My eyes must be worse than I thought. We checked for blood but found nothing. So we started looking along the hill and still found no deer and no blood. We had my cur and her akita with us and they weren't having any luck either. So I went to the opposite side of the property to take a look. I just fought my way through the briars and she yells that Magua her pup found the deer. When I get back over and see the doe piled up I see blood. About ten feet from where see went down the blood started pouring out. Both her front legs were soaked with blood but none on the ground until the end. If it hadn't been for the pup it would have taken hours to have found it. I was very thankful for this one. It's been several years since I have taken one with a flint lock.

[horsesoldier03]

Great Job! I always love to see deer harvested with frontloaders!

[Griff]

Congrats.

[Nath]

Top class that man and well done that lady too. Please tell us about the flintlock?

[gamekeeper]

Excellent! I love a story that has "when the smoke cleared" please tell us what was the load?

[Dusty Texian]

Cant get better than that , a flint lock and meat on the table with help from the family. ,,,,DT

[yooper2]

Wonderful! Any details on the rifle?



Eric

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Thank you for the fine write up and photo !
When we are up north that is my firearm of preference. Sharp rock on hard steel.
I would also like to read about the flinter. Primarily I use a 60 smoothbore with a 38 inch barrel.
Mike in Peru

[Pete44ru]

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Nice tale - AND, that looks to be a nice, tender eating-deer.


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[hondo1892]

The rifle is .50 with a 44" Rice barrel, rifled. It was the last rifle I made in Michigan before moving. Most everything on it I made except the barrel and part of the lock. I even made the wood screws for this rifle. You can see more photo's here http://contemporarymakers.blogspot.com/ ... rifle.html. The load I was using was 80 grains of ffg Goex powder with a .490 patched round ball. We had the backstaps this morning for breakfast and yes they were tasty.

[Nath]

Exquisite rifle sir.

[Pete44ru]

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It must be VERY satisfying, to bag game with a self-made gun - Kudo's !

.

[plowboy 45]

Good shootin there hondo, my son gotta young cowhorn Thursday evening with his bow

[hondo1892]

Thanks guys for all the kind words. Yes it is very satisfying to get game with a rifle made by yourself.

[guido4198]

Congratulations on your Deer, and especially for sticking-to-it and finding her after the shot. Too many folks just give it up if they don't see the animal immediately, or find a big blood trail.
I like that rifle...especially the LH lock. Who built that one..??
The slight curl on the end of the frizzen spring is a nice feature. Tip Curtis was showing me how he does that on his rifles last month at Friendship. Nice details on the trigger too. My 40 cal. Southern Mountain Rifle has a Rice bbl. and shoots like a laser..!!
Thanks for sharing.

[PriseDeFer]

Good hunting story. I could almost, and maybe did, smell the smoke and see the smiles in the firelight.

[hondo1892]

Guido the lock started life as a Chamber's gun maker lock. But I removed all the external parts and made new ones so it would look like an English lock.

[1894]

Great rifle , nice meat for the freezer , and looks like that pup is doing well also !

[M. M. Wright]

I must say I admire your exquisite rifle sir.

Lovely work!

[hondo1892]

1894 the pup is doing well. He is funny to watch around larger animals. Cows and horses he doesn't know if he should run from them or after them. Right now he loves everyone he meets. But he's leery of most children.

[Daisyman]

A southpaw flinter, I like it!! Very nice rifle!

[Bill in Oregon]

Brian, a flint deer harvest is something to take nourishment from -- spiritually and literally. Your smithing skills are jaw-dropping!

[TedH]

Outstanding!

[Ysabel Kid]

Wow - what a great gun and story!!!