Primitive weapons

[dakoda62]

Curious to know, anybody hunt with a muzzle loader. My 58 cal. hasnt been out of the cabinet now for close to 20 years.

[trapperRick]

I do! I hunt with a 50 cal cap and ball and love it I just started to cast my own bullets I have been using sabots but want to try the bullets I cast myself they weigh in at 6 oz of lead and should do the job

[MOOSE MILK]

6 Oz? sounds like an 8 bore.

[scottwh]

Hahaha! Too funny! Was just talking to a friend today in Alberta who is hunting moose with a spear.... I think he his nuts. The CO said its not illegal, but suggested he puts it on video... Thats as primative as it gets. I myself have a 50 cal muzzle loader, but havnt hunted with it.... yet...

[Long bow]

I have carried a .50 cap and ball Browning a couple times. In BC it was better years ago(79) when they had a "primitive MU" where you could hunt with anything primitive. And earlier, before the regular season.. And wear buckskins or whatever..in the true spirit of primitive weapons. I forget why we lost that, cant remember, may have had to do with inline BP and scopes and crossbows not being so primitive..but I really cant remember

[huntwriter]

When I lived in Illinois I used to hunt with a TC Renegade 50 cal. shooting round balls and concial bullets. When Tony Knight, founder of Knight Rifles, invented the first in-line muzzleloaders I purchased his Wolverine model. Interchangeably I used both to hunt during the Illinois 6 day firearm season. when I moved to Canada I sold all my firearms due to the sheer endless red tape and expenses involved of bringing firearms into Canada. Sure miss that old Renegade and Wolverine. I might soon get back into primitive muzzleloader shooting/hunting again.


I forget why we lost that, cant remember, may have had to do with inline BP and scopes and crossbows not being so primitive..but I really cant remember
The loss of the BP season came about because of infighting among blackbowder shooter/hunters. When traditional muzzleloader shooters started to bash and vilify in-line shooters and in turn they turning against the traditionalist the government eventually had enough of it and said "screw it". The divisions among hunters/shooters has cost us over the years more rights and privileges then anything else we're up against.

[solo]

Modern BP firearms are by no means primitive.

[Jetboat]

I just dug out my .54 cal round ball mold and casting supplies yesterday and was thinking of making some balls for my Lyman Great Plains front stuffer. So far this season I've carried my .338-06, .270WCF, .375Win. and .44Mag (Marlin) Perhaps the muzzleloader will bring a change of luck, lol.

[freonguy]

When I was courting my wife back in the late '70s, she went to New York and brought me back a CVA ( Conneticut Valley Arms ) .50 cal cap and ball ' kit ' rifle.
I put it in the closet for a few years and while off sick for a few weeks with a systemic infection, had the chance to build it. Browned the barrel, did the stock etc. - a fair job with what I had for tools at the time.
Got some .490 balls, patches, FFG BP ( IIRC ) and went to the range. Three shot group, open sights @ 100 yards - 3 inches!!

Not too shabby I says. Took it out that fall ( Saskatchewan, early '80s ) looking for a meat deer - put up 3 WT does in a coulee leading to the South Saskatchewan River - finally, three coulees and about a mile later there were the trio; 2 skedaddled off, and one stood broadside at 60 yards with her head peeking out at me from behind some sage brush, the rest of her completely exposed.
Cock the hammer, cap the nipple with my capper, off hand ( nothing to lean on in Sask. and man the barrel is heavy on that thing ) squeeze one off - - - PFFFFT - dud cap! Deer still there, regain my composure, pop the old cap off, re-cap, take aim in the boiler room - BOOM - cloud of smoke clears - downed WT doe! She didn't even twitch - that chunk of lead did its job and then some.
Got a MD doe draw the next year and took a nice dry doe @ 50 yards - didn't so much as move after being shot.

My point is - like any weapon, a muzzleloader is a great tool if used correctly - I set my limit at 100 yards - lots of fun, the in-line rifles and sabot technology has stretched things out considerably, but the cap and ball is as close to a bow hunt as I will ever get. Makes me want to dust off old betsy!

Have fun out there -

Freonguy

[lostindian]

I'm going to have to dig out my 50 cal cause there is nothing better than the smell of black powder in the morning !:-P

[BernDawg]

I do! I hunt with a 50 cal cap and ball and love it I just started to cast my own bullets I have been using sabots but want to try the bullets I cast myself they weigh in at 6 oz of lead and should do the job
So you're running 2500 grain rounds....... My .58 balls run 250 grains, factory. Your .50 rounds must be 6" long.. :0

[new hunter]

I've taken my homemade longbow for walks a few times , never got any blood on it though .
I'll be carving a new bow out of vine maple once the stave finishes curing , maybe I'll get something with the next one ( gave the last one to an anti hunter thats slowly been coming over to the dark side , hopefully he takes it out one day too .)

[Gateholio]

Only primitive weapons I've used was a long bow, early in my hunting career, before I was 18 and could buy a gun. Took a deer and some grouse with it.

I always thought that BC should change the archery season into a archery/black powder season, where you could use any type of bow, or only traditional muzzle loaders with no optics, etc. I think that would be lots of fun. :)

[aggiehunter]

....unless your a bowhunter

[huntwriter]

Modern BP firearms are by no means primitive.

No in-lines muzzleladers are not "primitive" in that sense but you still have to build every load and then stuff it down the barrel. A muzzleloader by any name is still a muzzleloader.

[ROY-alty33]

I would love to see a B/P season in BC make a come back. Even a short 5 day open between archery and rifle. Or 7 days at the end, but the drier early fall would be much better for the water hating front stuffers.

[BimmerBob]

I would love to see a Muzzle Loader season in BC but if we don't I still enjoy carrying one and it is a great rifle for deer or moose under 100 yards. I have gone to Manitoba for their ML season and enjoyed shooting a few Whitetails with it, will most likely do so again. I want to harvest a moose here with it and will hopefully connect next year...