Mid-Winter Musket Tune Up.

[Adam Helmer]

The snow lays 15 inches deep on the farm today so old dog and I tuned up all the muzzleloaders on establishment. I pulled off the locks of the flinters and caplocks, cleaned them and lightly oiled all before I reinstalled them. I pulled some of the barrels and put a coat of linseed oil on the stocks that look shop worn.

It will be above freezing tomorrow, so I will cast a 10-quart bucket full of balls and maxis for the .45, .50, and .54 frontloaders on the haywagon inside the tractor shed. I use a Coleman stove as a heat source and use scrounged pure lead for my projectiles.

Adam

[Ontario Hawken]

How did your shooting go?

I took my .50 Cal Hawken out a few weeks ago at -10 C and had problems with the port blocking up, patch lubricant thickening and condendation in the nipple. When I took it out at +6 C it worked just fine...