- Joined
- Aug 25, 2012
I have never fired a flintlock pistol, what about you?
when I did fire them I put a good dose of powder in the pan to better insure a discharge since flint was so unreliable. Had good discharges that way, never got burned.I've been shooting some reproductions for decades . They are fun to shoot , easier to clean than my flintlock rifle and musket and unless you really overload the pan you aren't going to get powder burns . That being said , the longest hangfire I ever had was from a CVA "Kentucky" pistol I put together from a kit .
The most severe powder burns I've seen, and that friends have sustained, are when a powder charge is introduced into the bore of a fouled, just fired barrel, and something ignites the powder. Never, ever wear gloves with any synthetic materials. That stuff will melt. It will adhere to your hands. Not quite napalm, but burning things that stick are mighty hideous and painful! Unburned powder and burned powder will "tattoo" your hand and fingers. You might go to the hospital to get the skin abraded. Like any burn, it HURTS.Powder burns on you hands?
During my range safety officer training, we learned of cases where things like this occurred in modern, air-conditioned/ventilated indoor pistol ranges. In one case, a .45 acp bullet ricocheted/ rebounded and hit the firer in the leg. Apparently, he lay there bleeding while people stepped over him going too and fro the firing line?!Our next door neighbor called one memorable spring Saturday morning. She asked if my dad & I would please come over & help put her husband into the car…
We hustled right over & found him laying in the backyard. At his side was the beautifully crafted flintlock pistol he had been working on during the winter. He had machined the barrel himself.
Having finished the inlays & the elaborate box made to hold the flintlock pistol & its furniture he loaded ‘er up. Power poles ran across the back of our properties. He took careful aim & pulled the trigger. His momentary elation was cut short by an agonizing pain in his right shin.
The ball had rebounded from the power pole he had aimed at. It bounded straight back, striking him squarely on the narrow front of his tibia. It knocked a sliver off the bone & ricocheted into the lawn. My dad & his wife did some first aid . I helped put him into the car she drove into the yard. After she drove off dad & I found the bullet. I kept it in my cigar box of arrowheads & other goodies for years… he did not want it back.
Oddly enough, I have fired every kind of black powder weapon from matchlock to blunderbuss to cannon with linstock but I have never fired a flintlock pistol. Some things just make a lasting impression, don-cha-know?
I was in the hospital in the Canal Zone with a Special Forces Sgt. He was an instructor at the School of the Americas. The striking lever of the firing mechanism on a detonated device audibly ticked through the leaves, bounced off a tree trunk & hit him on the back. It penetrating near his heart. He owed his life to the quick action of a medic.During my range safety officer training, we learned of cases where things like this occurred in modern, air-conditioned/ventilated indoor pistol ranges. In one case, a .45 acp bullet ricocheted/ rebounded and hit the firer in the leg. Apparently, he lay there bleeding while people stepped over him going too and fro the firing line?!
I´ll bet he did. Probably owed his life too! My wife grew up in Gamboa, Panama - where Dredging Division for the Canal is Headquartered.I was on the hospital in the Canal Zone with a Special Forces Sgt. He was an instructor at the School of the Americas. The striking lever of the firing mechanism on a detonated device audibly ticked through the leaves, bounced off a tree trunk & hit him on the back. It penetrating near his heart. He peed his life to the quick action of a medic.
The Canal Zone was the most perfect socialist state there ever was.I´ll bet he did. Probably owed his life too! My wife grew up in Gamboa, Panama - where Dredging Division for the Canal is Headquartered.
I will not argue with that! Zonians even know how unique their society was.The Canal Zone was the most perfect socialist state there ever was.