A neat blunderbuss ... probably loaded

Philip · 5th July 2010, 07:35 PM

Congratulations, it's a good-looking piece but I can't understand why a hand-cannon aficionado like yourself is suddenly interested in such modern arms!

It would have been nice to have had this thing in hand last night during our Independence Day festivities, to fire a blank charge or two or even using a reduced load to propel a flare into the sky. Of course our town constabulary frowns hard on this but most of the little cities in the area had public fireworks displays going on almost simultaneously, so with all the tremendous aerial explosions, how could they have noticed one more loud report?

Regarding old guns being loaded, this is a lot more common than one would expect. I've had a few come into my possession, and have been told that one accidentally discharged once in the conservation workshop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gun shops that cater to shooters of muzzle-loading guns sell rods with threaded ends that take various auger-screws and "worms" for extracting charges. A collector who doesn't have access to these suppliers can have a local mechanic make these. Steel rods about 6-7 mm diameter can be welded or brazed to a large coarse-threaded wood screw to make a ball-extractor. A T-shaped handle on the other end makes it easier to use. A disc-shaped section of wooden dowel just smaller than the bore size, drilled in the center for the rod, will help center the tool when boring into the bullet. For extracting cloth or fiber wads (as in shotguns or fowling pieces), a similar tool using a corkscrew bit is ideal.

5th July 2010, 07:35 PM	#3
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	Congratulations, it's a good-looking piece but I can't understand why a hand-cannon aficionado like yourself is suddenly interested in such modern arms! It would have been nice to have had this thing in hand last night during our Independence Day festivities, to fire a blank charge or two or even using a reduced load to propel a flare into the sky. Of course our town constabulary frowns hard on this but most of the little cities in the area had public fireworks displays going on almost simultaneously, so with all the tremendous aerial explosions, how could they have noticed one more loud report? Regarding old guns being loaded, this is a lot more common than one would expect. I've had a few come into my possession, and have been told that one accidentally discharged once in the conservation workshop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gun shops that cater to shooters of muzzle-loading guns sell rods with threaded ends that take various auger-screws and "worms" for extracting charges. A collector who doesn't have access to these suppliers can have a local mechanic make these. Steel rods about 6-7 mm diameter can be welded or brazed to a large coarse-threaded wood screw to make a ball-extractor. A T-shaped handle on the other end makes it easier to use. A disc-shaped section of wooden dowel just smaller than the bore size, drilled in the center for the rod, will help center the tool when boring into the bullet. For extracting cloth or fiber wads (as in shotguns or fowling pieces), a similar tool using a corkscrew bit is ideal.