callenish gunner

Matt, Just a question lad I like the pierced work of the LJS but I'd rather have a traditional blade like the one you built for Capt. Sterling with perhaps an antler handle (I can provide the Red stag). What would a piece that run lad?

The "caning" of midshipmen was permitted. It was to be witnessed by the officers and ship's surgeon, the caning was either done by the First Lieutenant or the Bosun (usually the bosun). It was supposed to be a fatherly reprimand not a torturous punishment as was depicted in Hornblower but in that episode the Captain was quite mad.

From what I've heard the catfight mudwrestling is always a highlight of the event

Happy Birthday to ye lad. As always it was good to see you again at PIP. Say hello to your lovely wife from us!

Here's a jar in your honour m' lad! Hope we get to see you again quite soon!!! I'll pour you a dram when next we meet.

Damn fine work Sir!!! You're making it difficult for a Gentleman to resist doing business with you. :(

Unfortunately June is a very busy month; First weekend is School of the Sailor in Deltaville, Virgina, second is Cook Forest,PA Battle of the Big Trees (F&I event) third is Custgaloga Town Fench & Indian encampment. We'll have to try another event later in the Summer or Autumn

Twas an honest mistake lad ....and God knows I've got you by more than a year or two and I've got Wee Hamish; so don't be scoffing that we could have thought you were the proud Da.

About how long are they?

Bo, I'd like to see about several pairs of those tongs you make. We had a bitch of a time lighting our pipes at PIP and at Lockhouse.

Aye Connie the Callenish crew will be there in May. We'll be working out some details with Mark, Jenny, Mickey, Kate, you and Silas as well as others between now and then.

William, It was an honour to finally meet you in the quick ...Happiest of birthdays to ye lad you are truly blessed with a lovely wife and beautiful children and so many friends who love you. Many happy returns of the day and may your future be BACON STREWN for years to come!!! Next PIP we'll bring a rasher of bacon just for you!

Welcome aboard m'lad ..and don't mind if i do partake in a wee dram or two off your accounts!

We came home with two wooden bowls that aren't ours (simple maple bowls 7" in diameter, about 1 1/2 inches deep) Walmart type...

Transfer of the books I have, got buggered and the budget got over extended by the trip to PIP; will mail out on the 31st when I get my pension check. Sorry for the delays!

Writing a good script and coaching the actors to stay in character and the logistics of a cast and crew on location and done by amateurs and volunteers, can be done fairly inexpensively with pretty good results. The post production with Foley (sound) effects and all can be done relatively easily with modern video editing on a Mac or PC. Graphics and computer generated effects can be done as well. I have seen a couple of productions that used Ft. Ticonderoga and local taverns/inns or other period buildings for backdrops. I'd say a good script with a story that is well developed and thought out with solid characters and details is foremost in the successful project. Rewrite and editing is part of the process that most forget to include in their planning. One or two cannons with different crews and placement can create the illusion of more armaments and Quakers also add to the illusion. Many classic films used one or two guns and different crews or angles and costume changes to create a larger crew or force than the reality of the cast/prop limitations. Yeah a huge budget and cast of thousands would be the ideal but reality and illusion can be two different things.

With both my Brown Bess and my Blunderbuss I have taken whitetail dear and with the Bess, 7-8 years ago, I took a black bear. I routinely use my pistols for varmint hunting (groundhogs and raccoons) using #4 shot. When I was in better health a few years ago I did use one of my pistols, a .50 cal. rifled bore to take a 6 point buck. I have also used one of my Lancaster long rifles also a .50 cal to hunt elk in Alaska.I have used the Bess with shot (#4) for wild turkey, taken at least a dozen over the past 6-7 years. Pennsylvania deer and turkey are good eating, my hunting usually keeps my freezer full over the winter. This season I only went out one day during turkey season and got a 24# Tom. Deer Season (regular) began the day we left for PIP. Flintlock season begins the day after Christmas until Jan. 9th; I'm planning on going out then with my son Joshua. I may try it this year with a . 69 call. doglock musket or a French 1717, using .672 ball with 100 gr. ffg. I have hunted with flintlocks since 1969, and have always had pretty good luck finding game in the forests in northwestern Pennsylvania, Wyoming and Alaska.

Are you just target shooting or are you planning to use this for field firing (i.e. hunting)? live vegetation down the barrel imparts moisture to your powder fairly quickly and causes additional fouling in the bore. The smaller the ball the easier it is to load but you sacrifice accuracy due to the slop of the round; a snug fit without constriction will increase the accuracy of the projectile and the ballistic dynamics of your range of fire. Wadding with a live load does several important things to the performance of your weapon, first it increases the compression behind the projectile allowing the propellant (black powder) to give maximum thrust to your projectile, increasing both range and accuracy to your ball. The relatively light loads used in pistols and the reduced range of the projectile would need to be optimized by efficient use of the ballistic properties originally designed into the weapon. THANK YOU I hunt with smooth bore muskets and pistols and want my knockdown power to do what the weapon was intended to do from the start and that is to kill what you're aiming at. Every shooters kit should include a ball extractor and fouling worm, pulling a ball or offloading a charge is no big deal if the need should arise. Serious Shootists should understand their weapon and all the intricacies of their desired use of their weapon. Where as most reenactors will never load a live round on their cartridge or fire their weapon at either targets or prey/enemy; their firelock is used for smoke and noise(window dressing for a show). Enjoy learning to use your weapon and try to do so safely, understanding the full potential of these devices will increase your respect of their full potential when used in controlled scenarios.

Military cartridges had the ball included in the tube once you poured the powder down the barrel, you inserted the rest of the cartridge in on top of it and tamped it down with the ramrod. Once loaded into the paper tube you didn't touch the ball again.

Many returns of the day t' you sir!!!

QJ the ticking patch isn't needed for the smooth bore you'd do just as well with a bit of paper as in what would be used from a cartridge. A 30-40 grain load should do fine with a wadded ball. Your range will be about 20-25 yards beyond that the ball will have little to no accuracy and even less stopping power

I've used a fire piston for years but i wasn't sure that they were early enough for our period but I think Dampier refers to them in his book

Happy birthday lad!! Hope you have a good one

Do you sell it by the pound? If so, what would the price be?