Cascabel

Interesting...... I don't see a whole lot of value in the converting of it to an actual screw-off barrel if you are only using it to fire blank loads. It would be a pretty expensive proposition. What other rework did you have in mind for the pistol ?

So I got thinking about a money making venture.... but decided to look up that orange tip law for toy guns.... The ray-guns have the configuration of a gun, so they would need a 6mm orange tip ...I don't know if arguing that they are designed as pre-1898 guns would work....Dang, I started making ray-guns, so the would Not be mistaken for anything real....

guess I'll have to do some more research on this one.....

Just another example of a poorly conceived and badly written law by lawmakers that have no knowledge about what they are making rules about. They also refuse to listen to people that actually know something about the subject !!!

........stepping down from my soapbox now.

There are those that spend their lives looking for things to get offended by. I don't think the rest of us should be deprived because of them. May their ulcers flourish and prosper !!!!!

I just wish they would come up with a pirate movie that is actually good and realistic. Maybe not necessarily 100% authentic in detail, but not a POTC-type pirate-themed fantasy movie, or one of those 1940's pretty boy Errol Flynn "Showcasing-the-Star" productions, but a believeable pirate story with good production values, rather than something cheaply made. Sort of the gritty quality of the Heston version of Treasure Island.

The 1950 version of Treasure Island was not too bad, except for the way too pretty and well-scrubbed looking kid that played Jim Hawkins. I liked Robert Newton's over the top rendition of Long John almost as much as Heston's "Treacherous Bastard" version of him

This appeared on the famous auction site last spring.

I was going to purchase it for Cascabel but i was too shy to inquire about his size.

Arrrrrrr....... Ye've been so good to me since the baby came !!!!

I sent an email to the contact person that was posted, but never got a reply. Perhaps you can ask her to check her inbox.....

Cascabel, Thank you for yer reply, ... I will remind her...

Yer Humble Servant, Mitchell.

Thanx, I heard from her....

I sent an email to the contact person that was posted, but never got a reply. Perhaps you can ask her to check her inbox.....

This is a fairly new event, it will be in Swansboro, NC. They're trying to expand it this year and have asked me to find them some scurvy dogs to populate it. It will be held at hammocks beach state park, and on Bear Island. Please let me know if you are interested ASAP.

A bit more info, if you please, Suh !! Dates, website, contact info, etc......

I really wonder why you would even bother worrying about an imaginary ship anyhow. You can't show it to anybody. In all my over 20 years of portraying pirates,nobody has ever asked to see my ship. The closest thing that has happened is the occasional child asks where it is, and I simply tell them it's anchored "on the other side of the cove", or something like that, and they are satisfied. It is far more important when entertaining the public to look and act like their idea of a stereotypical pirate than anything else. Once they have met you, and "little Johnny" gets his picture taken with you, they are quite happy, and you don't really have to say a whole lot. Most encounters are only a couple of minutes or less, unless you are doing a presentation of some kind. If you want, you can stretch the encounter a bit longer if they show interest or if you are flirting with "little Johnny's" mom or something. It's always good to have a couple of stories available if needed also. You don't need a lot of variations to your "act", as you are always interacting with different people throughout the day.

As I see it, the patrons at an event are not going to say, "That guy smells like a REAL pirate", but they will say, "My GAWD !! That guy STINKS !!! "

I think the visual effect of grungy authenticity is of far more value than smelling horrible to everybody that comes near..... :D

Helped me old shipmate Braze celebrate his birfday last nite.....

^{I topped mine with a very fancy brass Victorian doorknob. Keep it polished, and it resembles gold. I have seen ceramic ones decorated with flowers, etc., that would also work nicely, and colored glass also.}

........O.K., I give up !!! What is it, some sort of a game board or something ???

ahoy hawkyns,

the frizzen can be hardened and a new main can be made... for a price, of course. The side sear has rounded at the end so it won't hold the lock back. Seems its soft too. Since that is worn a new one would need to be made or ordered then installed. Its just so many bloody little things it may be easier and cheaper to order a new one. He was giving me a price around $200.00 to repair it. Just to give you an idea of the quality here- one of the pins on the inside is a nipped nail.I had never taken the lock off till after a couple of years of owning it. The importer said I had diddled with it and wouldn't take the lock back to work on.

edit* I'll take the lock off the stock this weekend and get a picture up.

I really hate to torpedo a guy after he has spent his hard earned money, but as I always say, "ya gets what ya pays for". I have always advised caution about buying India made guns, and expectations about quality of them.

Anyhow, now that it is your "red-headed stepchild"........ If your guy will put it right for $200, you are getting a bargain !!! There is usually more work to fixing these India made guns than first meets the eye. One issue leads to another, and so forth.

It is a "get what you pay for" kinda thing. When you buy an India gun, you will not be buying a $2,000 gun for $600. These guns are not in that league no matter what the ad copy says. A gun made from The Rifle Shoppe parts can be a museum grade repro, once assembled by a competent smith, but you will have to pay the price for such quality.

>>>> Cascabel

The reason for so many flint shards more recently I would wager is the source of the weapons and not inferior flint. Many of the Indian built muskets have overy hard frizzen springs and shatter flints in making a spark. The only time I have been "hit" by pieces was in firing my own weapon which has a built in flash guard.

Indeed !!! Overly stiff springs are an ongoing problem with India made guns.....

^{I was never a fan of those toy-looking shotgun shell firing cannons anyhow. And as the video shows, it's easy to mistake a live load for a blank.}

I had the opportunity to examine an India Pattern Brown Bess quite a few years back that was crudely painted black without bothering to do a dissassembly. The thick black paint was just applied all over the thing. Very obviously done in period. The underside of the barrel, and inside of the lock seemed to have a coating of dried grease on it, rather than paint. It was in pretty rough shape, but other than a broken mainspring appeared functional. Perhaps when the order came down to paint the muskets, they took the easy way out ?

The black paint was for protection from rust, which was quite a problem because of the salt air at sea.

Hmmmm........ 5 strings !!!

Thanks to me Shipmates for remembering my birthday !!!

I see bucket boots in the last picture !!!

A strong threat of criminal prosecution for theft may make them magically re-appear......

I may be the only one here that is old enough to remember when and how some of the Park Service rules came into being, so a bit of background info might be helpful. A great many of the rules we deal with today were created at the time of the Revolutionary War Bicentennial activities, and were heavily influenced by input from MILITARY re-enactors.

Many black powder related events were hosted by Park Service facilities, and were mostly military oriented, as they commemorated historic battles and were conducted in the shoulder to shoulder lines of battle which is correct for military procedures. The rules about the use of paper cartridges also have the same ancestry. For military re-enactment, the rules worked just fine. So now we have a set of military-specific rules that don't really apply very well to non-military situations. The procedures for Civil War re-enactments are similar, but also apply to military situations. I think the Park Service prefers to take "the easy way out", and since they have a set of rules in place, they don't want to make exceptions, even though the rules are cumbersome to comply with for non-military events. I also believe that nobody in the Park Service has a clue as to why certain rules were instituted years ago, which is why they are unwilling to consider modification of the rules.

From a practical standpoint, one's mouth can sometimes serve as a convenient "third hand" when both hands are needed to work on something. I worked as an aircraft mechanic for over 35 years, and sometimes held a flashlight in my mouth in order to provide light while both hands were occupied. Of course, this has absolutely nothing to do with carrying a knife in the teeth while attacking a ship. I think a cutlass in the mouth is out of the question because of the weight and awkward length, but a medium sized knife might be plausible for a short time.

Your Flintlock 101 paper is so well written and easy to understand - I've said it before and I say it again.... THANKS for putting it all together in one document that says it all! It's my "go to" reference when someone expresses interest in learning about black powder. Thanks Cascabel - you're the best!

Thanks for your kind words !!