Getting better with my longrifle

[Arrowstorm]

Took the flintlock longrifle out to the range a couple of weeks ago for the second time. Got 10 shots off this time instead of 4!  Had some trouble with the touch hole getting a little fouled though because of my own neglect to clean the barrel.  Much to the dismay of the range officer, the rifle failed to fire even after I got the pan to flash several times. Pulled out the bullet, emptied the barrel and cleaned it and all was well. After that, I got a few more shots off before I went home. Man, these flintlocks are far more fussy than caps. I also found out that you have to be a master knapper to get it to fire every time. I have found that if I hammer the flint towards the hammer while it's still in the jaws, I can get a pretty good edge on it. At first I was discouraged when I couldn't knap the flint to a sharp edge to save my life.. but practice makes...... well,  better.  One trouble with loading the longrifle is that I keep hitting the roof of the range with the ramrod. I"m used to loading my Hawkens with a slight angle, but with the longrifle, it's absurd!  No matter  :) I"ll get used to it.
 
Shooting the flintlock sure is fun, and you should see the faces of everyone who sees me walking up to the line with my rifle  resting into the air against my shoulder.  I guess it's not every day you get to see a flintlock longrifle in action, is it?
 
Sure is fun to shoot... when you can get it to shoot. Heh heh.

[Jay Edward (deceased)]

Any chance of getting a look at that flinchlock?  Muzzleloaders are the only type of art that really turns my head.

If you have the time...take a look here: http://www.onagocag.com/index2.html

I think the links to the sub pages will be of great interest to you.

[kombi1976]

Mmmm, very interesting.
 
I also had a look at the atlatl. It is almost exactly the same as a spear throwing device that the Australian Aborigines use called a woomera. A woomera launches the spear with much greater force, much in the same way that the flick of the wrist when hitting a squash ball with a racquet will make it fly much faster than a simple throw.
 
Off the topic I know but nonetheless interesting.

[drinksgin (deceased)]

Kombi;
The atlatal was really effective and widespread in NA, the majority of 'arrowheads' found are atlatal points of 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches length, arrow points were often only 3/4 to 1 " and I have seen some only 1/2 ". Lance or javelin points are usually 3 to 5 " long and spear points can be quite long, I have seen some 8 to 10 ", a spear point I found on the YO Ranch about 1948 was 7" long and the point itself, guess at about 1 1/2 -2 " was broken off.
Very interesting the way technology around the world seems so uniform.
In the 30's -40's and even 50's, points were found almost at will in Texas west of San Antonio- Austin-Waco, just go to any creek bottom or plowed field after a good rain and pick them up.