I was wondering the other day when reading some of the posts, what are some of the foolish things you have done with a muzzleloader. I am also curious, how many have;

double charged
double balled or projectile
dry loaded
shot their ramrod
what's the easiest shot you missed and why?
what's the hardest shot you attempted and did you make it?

there are a lot of things some of us might have done. For instance, I have dry loaded meaning pushed a ball down on no powder charge a number of times. I have also put the charge down and then forgot to put a projectile on top of the powder.

I've never double charged (kow) or shot the ramrod (but came real close). The easiest shot I missed was at a nice doe. She was standing broadside to my tree stand. I cocked the hammer got a bead, pulled the trigger and realzied the cap had fallen off. Needless to say she did not stick around long enough from me to recap.

The hardest shot I made was at a doe. She had her body blocked by a large tree. She was only about 30 yards away. Finally I saw her peek around the tree with only her head. I never remembered pulling the trigger but drilled her dead center. And the longest shot I ever pulled off was under 90 yards.

hmmm had thick gloves on...my buddys drove me 3 big does at a few yards from me...cracked the hammer...they ran...so i set the hair trigger and stopped them about 30yds away....all the sudden KAPOWWW...me and deer were like WTF happend?!?! my glove caught the main trigger!! scary...glad it was pointed safely....me and the deer made it out alive thankfully....about a foot higher and i would got REAL lucky and drilled her lol.....

couldnt figure out why my roundballs wouldnt go down with pillowticking patches....after breaking 2 ramrods i noticed that they were .495 balls......

missed a few does that would been easy crack shots because of a sight screw that actually fell out.....my sights were about sideways when i finally noticed....

sure ive done some other stupid things....just cant recall right now lol..happens to everyone i guess..

best shot......groundhog...45yds with a flintlock....drilled him perfectly through the lungs.....im ready for deer season on the 26th now.....see what happens this year....still got a few doe tags to fill if i see some deer....and a buck tag...

A long time ago, before I got educated somehow, tried to use old cotton shirts for patches on round balls, had to drive them home with a hammer, shot ok though but gave it up for a long time as "to much work". missed a 20 yard shot at a doe threw the fog, had her pulled the trigger, she wasn't there any more, best shot 4 pointer threw a 5" opening at 60 yards or so, yep I've doubled loaded and thank God nothin happened but 2 holes in the target and a LOT of smoke, forgot to put the bullet in, yep done that, forgot if I did or not and shot to see, big puff, don't think I've ever dried seated a bullet, OH and got MARRIED not once but twice.

Well lets see: after getting my first flintlock and knowing nothing about them, I took it to the range. Loaded it, primed it withPyrodex FF and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

I saw that spark go off but no boom.

A few weeks later I got a can of Goex 4F...

...live and learn.

~Robert

Double loaded....balls and powder. Pulled the trigger. Believe it or not the nor I were injured. Kicked the hell outta me though. Blackpowder is definitely a challenge..lol. I have missed a 25 yarder or 2 in my days but I have made a couple over 100 so it evens out...lol.

cayugad

First of all I must say I am not proud of most of these, but I am human...

Once 200 grains of t7-2f pushing 300 grain Hornady - everything went fine - the gun kicked really well and the bullet missed the target at a 100 yards - did not blow back the bolt which really surprised me.

This one I have not done - but I always have been curious about since a I read a history account that surmised two of the five people killed in the Boston masacre were probably killed by a double ball british musket - I guess it was quite common then.

more times than I can count on one hand - but only at the range & I need to included a few times not putting a cap or primer in or on...

never

10 yards broadside at a 4x3 whitetail buck... Why I was sitting looking down into a timbered saddle. I picked him first at about 100 yards allowed to close to me about 60, picked up the Hawken rested on the stump in front me set the set trigger and decided I wait until the next time he paused and I had a clear shot I would drop him - well he just kept walking right at me closer and closer finally at about 10 yards he stopped looked right at me - turned broadside and I started to move the barrel just ever so little and I touchedthe trigger with the tip of my finger as I was coming left onto the animal - lots of smoke and one scared buck running down the hill - heck he may be deaf now!

78 yards quartering away and uphill in timber - Nosler dropped the buck like a rock - from an inline

Most I am not proud of but it is good for the soul to confess once in awhile - right?

[ul][*]double charged - Never[*]double balled or projectile- Never[*]dry loaded - A few times, doesn't kick much like that you know . . . . [*]shot their ramrod - Does lost after a shot count? This can'tonly be me.I see these for sale all of the time.[*]what's the easiest shot you missed and why? 30 yrds last year. A wall hangerthatnever knew I was there. I pulled up and checked for branches and other items in the way thru the scope, pulled the trigger and blew a 4" dia branch rightin front of me off of thea tree. It gets worse - The deer just stood there, I dropped two more pellets and could not get thebullit out of the reloader, I dropped it and had the same problem with the next one and so on. the reloading tubes shrunk in the cold and froze the bullit inside.Watched that deer run right by me after I started to cuss becuase I dropped the ram rod when I was beating it into the bullit to get itout of the reloading tube. It ranto the next property over- a guy there dropped it running right athim with his 12ga- 220lbs 11pts heavy mast buck with my tears on it.[*]what's the hardest shot you attempted and did you make it? 109 paces (from the base of the tree)with my first shotat a deer with my muzzle loader. The first shot did not go off because I greesed the firing pin spring and it did not hit with enough force on the cold morning The deer just looked around, so I reset the firing pin with the bolt and made the shot thru the brush, trees, andan opening in a bush. Ten yrds and he hit a tree head on and never moved agian (broke one of the antlers off on the tree through).[/ul]

Ingoldx1

Double loaded a couple of times but i caught it with the second load and the ram rod being longer. when I first got my knight bighorn I was so happy to have at that time the new 209 primer guns and was at the range. After a couple of shots I dry loaded one and then thought I had a misfire so I put more 209's in and still no luck.After cursing knight to no end and being very agressive with my gun as i took it apart to find out what was wrong with the powder I was greatly humiliated when there was no powder in the gun. Have never shot the ramrod, or lost it after the shot, lol that would be weird to not have it after the shot, it would probally drive me nuts looking for it. Easiest shot screw up was with my crossbow i got excited at a ten yard doe shot and had my thumb on the arrow barrel when I shot and the pain was so intense I didnt even look at it until I realized that my other hand that was holding the painfull thumb had no blood in it. Thumb hurt for about two days. All my shots have not been far so no braging their. My best shot though was at aeight pointer witha busted rack that i shot this year with my ml. the hornady compleatly blew up the heart, but the darn thing ran sixty yards with no heart. I was surprized that any animal could run with no pumping blood.

some of these are solid gold!! I must say, I sure have had some good laughs. I really feel much better about some of my goofs after reading yours. ingoldx1 did you take that tree home and have it mounted? You know that is one reason I never carry the projectiles in the speed loaders. I carry them in a separate Altoids tin. Not that it was all that important but one winter hunt it was -28ºs I shot a nice little fork horn buck and he dropped. I openeda speed loader dumped the powder out, but the bullet would not come out. I had to take a ramrod and push the thing out of the plastic loader. After that I carry powder in them but no bullets. That really would have been funny to have that on video while you were fumbling around trying to reload on a monster buck.

And Sabotloader you reckless devil, 200 grains of powder and a 300 grain Hornady. OUCH! lucky the scope did not come back and kiss you good.

Doe Dumper a double ball ... I know what it is like when I shoot black powder shotgun and get a good load with a lot of shot. A double ball could be painful.

mauser.. that hair trigger thing I have done on the range when I was not quite ready to shoot. That's why I always shoot without gloves.

The funniest shot I ever seen missed was my buddy shooting his T/C .54 caliber Hawkins. We know he gets buck fever really bad. And we tease him all the time about it. He was in a blind with me and I told him to get ready because a huge doe was coming. And I whispered don't you miss this one. She walked up and stood broadside to him at 15 yards. He had his rifle on the sill of the blind window and his a$$ was shaking so bad from buck fever I had to bite my tongue not to laugh. When he finally fired the deer stood there looking at him. He shot right under her. He turned to me, smiled and said, "man I am a little shaky today" she ran off out to about 70 yards and I handed him my renegade and told him take a deep breath andtry and shoot when she is not looking at you. He touched off my Renegade and dropped her with a spine shot. He almost missed her again.

The most foolish thing I have done so far was last Friday evening in the cabin getting ready for the opening of muzzleloading season the next morning doing a final check of everything Ifound out I left the brech plug for the omega on the shelf in the gun safe so a quick 30 mile trip back to town 30miles back then life was good. As far as best and worst shots this is my first year with a muzzleloader ive taken two deer with it so far but no long shots or missed deer.