mauser06

today was the opener of a week long muzzleloader doe hunt...i was out with dad in the morning as he squirrel hunted along a ridge trying to get the deer to move my way....weather was cold REAAAAAALLY windy and sprinking..i had my tc 50 cal hawken flintlock..im fine in the rain i know how to handle it...went home and met up with 3 buddys...2 were going to drive for me and my other buddy...first drive they kicked a doe out but it snuck into the corn to quick....second drive they kicked out a 6pt...i didnt see him but couldnt shoot him either way..would been nice to see him though...3rd drive i was on the phone for the beginning of it..but it was a long one so they were far off...i had to talk to a guy about my truck being fixed...i get off....im sitting there waiting...got a cows knee on the lock just because it was raining off and on and the leaves were wet and i dint want a drop to fall off onto the lock...out of nowhere i see something sneaking through the brush 5yds away...im like hey a rabbit...then it came out...and it was a deer....then 2 more behind her....stopped right infront of me.....5yds away...i slip the cows knee off crack back the hammer and they bolt...they cross a creek 20yds away and i stop them....while i was panicing..swinging my gun and setting my hair trigger...i picked out the biggest and was starting t oget my gun in her direction when KABOM...the gun went off....while trying to move i bumped the hair trigger and off it went...stupid mistake....i learned my lesson...checked up on it to make sure i didnt accidently hit any of them and trailed them for a little ways to make sure....found where i hit and there was not a hair...i know i wasnt close....i cant believe i did that....i learned my lesson...dont set the hair trigger till your on target!!! im kicking myself so hard...i cant believe i did that...now i know why some guys say dont hunt with hair triggers....i know ill never hunt with gloves on using it....and gota watch next time..it was heat of the moment as they ran off and i wasnt thinking about it....im going to play with it tonite and see if i cant add a few ounces to it....its set as the book says to have it set....the regular trigger is stiff and creepy and it makes shooting a flinter accurately pretty tough.....so i like the hair trigger...just gota learn from my mistake...worst part is i had to tell the story to 3 buddys i was with....just thought id share my story...maybe someone will learn from my mistake....or have advice or some words or encouragement....i shouted some pretty bad words after the gun went off lol....i knew what happend.....live and learn....mondays another day i guess.....

Tree climber

[][&o][&:] ; don't that make you fell ; well stupid???? sorry just had to say that.we all do things like that.better luck next time.

cayugad

You're not the first one to have done that and will not be the last. At least you had a great day hunting, you saw deer, and technically did get a shot at one. Next time you will get one. The set trigger is fine, if you have the time to see them coming and they are not moving away from you. Otherwise I just use the front trigger. Good luck in the future hunts.

m.t.hands

ha ha ha, surprise[:-]

glad nothing like that has ever happened to me, not today anyway, to bad we couldn't have all been there to see the look on your face

lonewolf5347

TO ME THE ONLY DISADVANTAGE WITH THE LOCKS ARE THAT YOU HAVE TO SQUEEZS THE TRIGGER AND COCK THE LOCK AT THE SAME TIME ,OTHERWISE THE METAL SNAP OF THE LOCK WILL SPOOK ANY DEER AT CLOSE RANGE

roundball

Did the same thing about 10 years ago...set the trigger on a TC Hawken, and slipped a gloved finger into the trigger while bringing the rifle up...scared me more than the buck who then proceeded to haul a$$ into the next county...never used a set trigger for hunting in cold weather since...only use it for precise target work the rest of the year.

So I pulled all my TC Hawken locks, and using a dremel wheel, polished the sear tip and tumbler notch until I got the front triggers down to a nice smooth 3 lbs pull...strong enough not to be bothered by a gloved finger and still a good, easy, accurate trigger for hunting

mauser06

the look on my face was priceless....it was....out of nowhere.....i wasnt expecting it at all.....i didnt PULL it......i remember it brushing the side of my finger....just barely.....i get off at 5 every day this week so by the time i get home change and drive back down the hill 2 mins to my spot ill have an hour of light to burn......might be able to catch them moving out of the beds....i got a little spot picked out right beside the beds....winds right....and i can sneak in there without making a peep.....thursday i plan on going north to the mountains for the day..ill see what i can do..........

MikeE51848

I can top that. A couple a years ago, I took careful aim at a doe, set the hair trigger, touched off the hair trigger, and heard a "thunk". Not a "click", or a "poof", but a "thunk". I forgot to remove the frizen cover I had in place to prevent accidental discharges. Oh well, at least it worked.