Yesterday, I picked up Randy and we went out for a little shooting. He had purchased a .22 and wanted to play around with that dispite it being a piece of junk. It hits a plate okay but we wouldn't depend on it for picking off domino squares.

I usually load up my JP Murray for hunting and it was time to unload as I've decided not do the blackpowder season this year. As predicted, it was pretty much right on the mark. I use the .570 patched round ball. I've had folks tell me to use the .575 ball but you should always use what you know will work. The next shot was with a minnie ball. I've always suspected the lead used for these were too hard and the keyhole left at 7:30 five inches from mark proofed it.

I took out the .32 Crockett rifle which is an excellant squirrel gun but missed the 2'x2' target. ????? Increased the load and fired again. Still no sign of cutting paper. Enough of that...so I went to the .54 Mississippi, but the same results. Well, that meant probably one thing and so we traversed the range. Now the range is in the woods you see, and is not exactly clear. We could see signs were the balls had hit trees that happened to be in the way. As frustrating as it was, it all part of the game. Tried one last shot with Murray and it hit pretty close to mark with another keyhole. Getting hit with a minnie is one thing, but jest, getting by an unstable one spinning end for end....that must had made you see God a minute before you died! You talk about pain!

I pulled out the 38 Conversions and we fired off a box of shells at the steel plates. The young bucko learned why you never switch hands with a cocked revolver.

For the fun of it, we took apples from the nearby tree (now on the ground) and began putting them at a close/medium distance say 15-20 yards. Here is were the fun really started. The senario was we were being attacked by a batch of bad yankee apples.

It is really hard to see when you first hit due to the smoke but there were a few times I caught glimps of exploding apples. It is even more neat when after a few seconds pieces are still falling from the air. It was about 4 o'clock when we started this phase and we had 7 apples to take care of before dark. Randy experienced a struck ball but was able to extract it being near the muzzle. He managed to get one more down the bore to fire one more before resorting to his "cap" gun. He did hit on the last shot and apple guts went everywhere.

It was touch and go for a while. I ran out of ammo for the Mississippi and resorted to my squirrel gun. It turned out both of these weapons were pretty accurate, when no trees were in the way. Frustrated with his "cap" gun, the young bucko kneels and fires. "Not very manly!" I stated and sat down to use the crossed legged elbow position. Just as I was about in position, from the stress of my extra girth and lack of exercise, the gun fired before I was finished sighting in. Too our surprise (as Miss Patti had just arrived) the bad apple was bobbing on the tree. Nothing like a bad wounded yankee apple to give you trouble! This one was really stuck on the tree. The cap gun was only making it madder! Darkness closing in, we took advantage and moved closer.

Having run out of caps for the Squirrel gun, I had to resort to the Murray. The first shot grazed it again but in defiance, it clung to the branch. The next shot made sauce of him....apple sauce that is!

After weeks of campaigning, it was good to get out and just have fun!

Now there are some who are concern about shooting live. There are inherent dangers with everything you do. The main concern is what to do about possible lead down the barrel. Most of the time the problem comes when the lead ring separates from the ball during ignition. It is usually lodged in bore according to popular belief. To counter the problem (if you want to shoot), use only patched round ball.

If you use minnie, there are still some things you can do. For the really consciencious, get two guns, for everyone else... invest in a small bore light. When cleaning, take notice of roughness with the patch going down. If there is concern that lead may be in the barrel, there are several products that will soft it up. First off clean the musket until a really clean patch comes out, then use the solvent. Signs are that if it comes out dirty after a few swipes you may have lead in the barrel. Just keep swabbing till it comes out clean. It sounds simple and it is to a extent but you may be swabbing for a few days. Some products recommend coating and leaving in for a day or so and then swab. This gives the solvent time to be absorbed and soak in, softening the leads contact with the bore. Again there is no better substitute than patched round ball to counter this problem.

Will