satx78247

pidgeonblasterian, THANKS for the kind welcome. yours, satx

To All, I've shot a 6mm rifle since before many members of our forum were born. = 1965. (My first 6mm rifle was a Remington Model 740 in .244 Rem. The .244 Rem is PURE DEATH on small/medium game and on our small, but very numerous, TX whitetails. There are places in TX where there are >120 WTs per square KM.) My current 6mm "deer rifle" is a Model 76 Remington in .243 Winchester, mounting a 4x Waffen Beenewitz scope. =====> That rifle is a "GOODIE" for vermin, deer and pronghorn antelope out to 300M. (If I miss a deer with the .243, it's my fault.) For everything from European Hares to Roebuck & even Texas Whitetails, the 87 grain Remington Jacketed Hollow-point is GRAND out to 250M. For large deer, I choose the same design bullet in 105 grains. = ImVho, the less than 80 grain bullets are INADEQUATE beyond 150M & (in the hands of a cool marksman) any of the 6mm rifles are FINE killers at more than twice that range. yours, satx

Rexernui, And then considerably more, I suspect. yours, satx

kiffy, Will do. yours, tex

Wildfowler, Personally, I want to purchase an autographed copy AND should you sell the story to TV in the UK/USA, I want to buy a signed copy of the script. yours, satx

Wildfowler, Since you asked, my suggestions are as follows: 1. Don't guess what the BBC will/will not say about your project. = ASK. (I suspect that you're incorrect. - Even as "anti-gun" and perhaps even as "anti-self defense" as our Public Broadcasting System IS, I believe that they would "grab your project with both hands", as a TV show. - Only a raving lunatic or a completely clueless fool of the first rank would think that your "big gun" is a danger to anything/anybody except a few waterfowl.) 2. IF you are rebuffed by BBC, take your project to PBS, as shows out of the UK are extremely popular here "across the pond". Especially if you did another "big gun" as a muzzleloader (muzzleloaders are NOT "deadly weapons" under US "gun control laws", even including muzzle-loading cannons & mortars. = I know a man in West Virginia that has built a howitzer that fires BOWLING BALLS & it need NOT even be "registered" with law enforcement or anyone else.), I believe that PBS or one of our "private cable TV channels" (and perhaps "in harness with" WOODEN BOAT MAGAZINE) would do a series on building a gunning punt & the punt-gun. 3. Personally, I'd like a plan for a 22-24 foot punt that has a dagger-board & a "dipping lug" sail, of a sort similar to those "championed by " our great/late boat designer PHILLIP C. BOLGER and that is easily "demountable" near the actual "hunting area". (A 22-24 foot punt would be "challenging" to row/paddle for any great distance.) Further, such a plan should be amenable to "tack and tape" for those of us (I'm FAR from having your talents, tools & experience. = I'm a "dabbler", who does "do it yourself projects" because I have much more time than money.) who are far less talented at designing/woodworking/machining/metalworking than you obviously are. ====> Perhaps you should consider doing 2 sets of plans: a one-man and a 2-man gun-punt. (The larger of the 2 plans, I believe, should include a "sail plan".) and 4. Thinking on the proposed book, I really advise a 2-part book, including: 1. Your story of involvement with "punting for waterfowl", commentary on building your boat, information/photos of your family & your experiences in building techniques & commentary thereupon and 2. What we "members of the forces" would call a "tech manual" that would give VERY detailed directions, photographs, drawings and EXACT dimensions of all parts. = Such a technical manual should have as simple & "easy to follow" directions as BUILDING THE WEEKEND SKIFF by Richard Butz & John Montague has. (Persons who have never built a birdhouse have successfully built a WEEKEND SKIFF and learned to sail/row in the skiff that they built.) just my OPINION. yours, satx

Friends, A "companero" in Bastrop County, TX found the information on the Scott & Son double-barrel & forwarded it to me. = It was determined to have been made In Birmingham, UK between 1969-1875, because of the frequent changes in "writing" on the "ribbon" on the receiver's side-plates. yours, satx

wildfowler, I'm IMPRESSED. ========> BEAUTIFUL punt and BIG gun, too. (If I was already not planning to build a 2-man gun-punt and a 40MM bore muzzleloader (to use in the nation to which I'm soon retiring. = Breech-loading shotguns, larger than 11 gauge are UNLAWFUL there BUT single-shot, black powder punt-guns of up to 40MM bore and 3.5M in length are lawful for tidal-area water-fowling, your writing would have influenced me to start thinking about building one.) Nonetheless, a few questions: 1. What is the length, breadth and freeboard of the punt? 2. Have you drawn up a set of plans for the punt, which are available for purchase? 3. Have you contacted the BBC to see if they would do a mini-series on your next version of the punt & gun? (If you have NOT, you should. Our PBS would, I most strongly suspect, make you a film-star, on "our side of the pond".) AND 4. WHEN is your book coming out, such that I can purchase a copy? yours, satx

Friends, I've found an "about 12 gauge" muzzle-loading shotgun (in overall decent physical condition) by Scott & Son for sale here in the States & wonder if anyone has any information on "W&C Scott and Son" and possibly how to "date" the SxS double-barrel by approximate year of production? (I would like to use the shotgun, should I buy it, to re-enact the period of our Texas Revolution, the Republic of Texas era and the early days of our War Between the States. I may also hunt with the shotgun, if it proves to be in "safe shooting condition", once it is cleaned, inspected & re-lubricated.) My "persona" in the Revolutionary period (1834-36) is a "fictional elder brother" of my G-G-G-grandfather, who would have been an "amateur volunteer soldier" and "dirt farmer" of our little, poorly trained/equipped Texas Revolutionary Army. Some of you might be interested in knowing that: Despite the MYTH taught in our public schools here in Texas, it was not our "gathering together of" about a thousand shopkeepers, tradesmen, hunters & "poor farmers" and 2 companies of about 50 Texas Rangers, who defeated (the dictator) GEN Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana and his professional army of at least 17-18,000 "soldados". Instead it was largely the terrible Winter of 1835-36 (and the insufferable arrogance of "The Napoleon of the West") that utterly defeated the Mexican Army. That Winter was the WORST ever known in Texas & Mexico. = It SNOWED heavily that year in Mexico City! By the time of "The Miracle at San Jacinto" (The Battle of San Jacinto lasted 21 MINUTES!), well over half of the Mexican Army was suffering from malnutrition (General Houston had burned everything behind him as the Texas army retreated to the east), exposure to the bitter cold/snow/sleet/freezing rain, lack of tentage/warm clothing/blankets and had "divers diseases" (influenza, pneumonia, typhus, typhoid fever, dysentery, trench-foot, etc.) caused by poor field sanitation. (In other words, GEN Sam Houston let Santa Ana chase him until the Mexican Army was exhausted & then attacked when they couldn't fight any more.) yours, satx

foxy bingo, THANKS for the kind welcome. yours, satx

To ALL, IF anyone is interested, http://www.gunbroker.com occasionly has flintlock/percussion/breechloading single/double barreled 8bores for sale CHEAP, as they are unlawful for hunting in the USA. yours, satx

To All "punt-gun fans", Inasmuch as I've not found any actual "plans for a punt-gun" but have looked carefully at numerous big guns in US museums and have read every book that I've been able to find on the subject, I'm currently planning on "going my own way" & designing my own punt-gun from what little that I know. (Black powder handguns, rifles and shotguns are fairly uncomplicated machines.) Just this morning I found a new "old stock" Allen & Wheelock- style "under-lever" percussion action and complete lock, upon which to base my "experiment" & at an affordable price. Now, I need to locate a size #11 musket nipple, a suitable drum (which is bored/threaded to match the nipple), a proper sized "tap and die" to match the size of the drum and a suitable length of 2-inch outside diameter, hot-rolled, thick-wall, high-pressure steam-pipe for the barrel. (I have no idea what is used in the UK for a punt-gun barrel but "high-pressure steam-pipe" was used successfully for punt-gun barrels for decades in the USA, as NO black powder shotgun of any gauge/caliber will generate enough pressure to rupture thick-wall/high-pressure steam-pipe.) Once I "get farther into" the "home gun-smithing project", I let everyone know how my project is going. yours, satx

Fat bloke; Rexcernui; All, That's why it's called "shooting", "hunting" & "fishing", rather than "catching", "slaughtering" & "butchering". = It's the ENJOYING that's important, imVho. yours, satx

smokinggun, The REALISTIC range of a crossbow for most "horizontal archers" is <50M. - For me, about 40M, when firing at game, is the limit. = I'm far from an "expert archer" but I can put 3 of 3 arrows into a 10CM circle at 40M. (Here in the "south Texas brush country" a hunter is lucky to be able to SEE a game animal at 30M, much less fire at one beyond that distance, even with a 1.5 or 2X telescopic sight.= The brush and foliage is THAT thick!) Reference the planned punt-gun: Just this morning, I found an "old stock" & unused under-lever percussion action & lock that will be excellent for the gun. - It's even at a price that a pensioner can comfortably afford. Now, I need to find a 3.5M piece of hot-rolled, thick-wall, 2 inch OD, high-pressure steam pipe for the barrel and a suitable "musket-size" (# 11) nipple and drum. (I don't know what has been used for punt-gun barrels in the UK but in North America "high-pressure steam pipe" was "traditional" for punt-gun barrels for numerous decades. - NO shotgun of any gauge, firing black powder, would ever rupture such a barrel.) Pity that the UK doesn't allow longbow & arrows and/or crossbow for hunting. - Needless to say, archery is a more challenging method of taking game, when compared to firearms AND it is QUIET, too. Just my OPINION, satx

trowel7, THANKS for the kind welcome. yours, satx