The Use Of Firearms By Minors Australia - The Loose Cannon

My eldest son with a .32 caliber flintlock rifle when he was a youngster.

The Use Of Firearms By Minors Australia - The Loose Cannon

http://www.sportingshooter.com.au/latest/the-use-of-firearms-by-minors-australia-the-loose-cannon

An Old Rule Of Mine.

An old rule of mine is never place yourself too close to the right side of a person shooting a flintlock. There are two escape roots for the pressure in the barrel when the gun is fired, one is the muzzle, the other is the vent. If you are too close to the vent on someone elses flintlock, then you are going to get hit by the hot gasses & flame escaping from the vent when this gun is fired.

Take a look at an example of this shown in the movie "The Mountain Men" (1980) with Charlton Heston & Brian Keith. Keith was obviously not aware of what would happen, & if you take note of number 13 in this clip you will see what I mean!

Keith.

Wilderness Camping & Safety. FIRE.

 Any fire small or large, day or night has the potential to attract unwanted guests, so an all night fire is going to at least double that risk. Raiders are opportunists & a fire glowing in the night or the smell of smoke will draw them like ants to honey. Because I am a living historian, my historical treks have to be as authentic as possible. Now even today there are risks in camping out, but back in the 18th century those risks were far greater, so I set myself scenarios. Some nights I have camped with no fire, this requires knowledge of how to stay alive in winter with little bedding, because bedding is bulky & adds weight to your pack. It also requires knowledge regarding what foods to carry, because with no fire, you can not cook food, so you need to carry some food that can be eaten without having to cook it.

Other nights I do light a small fire in a fire hole. This is a scrape in the ground to contain the fire surrounded by rocks back & sides. The heat reflects off the rocks back into my shelter, & they help hide the fire from prying eyes. But a small fire does not last long once I have fallen asleep, & at some time in the night the cold will wake me & I will stoke the fire from my supplies under cover behind my bed & from a supply of wood at the end of my shelter. Despite the fact that I am always mindful & therefore alert to sounds in the forest, this waking up from the cold is for me a security measure. It is an opportunity to look & listen to the sounds around me before I make up my mind as to whether or not I should re light or stoke the fire.

If I had placed a large log on the fire to keep it going all night I would probably sleep soundly, certainly I would not be waking frequently because of the chill seeping through my bedding. This would create a security risk, one because as I have already said, the fire would be noticeably visible from a distance at night, & secondly because I would not be so alert. Just something for you to think about next time you are camping out & practicing your skills.

Keith.

Help Dave get his guns back

David Dunstan is a farmer from the NSW town of Bungowannah. 

At 3:30am on Thursday 14th September, a man armed with a knife and piece of wood knocked on his back door.

David grabbed his unloaded 22 rifle to confront him - aware that the man had earlier confronted one if his neighbours who scared him off with a hockey stick. Dave managed to convince the man to sit in his car and drive him to the police station, while his wife called the police.

The police met David halfway down his driveway and placed his unwelcome guest under arrest.

The problem is, the police paid David another visit later in the morning to take his guns off him!

We've been working with David to try and see what can be done.  So we're starting this campaign to help him hire a lawyer who specialises in NSW firearms legislation to get his guns back.

We'd like to go further - we reckon he should be compensated for the loss of his firearms, not for his benefit, but to make a stand against this type of treatment by NSW Police.

So please help our campaign to help David get the legal representation he needs - and score a win on behalf of all shooters.

Help spread the word!

 https://www.gofundme.com/help-dave-get-his-guns-back

When Making Fire-Safety.

By Robert Griffing.

When making fire be sure that you have placed your powder horn with your gun well away from the fireplace. I suggest that you secure your fire steel to your belt bag buckle. In this way you can simply drop the steel after striking so that you can place all your attention immediately on the making of fire. In this way you are never likely to lose your steel.

Always make sure there is a clear area of at least two paces around your fireplace before making fire. Pay special attention to any debris that may take fire between the fireplace & your shelter.

Keep your fire small, large fires are a danger & they are more likely to attract attention than a small fire.

Make sure your store dry kindling in the back of your shelter in case the fire should go out at night when it is very cold.

If you do not need a fire, do not light one. It may attract unwanted attention. Always carry foods that do not require cooking.

Unless it is very cold & you need a fire for warmth, extinguish your cooking fire when you have finished cooking.

If you need to keep the fire going all night, make sure you have a good supply of firewood close to hand, so you can feed the fire at night without having to leave your bed.

Smoke from a fire made close to a tree will generally be drawn to the tree & find its way upward exiting through the forest canopy. However, this can not always be relied on because of the shifting breezes in forest areas, so keep your fire smokeless when you are able. Small dry wood will create heat quickly & produce less smoke. A hot fire will create less smoke even when larger pieces of wood are used.

Make sure that you always have plenty of dry spare tinder in your pack. If you are carrying gunpowder bags, place spare tinder in these bags as they become empty. Be sure to keep your tinderbox full of tinder.

Keith.

All the world’s a stage-Shakespeare.

Painting By Andrew Knez Jnr.

All the world’s a stage-Shakespeare.

All the world may be a stage, but real life is not a play. If we fail to check our gun frequently & the hammer should accidently get knocked back leaving the pan open then our priming may be lost, & unlike in the movie Revenant starring DiCaprio, your gun will not fire should you need to use it urgently!

Wilderness living is about survival, many woodsmen did not survive because they failed to take the dangers seriously. Not looking after your gun can be fatal; you need to keep the lock clean inside & out. You need to waterproof the lock mortise & the barrel channel with beeswax or some other grease to stop the damp from swelling the wood. You need to carry a greased leather lock cover & some grease for waterproofing the pan in wet weather.

After shooting game, always reload immediately & place your gun somewhere safe close to hand where it will not fall. Field dress your game as quickly as possible & leave the area. The sound of your shot will have travelled far & may have attracted unwanted attention. If you can’t carry the whole animal then butcher out what you can easily carry. The rest of the animal can be hung in a tree to keep it safe until someone can return to retrieve it. But caution is needed in case someone is laying in wait.

You take care out there.
Keith.

Firearms Legislation. What Do We Need?

Firearms Legislation.

What Do We Need?

By any type of firearms legislation, what is the main goal? What do we want to achieve? Firstly I think we need to achieve a reasonable level of safety for Australian citizens, without impeding the freedom & rights of Australian gun owners. Note I said “reasonable level of safety”. I say that because there will always be a criminal element in our society that will ALWAYS have access to illegal firearms, no matter what our government may legislate. You simply can not expect criminals to obey the law; that is why we call them criminals!

At present in New South Wales, a person wanting to own a firearm must pass a written & practicle exam before they can obtain a firearms licence. When they want to purchase a firearm, they must apply for a “permit to purchase”. This permit must show the exact firearm that the licensed person wants to acquire, & this is done by recording the serial number of the firearm that is for sale. If that firearm is sold by the time the permit is issued, then the licensed person must start all over again, finding another gun, & applying for another permit to purchase.

Once the gun is purchased & in the charge of the licensed gun owner, it must be at all times, other than when in use or being cleaned, lock in a secure firearms safe that meets all legislation requirements. Next this firearm must be registered with the New South Wales Firearms Registry. Only two of these requirements do anything to partially secure the safety of the Australian public, & that is the licensing of the would-be gun owner, & the requirement that the firearm be secured in a gun safe. Permit to purchase & firearms registration does nothing except add more cost for the gun owner & the Australian tax payer, & of course more work & cost for the NSW Firearms Registry which is a part of the NSW Police Service.

FIREARMS LICENCE CATEGORIES

LICENCE CATEGORY A:
air rifles
rimfire rifles(other than self-loading)
shotguns (other than pump action or self-loading)
shotgun/rimfire rifle combinations.
LICENCE CATEGORY B:
muzzle-loading firearms (other than pistols)
centre fire rifles (other than self-loading)
shotgun/centre fire rifle combinations.
LICENCE CATEGORY C: (prohibited except for occupational purposes)
self-loading rimfire rifles with magazine capacity of no more than 10 rounds
self-loading shotguns with magazine capacity of no more than 5 rounds
pump action shotguns with magazine capacity of no more than 5 rounds.
LICENCE CATEGORY D: (prohibited except for official purposes)
self-loading centre fire rifles
self-loading rimfire rifles with a magazine capacity of more than 10 rounds
self-loading shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than 5 rounds
pump action shotguns with a magazine capacity of more than 5 rounds
any firearm to which a category C licence applies.
LICENCE CATEGORY H:
pistols (including blank fire pistols and air pistols).
Special licensing requirements apply for Licence Category H. They are not addressed in the Handbook. For information on pistol licences contact the NSW Police Firearms Registry.
In all Licence Categories, the licensee is authorised to possess or use registered firearm(s) of the kind to which the licence applies, but only for the purpose established by the licensee as being the genuine reason(s) for possessing or using the firearm(s).

Please note that certain classes of firearms are restricted; every would-be gun owner MUST give a good reason for owning any firearms. This of course only applies to law abiding citizens; criminals have no restrictions placed on them at all.

Also note that Muzzle-Loading firearms other than pistols require a B Class licence, the same as centerfire firearms.

Shotguns require an A Class licence. But some Muzzle-Loading guns are also shotguns, but they are on a B Class licence.

Firearms made before 1901 are classed as antiques, & providing modern ammunition can not be purchased over the counter for these guns. These antiques require no licence, permit to purchase, or registration. It is interesting to note here, that modern made Muzzle-Loading firearms are no different in design or operation than an antique Muzzle-Loading gun, yet the modern replica requires a licence, registration & permit to purchase.

Let me give you a quick run down on how a Flintlock Muzzle-Loading gun works. Gunpowder must be loaded loose, down the barrel from the muzzle using a powder measure. The shotgun is then loaded with two wads down the barrel, then loose shot also with a measure, then another wad is loaded on top. Each wad load must be pushed down the barrel with a ramrod or wiping stick. Then you have to prime the pan with more loose gunpowder. Ignition is supplied by a piece of rock, yes rock as in stone. This rock is held in the jaws of a cock. When the trigger is pulled, the cock flies forward & the piece of rock strikes the hammer. This causes sparks to fall into the priming pan igniting the priming powder which flashes through a vent into the breech of the barrel & ignites the main charge in the barrel & the gun fires.
Now I am sure, even if you are a firearms novice, that you will see that not just anyone will know how to make this gun work properly. It is NOT the choice of criminals, it is NOT the choice of people wishing to commit suicide, & it is NOT the choice of mentally ill people wishing to slaughter their family or anyone else. This gun is the choice of Living Historians, Historical Reenactors & Muzzle-Loading enthusiast, & yet the same restrictions are placed on this primitive tool as is placed on centerfire breech loading cartridge firing firearms.

PROPOSALS:

1.        I propose that the registering of all firearms be abolished. I see no reason for registration. It does allow the government to keep track of who owns what so they can be confiscated at any time, but this does not add to the well being of the general public.

2.       I propose that the Permit To Purchase be abolished. This too serves no purpose that I can see, other than to make it harder for a law abiding citizens to acquire a firearm.

3.       I propose that permit to purchase & registration be abolished for the ownership of all reproduction Flintlock, Wheellock, Matchlock, & Tinderlock firearms, including; pistols, shotguns, rifles, fusils, muskets, swivel guns, wall guns, palisade guns, & blunderbuss. Compared to the array of modern firearms available on the black market, this type of gun poses no threat to the general public what so ever, & to suggest that it does is simply not sensible or practicle & shows total ignorance on the part of the law makers.
4. I propose that all muzzle-loading guns other than percussion locks & cap & ball revolvers require only a Category A licence.
5. I propose that percussion lock muzzle-loading guns & cap & ball revolvers require only a Category B licence.
6. I propose that the requirement for all muzzle-loading pistols & cap & ball revolvers be for Hunting  & that pistol club membership not be mandatory. These primitive arms have been used for a back-up for hunting for centuries, as the muzzle-loading long arm is usually only a single shot. Carrying a muzzle-loading pistol is a humane way of dispatching game if it is wounded, & carrying one when hunting wild boar is a safety measure for the hunter.

If anyone has any views or suggestions relating to this article & firearms legislation in Australia, I would welcome their comments.

Keith.

The Matchlock gun requires a length of burning match cord to supply ignition.

The Wheellock gun requires a piece of pyrite rock to supply ignition, & a key to wind up the lock.

The Flintlock gun requires a piece of flint rock to supply ignition. If the flint is not sharp, or if the weather is wet, then this gun may not fire.

The swivel gun must be mounted on a post or a wall, it can not be fired freehand. Ignition is supplied by a burning match cord secured in a linstock. The burning match must be placed in the vent by hand to make this gun fire.

More Info On Making Powder Horns.

Many of you will remember the post and video that I made on gunpowder horn safety http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/a-powder-horn-safety-test-in-belgium.html . That post prompted a powder horn maker to contact me and tell me that he and many of his powder horn maker friends were not at all pleased with me. They you see seal the butt plug on their horns they make for sale with modern epoxy glues!!!  They do not want to admit that they are wrong, because (a) they have been using epoxy for years, and (b) I suspect they are concerned that if they admit they are wrong, then they leave themselves open to liability if one of their horns blows up and injures or kills someone.

Now by not using glue, I am not saying that the horn will not split on the sides, but what I am saying is that if the butt plug is not glued, and it blows out if the horn explodes, then this will release a lot of the pressure and you are more likely to survive with minor injuries or no injuries at all. Anyway, I have been doing some research and contacting some professional horners, and below are their comments on this issue.
You decide, which you think is safer, to glue the butt plug in, or just to make sure it seals well without using glue. To me this is just plain common sense, also they did not have epoxy glues back in the 18th and 19th centuries.

http://www.hornguild.org/articles-from-the-archives/the-screw-tip-powder-horn-from-feb-2007-edition-of-the-horn-book/;

http://cdn.caseantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/auctions/may_21_2011/64_1-1024x682.jpg;

Two original powder horns with the butt plug not present in the horn. There appears to be no sign of anything having been used to secure the butt plug except pegs or nails. Many it seems were just a very close fit and nothing was used to seal around the butt plug. Others have reportedly had beeswax, beeswax and tallow, tallow and even hemp was used to cork the seam if it leaked.

Flintlock Safety and Tips For Long Term Wilderness use of the Flintlock.

18th century powder Horns. Authenticity and Safety. A Video.

Research,Research, Research.

I have mentioned the importance of research many times before, but it never hurts to remind people. Some mistakes in what you use may just cost you some embarrasment among your fellow living historians, others can be a lot more dangerous. I contacted a well known trader some time ago regarding the authenticity of his wares, in particular his 18th century copper kettles. He said the copper kettle in question had been authenticated by the maker!!! Sorry, not good enough. People spend a lot of money on this stuff, and although you can say "well they should do their own research", the fact is that some people don't, and they put their trust in the trader.

This Trader's image suggests that this copper kettle is 18th century. I have yet to see an 18th century kettle of this size. If one existed, and documentation exists, then I would genuinly appreciate someone showing it to me.

 

Powder horns it must be said are like a bomb hanging off your shoulder. I know this sounds frightening, and the last thing I want to do is put people off the sport or stop living historians from carrying their powder horns, but the danger exists.

There are several ways in which a powder horn can explode. One is if you leave the stopper out after loading and a spark gets into the horn from you firing your gun. Another is wearing the powder horn when lighting the camp fire. The stopper in the end of the horn can build up a black powder residue around the stopper, and a spark landing on this can result in an explosion.

For these reasons, the base plug is NEVER glued to secure it. It is only sealed with beeswax and secured with no more than 6-8 small pins or wooden pegs the size of a toothpick. The reason for this is so that IF the horn should explode, the pressure will blow the base plug out of the horn instead of fracturing the horn.

This horn was made by a proffessional hornsmith, he sells these horns for a living. Note the copper reenforcing buttplate over the top of the plug. Note how many nails are securing this plate and the plug. The description also states that this horn is scraped thin enough to be able to see through it. So the horn sides are weak, and the base plug is strongly secured!
Seeing as this manufacturer has seeminly no knowledge of the danger he is creating for his clients with this horn, I would strongly question the safety of the other horns that he makes.
If you are going to purchase a powder horn, ask the seller how it has been constructed. If he/she can't tell you with any certainty, go somewhere else. Place your life in your own hands, not in the hands of the trader or the manufacturer.
The other problem with bought horns, is that some makers do not seal the plug with beeswax, and powder residue can leak around the base plug. The danger here is obvious. Blow into the horn and see if it is sealed.

 

Knife Battoning! NOT!

ALHF Safety Principles

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/0AwuTwGPO7LGib5aQ_QKxXJlfP06RgJr6nrQxRxr5s9Jodtjg9e6Y0vhSGVyhd580yF0_8689fSwnpBsb6V9Nv1wriPnh5w0ZxE6TcKd/2011%20ALHF%20Structure%20Review/ALHF%20Safety%20Principles%20-%20for%20Comment%20Feb%202012.pdf

Carrying The Tomahawk[trade axe].

My thanks to Elmo for asking about the carrying and safety aspects of tomahawks. As far as the covering of blades is concerned, I think it was a personal choice based on experience. I told Elmo about the trapper who slipped on ice and fell on his tomahawk which had no blade cover and was carried under his belt. The blade cut his hand off as he tried to break his fall.

The typical and most common way for a woodsrunner to carry a tomahawk. This woodsman has removed the blade cover because he is using his tomahawk to construct a shelter.

Again, you can see the tomahawk through the back of my belt with a linen cloth cover on the blade. My half-axe is secured under the ties on my blanket roll.

This tomahawk frog belonged to a close friend of mine who went under some years ago. His persona was that of an ex Ranger and no longer needing to carry a bayonet for his Brown Bess musket, he ellected to make this frog to just carry his tomahawk. This shows my wife's belt axe in the frog.

http://www.tattershallarms.org/gear.html

This is the type of frog carried by some Rangers and light infantry.

This mid 18th century carrier is home made and designed to carry under the arm with the strap over the shoulder.

This I believe is a copy of an original late 18th century tomahawk blade cover. I would not take this to be one of common usage.

Patterning A Smoothbore Flintlock.

This video taken from: http://frenchandindianblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/patterning-for-turkey-season.html



The only thing I will say about this video is DO NOT put your hand over the ramrod as seen here, it is an unsafe practice. If your ramrod is not long enough to grasp without putting your hand on top, then get a longer ramrod. In the image below you will see a little .32 cal Mountain Rifle with the ramrod sticking out beyond the barrel. Not all ramrods will do this, but this one to be long enough does extend beyond the muzzle.