Here's 2 responses from another forum:
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Seems to me I have some pictures of a 1700s flare/signal gun
Sort of a Long barreled Jaeger flintlock kind of thing.
It shot illumination flares that looked like big bottle rockets
Definite wood rod down the bbl. ,fired from the shoulder.
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Quote:
Shoulder fired muzzleloading harpoon guns are still in use up here by native whalers, especially for the kill lance. Pretty common.
Memory is foggy whether it was L&C Journals or another source, but there's a historic account of one explorer or trapper that got separated from his party for some time with his rifle and powder but without his ball bag. He tried shooting small game with wooden "arrows" in his rifle, but as I recall he was pretty darned hungry when reunited.
And yeah, my wife forgot to withdraw the ramrod when shooting her 36 cal at targets. 30 grains of 3f if I recall correctly. Testimony to her marksmanship, she just missed the 10-ring on a 3" bull at 25 yards. She acknowledged feeling more recoil at the shot, but didn't realize what she had done till she started looking for her ramrod to reload.
Yeah we didn't kid her too much about it. Not after the first year anyway. Come to think about it, maybe it's time to remind her one more time.......
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fu...742008/#742008
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