Are you still having fun ???

[Pahoo]

On my progression through this leaning curve called muzzleloaders, I have found that there are folks who just want to load, shoot and have fun. Then there are those idea of fun, is to nitpick every aspect of this Great Adventure. Nothing wrong with that as that is just the way we are. I was introduced to M/L's by a three families of BuckSkinners, back in the early 80's. The Tipis were up, campfire burning and fresh coffee. Then we started filling the valley with BP smoke and thunder. Still can't get the smell of sulfur out of my sinuses. .....

Then I started shooting competition and life was no longer simple and the fun-factor took a back seat. I once shot with a fella who was not happy until he shot a 1" group at 100yds. He wrote articles for a number of magazines. I once asked him if he was having fun and he responded with indifference. ...

1) pure lead RB's are very forgiving and will shoot well if not perfectly round. Can't say that about Conicals and Sabotted rounds.

2) BP and most of it's replacements are also very forgiving and a few grains off, makes little difference.

3) One does not have to reinvent a good patch-lube just have to make sure it's consistent, even if it's your own spit.

So personally, the more I dissect this great adventure, the less fun, I have.

Have fun and;
Be Safe !!!

 

[maillemaker]

You never want to get lost in the gears so you lose the wonder of the machine.

I can relate because I have always been "cookie" oriented. I want to win the cookie. I don't undertake tasks if I'm not good at them.

Fortunately for me I've always done well at N-SSA competition. I've taken medals at every skirmish I've gone to over the last 3-4 years. I don't think I'm that great - it's just that most everyone else is so old their eyes are shot.

But what I like about shooting competitions is it is different from most every other sport in that while you are doing it you have no idea how you are doing compared to other people. When I'm shooting, I'm shooting against myself every time. I have fun blasting away at breakable targets with my team even if we are in last place. Every shot is a chance to prove myself. It's fun.

Steve

 

[Doc Hoy]

Yep...Still having fun

I load alone, go to shows alone, fix revolvers alone, make tools and accessories alone and shoot alone.

I like the solace.

 

[BlackPowderBen]

Yeah I'm having fun. I just set up some steel targets to try some long distance target shooting with a cap and ball in a little while, though I'll probably miss. Sometimes the slow loading frustrates me a little, but I'm making paper cartridges sometimes now and their great.

 

[g.willikers]

The enjoyment with everything I've gotten involved with has always been the process of learning to do it well, and everything about it.
Muzzle loaders included.
Accuracy, competition, plinking, developing loads, whatever...
It's all part and parcel of the fun.
Now, if ya' try to turn your hobby into a business, that's usually when the fun stops.

 

[Fingers McGee]

I have fun traveling all over the country to shoot with other CAS shooters, seeing old friends and making new ones. Makes no difference if I win, place, show or just show up to shoot.

 

[Hawg]

I might nitpick the historical part of it but like Doc I shoot alone. I do what's fun for me and I abhor shooting paper. It bores me to tears so I rarely do it unless I'm trying out a new gun or working up a load. Give me a coke can, a milk jug full of water, clay pigeons, even a rock to shoot at and I'm happy. If I miss I miss and don't worry about it. I'm not trying to impress anybody or giving myself something to brag about.

 

[salvadore]

Doc sounds like an anti social curmudgen (sp?)who has little use for humanity or his fellow men, I like that.

 

[wogpotter]

Yes, I'm back to having fun again.
For a while there I got so into a specific oddball quest all I did was test, experiment & refine.
It goes through phases with me.

 

[Gavlan]

You bet I'm having fun ,in fact I had some of that today.
You see I got this new 55 gal burn barrel out back and it needed some air holes so out came the 1860 and the job was done,,, oh what fun...

 

[BlackPowderBen]

Sounds like fun Gavin. Today my cap and ball shooting didn't turn out so well. First off, my homemade powder stunk, (no not literally, but it shot at about 50 Fps, which will obviously not suffice) so I got out everyones favorite powder, Pyrodex. Next my '58 ram rod screw broke, that's the second time thats happened to me. But that's all part of the black powder game

 

[Bishop Creek]

Hawg

I might nitpick the historical part of it but like Doc I shoot alone. I do what's fun for me and I abhor shooting paper. It bores me to tears so I rarely do it unless I'm trying out a new gun or working up a load. Give me a coke can, a milk jug full of water, clay pigeons, even a rock to shoot at and I'm happy. If I miss I miss and don't worry about it. I'm not trying to impress anybody or giving myself something to brag about.

I hear you Hawg, I do the same thing, mostly shoot alone except when my brother comes to visit. Same with shooting paper, my latest thing is buy a 24 pack of cheap Springfield soda cans, shake 'em up, set 'em out, them shoot them. Love the explosive reaction when they are hit by a .44 round ball.

 

[4runnerman]

I shoot with or with out people. I have never put a fun label on shooting, Never have had to. It has been something I have enjoyed my whole life. I just can't get enough of it. I am a nit picker to the point od being anal, but I like that. I always look to get better and better. That is the challenge for me.. When the bullseye gets to easy-Move it farther out or make it smaller. The challenge never ends that way.

 

[44 Dave]

Had fun today, shot alone with the '51. Shot 6 from the hip,which I haven't done in a long while. I was surprised all 6 rang the 12" steel plate at 'bout 10 yards.

 

[99whip]

No doubt about it

Definitely having fun.

And so many ways to change the game to keep it fresh and new, rifles, cap&ball, flint, turning beat-up guns back into shooters, home-made supplies, the list goes on and on.

I'm sure I don't shoot as much as many of you, but in a lot of ways that keeps it fun and always has me looking forward to my next shoot. Heck, I work from home and usually have a C&B sitting beside me on the desk just for picking up and cycling through it every now and again. No, I'm not addicted.

99whip

 

[Tidewater_Kid]

Always enjoy my black powder items. I started with C&R rifles and pistols, but it's the black powder riles and pistols the usually go to the range now.

Still have lots to learn, but always have fun!

TK

 

[BlackPowderBen]

How's the 1851 sheriff tidewater?

 

[Tidewater_Kid]

It works fine. I polished the insides and it much smoother. I really like the balance and it fits well with the 1860 and 1858.

TK

 

[bedbugbilly]

If you're not having fun . . . then why do it?

I once shot with a N-SSA team a number of years ago. We had a couple of guys who took it waaaaay to seriously. When we'd go to matches . . . the night before they would sit up most of the night weighing their minie balls and powder charges so that everything would be "exact". Me . . . I much preferred sitting around the fire visiting and laughing with the other members - the camaraderie to me was one of the best parts of it. I once asked those two guys if they though that every soldier in the Union or Confederate Armies sat around the night before a battle and weighed their bullets and powder? Sometimes . . . folks can worry about things so much that they have to invent solutions to problems that don't exist . . . sort of like Washington, D.C.

On the other hand, I used to shoot with a VERY informal round ball club. We'd have shoots on a Sunday afternoon once a month. Thee might be three show up or ten . . didn't matter. Everyone would bring a little trinket for the prize blanket and you got to choose in the order of how ou shot. It was very relaxed . . sometimes we'd shoot at lollipops, sometimes cans, or a mark on a wood shingle . . . didn't matter. We all had fun . . it was relaxing and everyone gave a good razzing to whoever was up to shoot.

Kind of like going to Friendship. I don't think I ever met anyone down there that just wasn't a "good person". Sort of goes with the hobby.

I've seen a lot of folks "come and go" from the hobby over the years. If you're not having fun, then you need to discover why . . . even if it means moving on to another hobby. If there's one thing I've learned over the years . . life is way to short to waste time on something you don't enjoy and that doesn't put a smile on your face.

And Doc . . . you're not the only one who shoots alone. I usually do myself most of the time . . . I like it that way. I'm not in to "competition" anymore so by shooting alone, the only person I have to beat is myself . . . and believe me . . most of the time "it ain"t that hard to do"! What can I say . . . I'm getting old!

 

[BlackPowderBen]

I shoot by myself most of the time too BBB, and It's fine, I just take my time and have fun, I've been making paper cartridges before my shooting sessions sometimes now to speed things up a little