"Can't" hunt with a flintlock

[Sparkitoff1]

"Can't" hunt with a flintlock

I received an invitation to hunt for a specific cull buck at a local property. After talking to the owner about the when, where, etc. he asked what rifle I would be using.  I told him a .54 caliber flintlock. There was a moment of silence. Then he said "have you ever killed anything with that"? I ran down a short list of recent hunts. There was more silence. He said, "I need to take this deer out of the area and I can't afford to spook him and ruin the chance of getting him. I also don't have all day to look for a wounded deer". I assured him the rifle/PRB would be quite deadly on a whitetail and that it shoots tight groups out to 100 yards. "100 yards", he exclaimed. "You can shoot that thing 100 yards". I said I'd prefer that the deer be closer but shooting from the blind he described I could easily hit the deer right at 100 yards if necessary. More silence. He finally said, "This isn't going to work out. If you want to use my 300 Magnum or you have a real rifle I'll let you hunt but I'm not taking a chance with you shooting that old thing". Oh well - I declined the hunt and wished him luck finding someone else that would be interested. 
First time I've ever been told I "can't" hunt with my flintlock"!

 

[exMember]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

wow! I honestly don't know what to say about that.

 

[strong eagle]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

thanks for the post, dont know what to say either. in n.dak years ago i got 1 inch groups with a hawken rifle i built 50 cal at 100 yards. the guy beside me with his 300 mag wetherby was getting 6 inch groups. he was a bad shot. he got mad at me and left the range. i felt good though. dont even try to reach these people, they are way over the hill and gone.

 

[Kentucky Colonel]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

Well, its his property. Gotta play by his rules. He just lacks the understanding of the weapon I guess. Maybe out west is a little different due to distance? I hunt mostly hills and scrub so a long shot is not usually the 'go to' option.

I know people who refuse to take black powder seriously. (My friend Spartan comes to mind. I am working on him) But, dead is dead. There is no such thing as 'more dead.' 

I was asked not to use Black Powder on a boar hunt. The owner was concerned about my safety and had no personal experience with me and little with BP. After the first successful hunt together, he paid me the compliment of telling me that I was welcome to bring a black powder weapon the next time. I considered that a high compliment. Oh, and I carry a back up on boar hunts. They can be mean.

And, we all know a flint can be finicky to spark sometimes.

 

[burlesontom]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

I would suggest you set up a target at 100 yards and show him what your gun will do as far as accuracy then set up some water bottles and blast those those to demonstrate the power of the load. Then again some people are closed minded and can't or don't want to learn.

Who the hell hunts deer with a 300 mag??? Are the deer so big a 30-30 will no longer kill them? Sounds like this guy is a bit of a Bozo. And he can't kill his own problem deer?

I think you did the right thing backing out of that hunt. :thumbs up:

 

[Buck Conner1]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

Sounds like he didn't tell you what his reasoning really was. Probably has had a bad experience with another hunter using a flintlock, now all flintlocks are bad.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

I received an invitation to hunt for a specific cull buck at a local property. After talking to the owner about the when, where, etc. he asked what rifle I would be using.  I told him a .54 caliber flintlock. There was a moment of silence. Then he said "have you ever killed anything with that"? I ran down a short list of recent hunts. There was more silence. He said, "I need to take this deer out of the area and I can't afford to spook him and ruin the chance of getting him. I also don't have all day to look for a wounded deer". I assured him the rifle/PRB would be quite deadly on a whitetail and that it shoots tight groups out to 100 yards. "100 yards", he exclaimed. "You can shoot that thing 100 yards". I said I'd prefer that the deer be closer but shooting from the blind he described I could easily hit the deer right at 100 yards if necessary. More silence. He finally said, "This isn't going to work out. If you want to use my 300 Magnum or you have a real rifle I'll let you hunt but I'm not taking a chance with you shooting that old thing". Oh well - I declined the hunt and wished him luck finding someone else that would be interested. 
First time I've ever been told I "can't" hunt with my flintlock"!


His ignorance, his property, his rules. Right or wrong, accept it and move on.

 

[Sparkitoff1]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

I am still surprised by this, but not bitter. I appreciate the invitation in the first place and I don't need to shoot "his" deer.  I'll find another opportunity to use my flintlock. He can find someone else to hunt there I am sure. There is a glimmer of sense. He decided that he would think about it and if I call him on Oct 24th and there is nobody else interested in that deer he will make a final decision. The caveat is that he said "if we do this and you miss or wound that deer I am charging you for him because I will loose out on spooking the whole place for weeks". OK, whatever...

 

[Jack Ryan]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

If I wanted the deer I'd just use his rifle or one of mine he found acceptable. He was plenty generous to make the offer. If I didn't want the deer I'd have passed regardless of his weapon preferences and give someone who wants it a chance.

Sounds to me the guy just wants that deer taken out and it's a nuisance animal in his mind. I know all about getting rid of a problem and giving them an education just makes it 10x worse. I wouldn't hold that against him and I don't think it has anything to do with "ignorance". It has to do with he was doing someone a favor, I think he doesn't know well and turned out to look like to him and opportunity to make his own problem a lot worse.

 

[Buck Conner1]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

I came home from East Asia in the 60's, the first job I got in PA and NY was called "Animal Control" for both states. I was furnished a rifle and ammo (as much as I needed) and a Ford 1/2 ton pickup with a winch in the bed. Trenches were dug 20 feet long, 6 feet deep and the width of the backhoe bucket.  Being not that wide, horns had to be remove to fit the trenches, once filled they would be covered.  

In those days they didn't bother trying to save the meat (many animals were taken when it was hot in summer - wormie). 

The rifle was a Winchester Model 70 in .264 mag (have no idea why this caliber when shooting so close)? I was allowed to kill any deer, fox or other animal that was considered a problem. Hunted 7X24, could use spotlight, vehicle lights or whatever helped in the harvest.  My main hunting grounds were the estates of the wealthy (Remington, Duponts, Kenneys and so on). They didn't want animals eating their flowers and bushes. 

Biggest problem was lining up your target with a backstop - tree, dirt bank or hill to stop the bullet from running wild (always a time consuming effort).

Some of the gardeners would tell me if the property owners were or weren't home so I didn't get to close to there resident when shooting. Most were one shot kills, then loading was a problem to get the animal out to my truck without bothering the residents (usually used an estate tractor with a cart and animal covered with a tarp). 

Once at one of the trenches horns would be cut off and animal placed in the trench. I would save the horns for several knife and revolver grip makers selling them by the pound (free money).

I lasted only 18 months and got tired of the job and moved on to something else. 

I can see both sides of this discussion after the experiences just told, can be a hard call either way to keep everyone happy.

 

[Rick N Bama1]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

I guess Deer have evolved to the point that it now takes a gee whiz super duper magnum to kill them.

 

[Buck Conner1]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

That's funny you mentioned "Deer have evolved to the point that it ....", they are getting smarter every year with the pressure they are experiencing today. When hunting in PA and NY back in the 50's we would see whitetail get down on their knees and crawl by a hunter (me included on a warm afternoon sitting under an apple tree).  

Mule deer weren't that smart, they would walk right out in front of you (probably not having the hunting pressures like seen back east).  Today I'm seeing muleys act like their counterpart whitetails brothers and watch them get down and crawl around too.

 

[R. Boone]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

Well I shouldn't even make a comment here but I will. I see you also live in N.C. and from my experience, with these current day trophy clubs an trophy hunters they have gone crazy. I know you did not say this offer came from N.C . But I do know for a fact that some of these young guys have gone completely crazy over deer, an deer hunting. Don't get me wrong I have hunted all my life an killed many deer some trophy class and most of the big ones are only killed by accident, and most of the time if a buck is in his home range you can't run him off, but during the rut he will surly go looking for does. I've also saw deer walk right dead deer an didn't even pay attention to them so even if you did shoot him an not find him so what. I know I have been ranting but this is one of my pet peeves many of the young generation of hunters have taken the fun out of hunting an turned it into a job or a big ego trip.

 

[Buck Conner1]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

You see what the ranches in the west charge for big racked animals, hundred of thousands of dollars is not uncommon today. The "Spider Bull" (world record) was in the $$$ three hundred thousand range $$$, the hunter marketed what was used and has almost gotten back double his expenses for the hunt. It's all about the mighty buck $$$ ....

 

[heelerau]

Re: "Can't" hunt with a flintlock

Unfortunately, his property, his rules.