Larry A. Smail's Blog

Bob and I walked along. I decided to carry the little .410 shotgun and, possibly, get a couple of squirrels. Bob was hunting deer with his flintlock. I saw a squirrel in the gray, dismal morning light, but elected not to  take it for we were walking in a deer bedding hotspot.

      Bob went to a favorite place to watch as I walked around forgetting to watch for squirrels. I peered over an embankment only to watch a red fox easing through the brush. Later, I walked onto four gobblers. I was wondering why we hasn’t seen any turkey or turkey sign just prior to seeing them.  Later I would see more turkeys.

I moved out one deer and apparently many more for Bob saw at least nine. He managed one shot but missed. I trailed the deer for a long way with no sign of a hit. Bob was having a tough time. he broke his short starter and the 50 caliber ball lodged tight about 7 inches from the muzzle. We couldn’t budge the ball so the hunt was over and it wasn’t even nine o’clock. We would be heading home

We removed the barrel and touch hole in order to dump the powder. The only way we could do this ball removal was to drill it out. I  cleaned the barrel and did some experimenting. I told Bob to avoid the lead balls with a spue or file them off. I believed the spue twisted upon loading thus wedging the ball tight in the rifle’s barrel. (The spue is a small amount of lead material left upon the casting of lead balls. The lead is melted and poured into a bullet mold.)

      We saw three more deer while leaving. The deer were at an exact same place where I managed a photo last week.  Something there attracts them , but they are easy to spot.

After repairs and corrections were made the two of us enjoyed mom’s home cooking!