Post by jameshunt on Dec 19, 2010 15:38:53 GMT -5
The use of blow tubes, or the frequency of wiping the bore in modern BPCR use and particularly competition has risen to somewhat of a bitterly argued science at times. The question is does it have any relevance to the historical commercial hide hunter.
That said, if our purpose is to represent the commercial hide hunter and provide the public with accurate historically based information, or simply to "do it as they did", I am interested in any source material you may have regarding keeping the gun shooting over a stand.
I am happy to begin this thread limiting the comments to the commercial hide hunters circa 1868 to 1882:
First, I have never read of a commercial hide hunter using a blow tube in the field. Eastern target shooters aside, at this point I simply feel that they were not used - and I would be happy to find any references to the contrary. Nor have I seen a reference to them breathing down the barrel from the business end or through the breach. At this point blow tubes should probably not be a part of our historical presentation.
Second, what does appear is that they would both cool the barrel and wipe the bore. If that is the case, the question is how frequently would they wipe the bore? And I provide the following source:
From "The Border and the Buffalo" by John R. Cook State House Press, Austin Texas 1989 (originally published 1907), page 165-166.
".... He asked if the gun was shooting all right. I told him "Yes; but the barrel is pretty warm." He told me to try my own gun a while and let his gun cool a little. We exchanged guns, and I commenced again.
".... Charlie poured some water from the canteen down the muzzle of the gun; then pulled down on the breach block and let the water run out. He then ran a greased rag in the eyelet of the wiping stick and swabbed the bore out, leaving the breach block open for a while, thus cooling the barrel, in order to have that gun ready for use when my own gun got too warm.
"I would shoot five or six times, wipe the gun, and .... I kept this work up for as much as an hour and a quarter, when I changed guns again.
The guns John and Charlie Cook were using were a .44 and a .50. This is interesting information. As we know heat, humidity, rapid fire, powder amount and type, all effect the ability of the gun to shoot consistently. Note that they simply used water, pouring it from the canteen into the bore with the breech block closed (did they let it sit for awhile?) then opening the bore. No apparent concern for water running down into the action? Perhaps they were careful. Note they followed this up with wiping the bore with "grease" that was on cloth on a wiping stick that had an eyelet.
Note also that John Cook kept his gun shooting for an hour and a quarter by wiping the bore every five or six times.
Note the classical picture of Bill Tilghman which shows him with not only his rifle, but that he apparently thought enough of his wiping stick to also include it.
That said, if our purpose is to represent the commercial hide hunter and provide the public with accurate historically based information, or simply to "do it as they did", I am interested in any source material you may have regarding keeping the gun shooting over a stand.
I am happy to begin this thread limiting the comments to the commercial hide hunters circa 1868 to 1882:
First, I have never read of a commercial hide hunter using a blow tube in the field. Eastern target shooters aside, at this point I simply feel that they were not used - and I would be happy to find any references to the contrary. Nor have I seen a reference to them breathing down the barrel from the business end or through the breach. At this point blow tubes should probably not be a part of our historical presentation.
Second, what does appear is that they would both cool the barrel and wipe the bore. If that is the case, the question is how frequently would they wipe the bore? And I provide the following source:
From "The Border and the Buffalo" by John R. Cook State House Press, Austin Texas 1989 (originally published 1907), page 165-166.
".... He asked if the gun was shooting all right. I told him "Yes; but the barrel is pretty warm." He told me to try my own gun a while and let his gun cool a little. We exchanged guns, and I commenced again.
".... Charlie poured some water from the canteen down the muzzle of the gun; then pulled down on the breach block and let the water run out. He then ran a greased rag in the eyelet of the wiping stick and swabbed the bore out, leaving the breach block open for a while, thus cooling the barrel, in order to have that gun ready for use when my own gun got too warm.
"I would shoot five or six times, wipe the gun, and .... I kept this work up for as much as an hour and a quarter, when I changed guns again.
The guns John and Charlie Cook were using were a .44 and a .50. This is interesting information. As we know heat, humidity, rapid fire, powder amount and type, all effect the ability of the gun to shoot consistently. Note that they simply used water, pouring it from the canteen into the bore with the breech block closed (did they let it sit for awhile?) then opening the bore. No apparent concern for water running down into the action? Perhaps they were careful. Note they followed this up with wiping the bore with "grease" that was on cloth on a wiping stick that had an eyelet.
Note also that John Cook kept his gun shooting for an hour and a quarter by wiping the bore every five or six times.
Note the classical picture of Bill Tilghman which shows him with not only his rifle, but that he apparently thought enough of his wiping stick to also include it.
