Powder horn

[RhodeHunter]

I was thinking of making a powder horn. Decided to put it off.

By the way, someone on eBay is selling 6 finished powder horns for $42 free shipping.

Type "powder horn" and scroll down about twenty-something auctions.

I don't think anybody can beat that price. I just don't need 6.

[Boerrancher]

By all 6 and sell 5 of them for $10 a piece on here, and you will get yours free.

Best wishes,

Joe

[RhodeHunter]

Joe, then I'd have to charge shipping and do a lot of packaging.

Hey, Joe, I was wondering if you could PM me your squirrel and dumpling recipe?

[stubshaft]

I don't mean to offend you but I have seen more than a few HSO's or horn shaped objects. The ability to use them to hold powder is the only thing going for them. They used to come from Paki and India, and were polished with a hole drilled in them and a plug on the end. They were not thinned down to lighten them and be able to see your powder level. Did not in some cases have an efficient means of filling with powder and there were a few that had noxious odors from not having the inside cleaned properly.

You get what you pay for, especially on flea bay.

[DIRT Farmer]

I enjoy using what I have made while hunting or just shooting. The 28 trade gun I built in 2001 after heart surgry, the horn and antler mesures that summer and the shot pouches some time before that, for use with the 20 bore trade gun. The 50 flinter I built in 1984, and am on the third pouch. I have a few pieces that friends have built for me in my kit. I have one horn that was bought off the shelf, it's my loaner.
A day in the woods or on the range with equipment I have worked on although not as purdy as some build is a good day.

[Boerrancher]

I understand fully about getting more enjoyment out of something you have made over something you have purchased. I also enjoy items that folks have made for me. I have a possibles bag that was hand made for me that is very simple and traditional No fancy buckles, beads, straps, or anything else. It does have a bit of fringe on the bottom, but I was wanting a bag that looked like an Indian would use, so I had a friend of mine who is an Indian make it for me. She is very talented with such things, and is more about traditional looking stuff that would have actually been used, not some fancy beaded junk that looks silly. I made my own powder horns and no they are not pretty but they work, and that to me is all that matters. Now I just need to learn to build my own muzzleloaders.

Best wishes,

Joe

[DIRT Farmer]

Joe the wood is the cheap part,if you don't go overboard. I have put several stocks in the wood stove and still have a yellow pine stock that turned out ok on a smooth bore.It started out as a #2 2 x 8.
I have a gum blank here that I am trying to get my nerve up to start on, garoonteed not to split.

[Boerrancher]

I have cut lots of stocks, both one and two piece, over the years for center fire rifles, pistols and shotguns, but never for a muzzleloader. I have a gun or two that the stocks started out as a rough cut pallet grade 2 x 6 or 3 x 6 if it was to have a cheek rest. I have a little rolling block Phulbert's 22 cal rimfire that I have been working with off and on for 20 years. I cut the stock out of a piece of maple from a shipping pallet. It would be a good gun if I had it relined, and reblued. One of these days I will finish it, just like my 308 mountain rifle, my 30-06 national match target rifle, and the countless other projects I have started and not finished. Hence the main reason I am hesitant to spend the money on a good ML trade gun kit and not finish it. Maybe if I have to have another surgery on my leg and am laid up for 10 or more weeks I may consider working on a trade gun to keep me occupied. I will be on crutches so the ability to run very far away from the project will be difficult. Also if I make the SWMBO actually pay for it, she will be more likely to force me to finish it... "I spent all that money and now it is just laying there in your work room...blah blah blah" We will see. I would like to have one.

Best wishes,

Joe

[mooman76]

Thanks for bringing this up. Been wanting to make one for a long time and I keep getting sidetracked and forget about it. I want to try my hand at some scrimshaw too.

[RhodeHunter]

They were not thinned down to lighten them and be able to see your powder level. Did not in some cases have an efficient means of filling with powder and there were a few that had noxious odors from not having the inside cleaned properly.

Yes, I was reading a book that mentioned thinning the walls. If I make one sometime, I will be doing that, for sure. Also, the one I was given, I don't think will pour very smoothly. The gentleman took out the spout plug, and tapped the horn with a thread tap, and screwed in a bolt. I imagine a brass insert would pour better. Just a guess on my part though. I suppose if I didn't want traditional, I could use a lot of other things to hold powder though. Like small glass or plastic liquor bottles.

[Boerrancher]

I don't have brass spouts on my powder horn. There is just a hole drilled through them for a spout and a hand cut wooden or antler plug is inserted in the hole. The big horn fills a powder measure nicely, and the smaller one primes the pan quickly. Nothing fancy about any of them they just work.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Bullet Caster]

I've made two sets of powder horns with my dad. My first ones were Civil War type with the installed brass fittings, both having brass filling plugs. The main charge powder horn was fitted with a 90 grain spout and the priming powder horn had a little brass tip that would throw 1 1/2 to 3 grain priming charge as it was adjustable. I sold those horns that my Dad and I made and I made me two very simple new ones with a fiddle tuning peg in each for stoppers. They go well with the possibles bag I made out of old chair leather that was being thrown away for a replacement with new leather. I have made many CW wallets, haversacks, shirts, pants (used to sew), etc. over the years. Nothin' like using gear that you've made yourself. BC

[Boerrancher]

A friend of mine who I shoot MLs with allot has an authentic powder horn from the French and Indian War that has a fiddle tuning peg in the end of it as a stopper. It seems the powder horns from that time period were a bit fancier than those made just a few years later during the Revolution. I have started studying powder horns as of late, don't know why. I guess the differences in styles from the different time periods caught my attention. It is funny how when man has a bit of time on his hands he somehow feels the need for artistic embellishment. We see it through out our history, from cave paintings to powder horns. We are certainly interesting creatures.

Best wishes,

Joe

[mooman76]

I actually got a package of the 6 horns. I figured what the heck for the price. $7 apiece to my door. I been wanting to practice doing scrimshaw and I'd rather practice on something cheap first and these qualify. They have them on ebay for different prices(shipped) and the more you buy the cheaper they are. Yes they are still from India, and thick and not a very good way to fill but can be filled with a small funnel. They do look pretty good though considering the cost. Three are all black so no good for scrimshaw, although I thought I'd try getting some kind of white ink or stain and see if that might do something. Make pretty good wall hangers but I will use a couple. I have several different powders and now have several different containers besides what I already have.

[Omnivore]

You can certainly scrimshaw the black horn. I've used "China White" (a pencil with a hard, waxy pure white core) but other white pencil, ink, etc. would certainly work too. The white on black looks great and is a bit different. Try it, you'll like it.

[mooman76]

Thanks for the tip. I sure will try. I need to practice and that gives me twice as many to practice on.

[Grandpas50AE]

mooman, another tip you may find interesting. Years ago when I first got into ML, a local feller had made a really handy pour spout to fill the powder horn from a can of BP. It was a can lid with a .223 casing soldered to it and the case head drilled out and smoothed up. I still use that pour spout today, after 37 years of ML'ing to fill my powder horn. It works very nice for FF or smaller, but the case mouth is probably a little too small for F or larger granules. Just take the regular cap off the can, screw the spout cap on, filee powder horn, the remove spout cap and place regular cap back on the can. Simple, and works really well.

[mooman76]

Another great tip, thanks! My funnel works but I have to hold it there careful as it doesn't quite fit in the hole.