Ready to hunt

[Tatume]

176175

[rfd]

yowser! :cool:

[Omnivore]

I'd say that'll do! Awesome-looking rifle. What is that?

[Taylor]

176209 reckon so....

Lyman Mustang

[Tatume]

I'd say that'll do! Awesome-looking rifle. What is that?

A hunting rifle in the style of John Rigby of London in the mid-1800s, built for me by Steve Zihn of Shoshoni, WY.

The charge is 120 grains of FFFg black powder.

[dondiego]

And the caliber is............???????? 120 grains of 3FFF! Probably not a .36.

[WebMonkey]

The target in the picture says .66?
;)

[OnHoPr]

Yea, I heard that if you hit a deer in the hoof with one of those it would knock it down.lol
Now, you just need to line up broadside about 3 or 4 deer or lions or elk.

[725]

Holy moly!! 120 gr of FFFg ! Yikes. I bet seismographs jump when you light that one off.

[rodwha]

Lyman Mustang?!?! I always thought it was an inline.

Nice!

[rodwha]

So I had to look...

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/muzzle-loaders/mustang-209.php

Did they change it up?

[Tatume]

Holy moly!! 120 gr of FFFg ! Yikes. I bet seismographs jump when you light that one off.

Actually, the builder recommended 150 grains, which is what I used at first. It didn't take very long before I decided to tone it down a bit! With 150 grains people in the next town complained that we were firing cannon at our gun club (I kid you not). The 120 grain load is relatively mild, as long as you hold the gun firmly into the shoulder.

[Tatume]

Yea, I heard that if you hit a deer in the hoof with one of those it would knock it down.lol
Now, you just need to line up broadside about 3 or 4 deer or lions or elk.

I've always wanted a one-ounce British hunting rifle, a gun I could take anywhere and hunt anything. So I went for it. I know the 12-bore rifle is over kill for deer, but it's a gun a British gentleman might have carried to Africa. It could have been used on everything from eland and lion to Thompson's gazelle and impala. I'll probably never get to hunt in Africa, but I can dream while hidden in the bush watching a likely clearing for deer. It's fun to dream.

[OnHoPr]

I know the 12-bore rifle is over kill for deer, but it's a gun a British gentleman might have carried to Africa. No, they are not overkill on anything really. At the speed there going from 50 to 100 yds, oh he[[ it probably doesn't matter what speed their going at as long as they are still moving in a horizontal line they are just going to push a big tunnel wound through an animal.

When I was a teenager I use to cast boolits for a LGS all with a paper route and shoveling snow, etc. I really can't remember doing 66s, but I remember doing 69s and 72 conicals. Two guys on a 10 lb pot, ah maybe it was a little bigger, was like BS with those size boolits. We spent more time watching the lead melt than casting. A 72 conical is a BIG BOOLIT. I wonder if they used them to shoot through fort walls or something. Maybe the navy to shoot through ships or damage more naval vessel equipment. Maybe ground level fort defense, it would probably go through 6 on charging attackers.

Anyways that dreaming is fine and necessary for long stand hunts for mental health. I bought this 94 with casting funds way back then.

176310

[scattershot]

Beautiful rifle. As for killing power, I think it's a pneumatic thing. The wind rushing through that big hole collapses the lungs for an instant kill.

[Tatume]

Thanks. I just got home from shooting it. Keeping every shot in the black is very gratifying, and confidence inspiring.

[Tatume]

Hi Folks,

Yesterday I hunted a small clearing in the woods. At one time it was a homestead, about one half mile from the nearest road. I backed into the woods on the edge and made my hide. The clearing is small, and I could see most of it from where I was. The northern edge was about 70 yards, and the southern end was 100 yards from me. I was on the eastern edge, and the western edge was 65 yards straight across. I was in very good position for any deer that ventured into the field. It was morning, and the sun was behind me.

I sat quietly all day. At midday I silently ate a small sandwich and drank some water; other than that I was very still. In the early afternoon a solitary quail walked into the clearing and was feeding directly in front of me. They used to be everywhere in Virginia, and I always enjoyed listening to them. Now they are very rare. I watched this one for about an hour. The shadows had switched from away to towards me. As the afternoon progressed the shadows from the far side of the field reached me, and the light became subdued.

At about 5:00 pm a nice buck came out to browse the field in the southern end. Slowly and carefully I eased myself into position. The buck snapped his head up several times and gazed in my direction. I knew he hadn’t seen me, and I was frozen still while his head was up. As I watched him through the sights, the front clear and sharp and centered perfectly in the rear (I was wearing weak reading glasses), he was facing me, a shot I was unwilling to take. Then he took a step, head still down, and presented a perfect broadside. The rifle roared. The smoke obscured him, and then I saw him run, but the gait was clumsy and uncoordinated. I knew he wouldn’t go far, and he didn’t. He piled up on the edge of the clearing. When I got to him I saw the exit wound was a small red spot, barely noticeable and in the center of the left shoulder blade. The entry was a small crater with a slight splatter, and was right in the crease behind the shoulder. The 66-caliber soft round ball was well directed and had done its job perfectly.

I called my friend Ferd on the phone and he drove in to help me. Between the two of us we couldn’t lift that six-point buck into the back of the truck. After a half hour of trying we called a game warden friend who we knew was in the area. He came and helped us. Ferd was distraught that we had to ask for help, and I reminded him that between us our ages added up to just three years shy of the time since the Civil War ended. Put in that perspective, we can live with asking for a little help. It was a good day.

Take care, Tom
P.s. Sorry, no camera

[KCSO]

They carry well too. My friends 62 is sighted dead on at 100 and with his load of 150 grains of Fg he has killed deer with one shot at 200 and a little yards.