Category Archives: Muzzleloaders

Oh, What Fun!

Two red-winged blackbirds chortled. One perched on a flimsy red willow in the swamp, and the other sang from the hillside, not that far ahead. A distant “honk, honk, honk…” emanated from the east, and a series of “ke-honks” came … Continue reading

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Learn to Manage the Machine…

A half-rotted maple stump lurked in dark shadows. Elk moccasins whispered over brittle oak leaves, parallel to a doe trail that followed the spine of a narrow strip of land between two impenetrable thickets. A backcountry woodsman stalked tree-to-tree. A … Continue reading

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“A Trade Gun’s First Meat”

“Snapshot Saturday”

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Gifted with an Unexpected Treasure

Half-leafed treetops rustled overhead. Day’s first gray glimmers half-lit the winding wagon trail. Elk moccasins whispered beside the left rut. Around the bend, the predawn stalk struck off on a well-used doe trail that angled northwest. A gentle breeze, perfumed … Continue reading

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“Never say never!”

A finger flipped twice. “Arrkkk…ark,” again the gravel-mouthed hen uttered two soft tones. The finger traced an imaginary line indicating the doe trail that wandered into the red cedar trees. The west face of the hogback ridge, just up from … Continue reading

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Beyond the Northwest Gun’s Effective Distance

A wheezy snort foretold of a deer’s approach.  Although hushed, the distant cough-like blow traveled from the north island, up the rise and into the humble cluster of thorny bushes that grew tight around a tall oak tree. For any … Continue reading

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“It Sounds Like a Trade Gun”

Black powder rose in the brass measure. The charge tumbled to the breech of the pristine barrel. Excited fingers rolled a few strands of wide-bladed green grass into a ball, equal in size to the hand-cast round ball. An index … Continue reading

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Two Thumbs Up for Natural Wadding

Black powder tumbled to the breech. Tamara tapped the brass measure against the muzzle of her chiefs-grade trade gun, the “Silver Cross,” as she always does, making sure every last granule of her modest turkey load made it down the … Continue reading

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