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Originally Posted by Lee
Thank you, Gentlemen, for your comments. I suppose that the real collector's item here might be whatever instructions would have come with such a gun about how to load it for safe operation. I have never had it apart or even removed the ramrod that is fairly tightly inserted. Clearly the length and sealing of the first load would be absolutely critical, so I'll be curious if the ramrod has been marked.
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i hope so, not much lee-way (pun intended*) in the alignment with the touch holes.
related: i have been told that during the american civil war it was not uncommon for the recruits going into battle to load their weapons for the volley fire by ranks in sync with their comrades, but forgetting to put a fresh cap on their rifle. their sergeant, after practice live fire drills would go down the line and have them drop the ramrod down the muzzle of their rifle, and heaven forbid one didn't go down all the way. one unlucky soul was found to have six loads in his barrel, all of which he had to extract with a worm while suffering further under the ministrations of the sarge. if it had happened in a real battle the potential for an explosion setting it all off if he finally did recap his rifle (another idiom we've added to the language?) and potentially killing him and maybe someone next to him.
* - leaway hasn't got the same oomph.
