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.58 Cal Lunch
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Graybeard
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I left the house this morning with a couple potatoes and some seasoning. I brought my .58 cal Cabelas Hawken along to see if I could get some meat for the pot. With luck I would be having stew. If Ma Nature didn't smile on me I'd be having potato soup. I went to an area that has a lot of snowshoe hares. We had a light snow a couple nights ago and there were hare tracks everywhere. I gave it my best but I couldn't get any to show themselves. The sky was clear and sunny which usually isn't the best hare hunting conditions. I was starting to lose hope and think it would be potato soup for lunch when I cut a fresh grouse track.

I followed the track and hadn't gone far when I saw the grouse ahead. I put the bead on the birds head and fired. The .570 patched ball pushed by 35 grains of FF black powder struck the top of its head and lunch was secured.



I wasn't far from one of my camp spots so I headed there to make lunch. I made some shavings for tinder and lit them with my flint and steel using char cloth.



There's a small stream right by this camp. I filled a pan with water from the stream and got the stew started. After the stew had simmered for about a half an hour I started some bannock bread.



Before long lunch was done. It looks plain but it was very good!



I finished lunch and put the fire out. After my failure to find a hare earlier I decided to see if I could at least see one. There was only about an hour and a half of light left so they should start getting active. I started working around likely spots and before long saw one dart from one patch of heavy cover to another. I slowly approached the last spot I saw him. When I was almost there he ran for the other side but paused at the edge of the brush. I made a quick shot and the ball hit the upper portion of the head. The hare will provide a few meals and I can use the back feet for fly tying. It was a great day in the woods!



Experience is the best teacher, hunger good sauce.
Osborne Russell Journal of a Trapper
 
Posts: 212 | Location: SW Montana | Registered: 17 December 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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The prevous post needs accompanying photographs!

Big Grin

LD


It's not what you know, it's what you can prove
 
Posts: 3843 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 10 November 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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That sounds like a wonderful day.
What kind of grouse is that? Blue grouse? I am only familiar with ruffed grouse.
I remember some good times hunting both ruffed grouse and snowshoe hares in upstate New York and in Michigan. Down here in Tenasi there are no hares, and ruffed grouse are only a little more common than feathers on a hog.


Know what you believe in. Fight for your beliefs. Never compromise away your rights.
 
Posts: 1296 | Location: Cherokee Land, Tenasi | Registered: 06 January 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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Meal fit for a king! What a great day afield.
 
Posts: 101 | Location: Davidsville , PA | Registered: 10 August 2016Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hivernant
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I have been trying to get to Montana for the past few years to spend a couple weeks fishing. What time of year would you recommend,maybe I could plan a combo hunting fishing trip. I have never got to really spend any time in the Rockies,other then day trips on the Panhead while at Sturgis..
 
Posts: 101 | Location: Davidsville , PA | Registered: 10 August 2016Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
Picture of Walkingeagle
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Very envious, wonderful day, meal and story!!
Thanks for sharing. I really liked the pictures.
Walk
 
Posts: 342 | Location: Alberta, Canada | Registered: 15 January 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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Nice story and great pics.


*Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.*
 
Posts: 3559 | Location: Maine (by way of Georgia then Va.) | Registered: 26 January 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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Yum!


Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
 
Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Graybeard
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Thanks everyone!

quote:
Originally posted by Rancocas:
What kind of grouse is that? Blue grouse? I am only familiar with ruffed grouse.


Its a male spruce grouse. Spruce are the most common grouse in this area but we have a good populations of blues also. There are more ruffed grouse a little north of here.

quote:
Originally posted by John Blozik:
I have been trying to get to Montana for the past few years to spend a couple weeks fishing. What time of year would you recommend,maybe I could plan a combo hunting fishing trip.


Some of the best fishing takes place this time of year. Browns and brookies are in post spawn mode and pretty much all trout are feeding heavily before winter comes on. Big game season starts in a week so this would be the time of year to plan around.


Experience is the best teacher, hunger good sauce.
Osborne Russell Journal of a Trapper
 
Posts: 212 | Location: SW Montana | Registered: 17 December 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Nice! And as I'm still swatting skeeters most days I'm very envious of the snow.
 
Posts: 429 | Location: Delmarva | Registered: 22 December 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Free Trapper
Picture of TurkeyCreek
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Now THAT'S livin'! Thanks for sharing.


"They do not live their lives 'by your leave'! They hack it out of the wilderness with their own two hands, bearing their children along the way!" - Cora Monroe - "Last Of The Mohicans"
 
Posts: 186 | Location: Turkey Creek on Cimarron Drainage | Registered: 10 September 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Graybeard
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quote:
Originally posted by Osprey:
Nice! And as I'm still swatting skeeters most days I'm very envious of the snow.


I love the cooler fall weather but when its -20 to -30F I'd gladly trade for a warmer location.

Thanks guys!


Experience is the best teacher, hunger good sauce.
Osborne Russell Journal of a Trapper
 
Posts: 212 | Location: SW Montana | Registered: 17 December 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Looks like some good eats to me Big Grin


Nothing beats the feel of a handmade southern iron mounted flintlock on a crisp frosty morning
 
Posts: 354 | Location: Heart of DIXIE | Registered: 18 November 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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Your bread reminds me of a tortilla and folded over looks like a taco.


pistuo deo lalo
 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Graybeard
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quote:
Originally posted by wattlebuster:
Looks like some good eats to me Big Grin


It was!


quote:
Originally posted by volatpluvia:
Your bread reminds me of a tortilla and folded over looks like a taco.


Its quite a bit thicker than it looks in the pics. Its cut into thirds with the center being about an inch thick and tapering slightly toward the edges.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: pab1,


Experience is the best teacher, hunger good sauce.
Osborne Russell Journal of a Trapper
 
Posts: 212 | Location: SW Montana | Registered: 17 December 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Hey, pab1

Thanks for the story and the pictures! I'm glad to see that people are getting out there, practicing and enjoying traditional skills and appreciating the outdoors.

I was also interested in the shooting. You are obviously a good shot, but you mentioned a load of 35 grains of FFg in your .58 caliber rifle. I know a lot of people adjust their loads up or down according to the distance of the shot or the type of game. Have you practiced a lot with that load? I'm thinking my next rifle might be a .54 or possibly a 58, and it's good to know that these big bores can be "loaded down" for small game or targets, and still provide acceptable accuracy.

I would be interested in the Bannock recipe, too...

Best regards,


"Should have kept the old ways just as much as I could, and the tradition that guarded us. Should have rode horses. Kept dogs."

from The Antelope Wife
 
Posts: 333 | Location: Florida | Registered: 24 May 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Graybeard
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Thanks Notchy Bob! I don't adjust my sights for the lighter loads. My guns are sighted in for heavier hunting loads at 100 yards using patched round balls. I've found that the light loads in my guns have been dead on out to about 30-35 yards without adjusting the sights using the same ball/patch combo. This has been the case with both my .54 cals and the .58 cal.

Don't know if you saw my snowshoe and grouse hunt using a .54 cal GPR with lighter loads (except for the first shot on that hunt). I'll put a link to it below this. On that hunt I used 30gr of 3F which has been very accurate in it. I really enjoy hunting small game with the same guns I use for big game. It shows how versatile they are and gives you even more familiarity with the gun.

Snowshoe and Grouse with a GPR link.
http://muzzleloadermag.infopop...1610091/m/9104060148

The bannock bread recipe I use is nothing fancy. I like it though. I usually enjoy a piece with the meal I cooked and have strawberry jam on a piece for dessert. Here's the recipe.

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Powdered Milk

Mix all the ingredients together and carry it in a bag or small container. When you're ready to use it add a little water at a time and mix it until you have a thick dough. Its easy to add too much water. When using a pan cook it on one side until its browned then flip it over. I like to use two pieces of wood in a "V" shape and rake hot embers between them. You can adjust the heat by changing the pans position on the "V".

I didn't use it on this trip but this recipe fits perfectly in my 5" Lodge cast iron skillet. You can cook it on a rock or piece of bark by the fire too. I've also cooked it on a stick. This pic is from a winter camping trip a year or two ago. I cooked the bannock on a piece of aspen along with a snowshoe hare on a stick over the fire. Its really nice to cook that way since the "dishes" go in the fire when you're done eating! Big Grin

This message has been edited. Last edited by: pab1,


Experience is the best teacher, hunger good sauce.
Osborne Russell Journal of a Trapper
 
Posts: 212 | Location: SW Montana | Registered: 17 December 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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