Roland Cadle Horn

Roland Cadle, from Pennsylvania, made this horn for me several years ago. Roland is a founding member of the Honorable Company of Horners and a master horner. He also tears down and rebuilds historic log and wood structures, as well as builds new log structures in the fashion and style of the 18th and 19th century.

This horn has a stained decoration not uncommon to Pennsylvania horns made for the trade. I believe that the pigment is iron oxide, but I may not remember that correctly. The horn measures about 14 inches around the outside curve.

Bill Scurlock

Primer Safety

A friend and long-time muzzleloader,Troy Roope, recently had an accident while testing a flintlock. He primed the lock with a brass priming flask and flashed the pan while still holding the flask. A spark got inside the flask, and it became a miniature pipe bomb. There was no pressure relief built into the flask. He ended up losing his index finger and half of a thumb. Troy told me that he just got dumb for two seconds, and it has cost him. He plans to write up a full report of the accident for publication in MUZZLELOADER and hopes that it will be a lesson for new shooters and old ones who may become complacent in their safety practices. Pray for Troy and Shannon. And keep your powder horns and flasks away from sparks.

Bill Scurlock

Deer Hunting Last Weekend

Well, so much for holding out for a big one with my last Arkansas tag. I ended up shooting a unicorn on Saturday evening right before dark. It only had one horn. The other had broken off at some point. And, the horn that was left was less than 2 inches long, so it qualified as a button buck. I thought I was shooting at a nice young doe. I couldn't see the horn.

I was actually finished hunting for the day and was walking back to the cabin. As I was walking past a nice green food plot with just a minor screen of trees between me and the plot, I saw 3 or 4 deer feeding about 50-60 yards away. I just stood there and watched them. I knew that I couldn't see my sights well enough to shoot at that range. As I watched, something spooked them and they started running down hill, straight at me. I thought that the one that I shot was going to pass the big pine tree in front of me and run me down. So, I cocked and shouldered my firelock. Just before getting to the tree, the little buck stopped and turned broadside, looking back up hill. It was a 10-yard shot that I couldn't pass up.

The ball went in behind the last rib and exited through the sternum. He dropped in his tracks and only quivered once. That's good since I didn't want to track in the dark. Of course, then the work started, but I had help at the camp, so we made quick work of it.

That's my last tag for this year in Arkansas. Any more deer hunting this season will be in Texas, and with muzzleloader season following the regular season, I can hunt with my firelock in Texas until about the middle of January.

Sorry I didn't get a photo of this one. I accidentally left my camera at the office last Friday. I was using the same Mark Thomas rifle, so its record is now 7 deer in 7 shots, plus a deer I batted clean-up on for my brother-in-law.

Bill Scurlock

Webster_Lodding Pouch

This pouch was made by Shawn Webster and Steve Lodding and was reviewed in the Sept/Oct 2001 issue. Shawn and Steve made a variety of pouches suitable for the mountain man era. Many were based on A.J. Miller's sketches and paintings. This one is edged in trade beads. Others that they made at the time had some quillwork. Great bags, historically documented. Both of these guys are multi-talented and come to the CLA show each year with all manner of handmade items.

Remember Pearl Harbor!

Bill Scurlock

Antique Powder Horn

My father-in-law found this horn in a junk shop and bought it along with a replica cap & ball pistol of other stuff. It is a neat horn, measuring about 11-1/2 inches around the outside curve. The dates on it are strange. There is a 1741, but the horn is almost certainly not that old. There's also a date of 1807 that is more believable as the horn's actual age. An interesting Indian head is carved on one side. Stylistically, it seems more recent than the dates. All three engraved features appear to be in a different hand, but they made all have been carved during the working life of the horn. There are 14 iron tacks securing the base plug. There's a flat-headed wood screw holding an old piece of leather to the plug, but the wood screw is not as old as the horn.

Comments are welcome.

Bill Scurlock

Don Wright Canvas Pouch

Don Wright had several of these pouches at the first Mid-America Rendezvous in 1980. Several of the guys from down here bought them. They were made of white canvas and red wool, and each was hand painted with different art. I carried this one for years, as you can tell from the stains. These were really cool for 1980. It now hangs on a pegboard in the hallway at the office.

Bill Scurlock

Early 80s Pouches

Just showing a little history here. I made these pouches back in the early 1980s. Not exactly the type I would make today. The one on the left was made for my goodwife,Linda, to go with the rifle I made her. It's made from blacksmith side leather with wool inserts. The one on the right was made for my mom.I made the horn too. Not bad workmanship, but very naive as far as appropriate materials and techniques.

Bill Scurlock