Hello everyone

[smokepole]

Just by way of introduction, I am a semi full time (about 5 days a week) knife maker and have been quite active on the BB forum lately and was pointed in this direction by one of my clients.

I live in the Great Karoo in South Africa on a little farm where the air is fresh, there's no drugs or crime and hardly a politician within a day's drive...


This was taken on an un-characteristically wet day - our average rainfall is about 9" per annum

Sunset

More normal weather, also near sunset

 

[Mesquite]

Hello and welcome to the forum Smokepole

Thanks for the pictures as well... looks a great place

 

[John Fenna]

Hello and welcome!
I have crossed the Karoo a couple of times ...amazing place!
I was realy on my way elsewhere (Cederberg Wilderness and back down to the Cape) but wished I could have spent more time there...

 

[Retired Member southey]

Hi Smokepole, great name. welcome along, they are some stunning pics!!

 

[smokepole]

Thank you Gents, for the kind welcome. John it is a great place and like many a hard, arid country it is still full of very hospitable, down to earth folk. You really need to make a plan to spend some time in the Karoo - maybe we can even meet up for a jar somewhere! Southy, one of my other great interests are muzzle loaders - preferably of the traditional kind - which is where the name comes from - here is a graphic illustration - my flintlock Kentuckian in full flight....

 

[Barn Owl]

Hi there and welcome.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Fantastic photo! never had the pleasure of firing a muzzle loader, it looks ace.

 

[smokepole]

Thanks Barn Owl. Southy it is great - and much more rewarding harvesting your meat with that than a long range center fire. Hitting anything with that flint lock takes some practice - you need to get used to the pyrotechnics going up in your face as you pull the trigger! But once you master it, it is a great way of going about it..I see you live at Aldershot - if my memory serves the Royal Artillery had a range there many moons ago - like a 100 years or so? If they are still around they must have an old muzzle loading canon or two around..... now THOSE are great fun!!

 

[Biker]

Fantastic photo! never had the pleasure of firing a muzzle loader, it looks ace.

Hi Smokepole, welcome to the frey. Nice pix too!

I had the pleasure of firing a muzzle loader a few years ago, though this one had percussion caps. I'm no expert on guns but was assured that there's a significant delay in the pulling the trigger to the bullet going out the end of that pipe thing you're pointing at the target/dinner. The bullets it fired were about as big as the last two joints of your little finger. Don't know what caliibre it was but it could have been .50". If I remember correctly the bullets had 4 grooves around them filled with tallow to lube the bullet as well as grip the rifling to give it some spin.

I think had I had the time and the money I could have gotten into that hobby. Sadly I had niether.

Anyway, welcome Smokehole.

 

[smokepole]

Thanks for the welcome Biker, much appreciated. From the description is pretty much sounds like a .50 shooting conicals. I tend to shoot round ball mostly - the more traditional the better for me. And some of them are pretty big - my 10 bore shoots a 700gr ball and the .58 a 300gr. That going at around 1400fps is plenty of meat making energy...

Here's me with my traditional SA muzzle loader - it is a 10bore smooth bore with a 48" barrel and flint ignition - it is called a "bobbejaan boud" (literally "baboon haunch") after the shape of the stock. As an idea to size, I am 6'2" in my socks

 

[JonathanD]

Welcome to BcUK.

 

[smokepole]

Thanks Jonathan, I appreciate.

 

[CBJ]

Lovely pics mate, great intro

welcome to the forum.

 

[Shewie]

Hi smokepole - welcome to the forum

Great piccies

 

[lab72]

Hi welcome to the mad house great piccs love the one with the sun set .

 

[smokepole]

Thanks CBJ, Shewie and Lab72, it looks like a real nice place to be.

Lab72 - just for you - we get some stunning sunsets in this part of the world: