doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Hunting with a 16th Century Arquebus

Really enjoyed that. I actually studied Hungarian for awhile in the 1984 time period but assignment to Budapest was canceled. Still Hungarian accent was enjoyable - It has its own unique lilt with elements that are almost Germanic - maybe not surprising. Interesting that the Romanians put the Hungarians into the same category as the Germans as far as efficiency goes.

Interesting video Parabola. I am familiar with the matchlock system, but never actually saw one being fired. It was cool to see all of the steps involved before actually touching it off. I never thought to search YouTube to find a video. Thanks.

The shooter mentioned excessive muzzle flash. That was probably the result of his formula for choosing a powder charge. A powder charge weight equal to the round ball weight would be quite a bit more than needed, and result in excess powder still burning as it left the muzzle. His ball ramming technique made me cringe a bit too.

Story: In 1999 I spent a couple of weeks in Budapest researching files on a certain well-known international terrorist. Afterwards there was a banquet with a number of Hungarian law enforcement and security personnel.

One (and most were holdovers from the Communist era) turned to me and asked,
. . ."Gene, did you ever think that you would be sitting with us today like this?"

I responded,
. . ."Sir, two handsome Hungarian boys came into my Junior High School and High School in 1956 - refugees from the fighting in Budapest. The girls were crazy about them. What I learned from them about Hungary was simple. So. . ., Yes I did!"