Next June my British Shot Gun, Firearms and Black Powder licences all expire. They were last renewed from 18th June 2015 – a significant date in the re-enactment calendar.
I have decided not to renew any of these. At the age of 65 I am not being repaid for this administrative hoop-jumping by the amount of fun generated.
So I still have to dispose of two firelock muskets, two flintlock carbines and two doglock pistols. I have potential buyers for half of these.
But I was appalled to find when getting the guns out of the secure cabinet just how much rust had accumulated over the last 18 months or so since I last cleaned them and put them away.
This morning I wave been working on my Brown Bess style carbine. It has been totally dismantled, scrubbed, polished and all the parts wiped over with olive oil. Olive oil is a useful gun accessory, and at the first sign of rain I always give a quick wipe over any gun I happen to be carrying at a re-enactment event. It will protect both wood and metal. It works equally well for swords and pole-arms.
General Whiskers' semi-historical wanderings 