Amusing/Ridiculous Muzzleloading Misconceptions...

[Justin.44]

You know what I'm talking about.. You're at the range shooting BP or talking to a buddy at work about your muzzleloading hobby and you hear something stunningly inaccurate about muzzleloaders. Sometimes it's funny, other times frustrating..

I brought my rifles and revolvers with me to work yesterday so I could go straight to the range afterwards, so I showed them to a guy I work with on break. He looked at the rifles and said "Oh when you said you shoot Muzzleloaders I thought you meant the real ones they sell at Walmart." Another time my boss insisted a round ball couldn't kill a deer or even hit a target past 50 yards...

Anyway, I was just thinking about it and thought if I've heard several humorous misconceptions in the short time I've been in this hobby, then some of you veteran ML shooters have probably heard some doozies! I'd love to hear 'em! -Justin

 

[Rodd Boyer]

When people find out I shoot flintlock, I ALWAYS get asked about the delay between spark and BOOM.... always! I usually respond with "it helps with follow through"!

God bless,
Rodd

 

[FishnRod]

Used to carry my Great Plains during general rifle season. Several times I was offered someone's old 30-30, so I would at least have a chance to kill something.

 

[Jaeger]

People at the range invariably think that a muzzleloader kicks really hard....hahaha. I guess they really took that one scene from 'Jeremiah Johnson" to heart. Sometimes the person is shooting a 30/06 or a .308. I hasten to inform them that what they have has quite a bit more recoil.

 

[2 shots]

i was at the range one day, down the end shooting a .54 hawken i had just put together. trying out 100 gr. loads. was taking a little break when a women and a young boy [ 12 to 14 ??] took a bench about 2 away. they uncased a bolt action .22 a were shooting away. i reloaded a fired a shot .with the boom and all the smoke the boy was startled and i heard him ask his mother what kind of gun that was, her serious reply was THATS AN ELEPHANT GUN SON they than moved further away.

 

[Eutycus]

I'm amused by how many think you got to "hammer" the bullet down the barrel instead of just pushing it down.

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

That they "shoot like a rainbow"

 

[Musketeer]

-When fired with shot, the bell shaped muzzle of a blunderbuss causes the pellets to spread out more.
-You can't hit a human size target reliably with a smoothbore musket beyond 50 yards.
-Black powder is extremely unstable and can go off at any time without warning. My best friend's uncle's boss's neighbor knocked a can of it off the shooting bench at the range with his elbow one time and it blew his right leg off below the knee.
-Muzzleloaders are so hard to clean that it's not even worth shooting them.
-If you leave a muzzleloader loaded for more than a day or two, the powder will rust out the barrel.

There are plenty more I've heard or read over the years, but this is a good start.

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

Every half stock large caliber Muzzleloader Rifle is a "HawkINS" lol!

 

[Eutycus]

People at the range invariably think that a muzzleloader kicks really hard....hahaha. I guess they really took that one scene from 'Jeremiah Johnson" to heart. Sometimes the person is shooting a 30/06 or a .308. I hasten to inform them that what they have has quite a bit more recoil.

I do have to agree on that one, it's amazing how many people still think muzzleloaders kick like a mule.

 

[kje54]

Where's the firing pin?

 

[PathfinderNC]

"When are you gonna get a real gun?"

 

[Musketeer]

Where's the firing pin?

Firing pins? We don't need no stinking firing pins!

 

[user 49399]

"You actually squirrel hunt with that?"

 

[Jay Templin]

When I was interpreting in Colonial Williamsburg in the late 90s I once had a guest tell me that he didn’t know how anyone ever got killed with a muzzleloader since “all you have to do is watch for the flash and duck!”
Jay

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

I was once given a .45 Pennsylvania rifle by an old man who made them himself. He told me I could load the barrel full of powder to the muzzle and then seat a ball on top and the gun would not explode because black powder is so forgiving and just doesn't build enough pressure. I never tried it but it's astounding how deep the roots of a myth can go. That was 45 years ago and I still hear it once in a while.

My dad, rest his soul, liked to shoot but he just wasn't a "gun guy". Although he was very smart, there were a few concepts he just couldn't grasp. When we would take one of my BP rifles to the range, he would watch me go through the loading/shooting/swabbing process and he would remark "Can you imagine fighting the British or the indians with one of those? You wouldn't get 2 shots off before you'd be dead!" Although I had explained to him more than once about rifles vs smoothbores and the differences between military muskets and civilian hunting rifles and the purpose and use of either one, along with the suggestion that people could have more than one gun or type of gun and often traveled in pairs, groups, parties, and regiments, Dad would say the same thing every time we would shoot BP guns. "Can you imagine........" Kind of made me irritated, but I'd hear it a thousand times again if I could have him back.

 

[Nameless Hunter]

I was once given a .45 Pennsylvania rifle by an old man who made them himself. He told me I could load the barrel full of powder to the muzzle and then seat a ball on top and the gun would not explode because black powder is so forgiving and just doesn't build enough pressure. I never tried it but it's astounding how deep the roots of a myth can go. That was 45 years ago and I still hear it once in a while.

My dad, rest his soul, liked to shoot but he just wasn't a "gun guy". Although he was very smart, there were a few concepts he just couldn't grasp. When we would take one of my BP rifles to the range, he would watch me go through the loading/shooting/swabbing process and he would remark "Can you imagine fighting the British or the indians with one of those? You wouldn't get 2 shots off before you'd be dead!" Although I had explained to him more than once about rifles vs smoothbores and the differences between military muskets and civilian hunting rifles and the purpose and use of either one, along with the suggestion that people could have more than one gun or type of gun and often traveled in pairs, groups, parties, and regiments, Dad would say the same thing every time we would shoot BP guns. "Can you imagine........" Kind of made me irritated, but I'd hear it a thousand times again if I could have him back.

Actually, the "fill the barrel with black powder" test has been done, more than once. The barrel didn't explode. It's not a myth. Look on YouTube.

 

[LawrenceA]

They only ever made 3 types.
Military = Muskets,
Full stock=Kentucky and
1/2 stock=Hawken.

And this is from Dealers.

 

[LawrenceA]

Actually, the "fill the barrel with black powder" test has been done, more than once. The barrel didn't explode. It's not a myth. Look on YouTube.

That will depend on the gun. The Enfield Indian conversions (that lead to the model 1859 I think) when new used to bulge/blow barrels.
Not unknown for a damascus to unravel.

But yes you can, in a newer firearm fill the barrel with REAL blackpowder and hammer in a couple of bullets. It may split the stock but the barrel will survive.

 

[Dale Lilly]

Well if I shoot a deer I want it to be dead. It is not possible to hit anything beyond fifty feet. My uncle knew a guy whose muzzle loader exploded in the sun. Do you really expect to kill something with that?