If you could change one thing about muzzleloading...

[Peter72]

Mate I'm hearing you there. Although I am fortunate that the Wano importer is only 4.5 hours drive from home.

Personally, I'd like to see younger people taking up muzzleloaders. Downunder I think muzzleloader users are seen as the odd ones out amongst general shooters which the media have a field day with already.
Everyone I've either shown or let have a shot are engrossed by the whole experience but I think they're put off as there are modern firearms that can shoot oh so much faster out to xxxxx range etc etc.
Then there's the cleaning /maintenance that I think puts them off.
My 2c

 

[Black Hand]

Could you organize a range/demonstration day and invite people to learn? A Black Powder Ambassador, as it were....

 

[Adui]

Easier access to real BP.

Or better yet, ENTRY LEVEL guns priced more closely to what you can get in a modern long gun. I had a guy hooked after shooting my .50 till I told him what a new one would cost. His answer was "for just a little more I can get another Henry, why bother.."

 

[SacramentoJohnson]

Hi all,
I'm relatively new to muzzle loading, having started around a year and a half ago. (I came from cowboy action shooting (CAS), where I was shooting cap and ball revolvers with BP.) I've been to several ML matches locally and also in a nearby state and I'd like to suggest to the match directors that they should make the targets a little more 'hit-able'. Small swinging chains 40+ yards out and tiny targets so small, so far away and obscured by foliage they are barely visible were the norm in all the matches I've shot so far and I can honestly say none of it was fun. The local club has a small membership ( I see the same few names on the monthly score sheets), and they're all pretty old, having seen them at the matches. One thing CAS got right when it was started, is that people like to hit the targets and it has certainly prospered more than ML has locally. I'm not saying targets should be as big as a barn 10 feet away, but at least make some of them so somebody, who works for a living and can't spend hours and hours bench resting and tuning their muzzle loader to hit a dime at 75 yards, can still hit a few targets. This would help bring in and keep new shooters interested while they work on their shooting and other mountain man skills.

 

[meanmike8665]

I could not agree more. As a match director for our local club I have been using paper targets with larger rings than normal to help new shooter have success. I have been saying for a long time if you can't beat the target it won't be fun! We have been keeping our new shooters and have almost double our shoot attendance. Don't anyone get excited we are still less than twelve most months.
Michael

 

[coloradoclyde]

I Agree.....C.A.S. is all about having fun... Muzzleloading has some fun targets too... with stake shoots, silhouettes, and my favorite, the woods walk. But nothing compared to Cowboy Action Shooting...
The NMLRA could learn a lot from C.A.S. But I doubt they will....

Maybe C.A.S. should branch out....We could call it "Mountain Man Action Shooting" or "Colonial Action Shooting"..
Now, "Civil War Action Shooting" would be a whole lot more fun than pretend fake battles.... :haha:

 

[meanmike8665]

I live very near the 'gold county of California' a friend and I designed a couple of action shoots with stories from California history. We could not get people interested. To many guns, not enough time. Blah, blah blah... I still think it would be fun and I like your ideas very much. We have a group of people having a good time and their shooting skills are improving. So, you take what you can get and keep the tradition alive any way you can!

Michael

 

[Loyalist Dave]

One thing CAS got right when it was started, is that people like to hit the targets and it has certainly prospered more than ML has locally. I'm not saying targets should be as big as a barn 10 feet away, but at least make some of them so somebody, who works for a living and can't spend hours and hours bench resting and tuning their muzzle loader to hit a dime at 75 yards, can still hit a few targets. This would help bring in and keep new shooters interested while they work on their shooting and other mountain man skills.

I was "in" on CAS when it first was being formed. They did three things, building on complaints from other sports...

Unlike IPSC (combat pistol shooting) which is very much like golf, for as the technology grows the gear changes and the prices go UP, and eventually average joe simply can't compete with a guy with deep pockets and lots of practice time...

So they limited the technology.

You can purchase a very expensive revolver & etc, but you're paying for a name AND probably an odd model...., and they don't shoot any straighter than a basic SAA. So the guy with four guns costing $1500 (new) can do very well vs. the guy with a $2500 outfit that then went to the gunsmith for action jobs and chamber polishing costing another $500.

So since we're talking fintlock and caplock..., we're good there.

Plus, they use only steel targets, Hit or Miss. They deliberately chose this for several reasons...,
It's fun to hear the steel "ring",
Ringing steel is MUCH more interesting for the spectators too...,
It doesn't require a pause to score the target hits as one has to do with paper, so the action of the shooting is much quicker from competitor to competitor,
The lack of lag-time means more shooters, in less time, and that prevents boredom,

We can do the same by simply adopting steel targets for our shoots.

Sportsman's Guide sells Steel Target Plates [scroll down] as one source. Find the right steel and a fellow shooter who is good with a cutting torch, and you probably could pay even less. :wink: Once in a while throw in a balloon, OR make a breakable target by baking a very large ship's biscuit and adding food color (cheap and biodegradable). Just remember that balloons, and ship's biscuit (and clay birds) all need to be "reset" for the next shooter in some cases...

These days CAS amplifies their sport to the public by using video to their advantage. They show folks having a good time, ringing steel, and post this on YouTube. People see this and think, "Hey that looks like fun".

LD

 

[Black Hand]

If you could change one thing about muzzleloading, what would it be?.....

I'd like to see an end to all the fairy tales spread by those who "heard it from ole' Graybeard Squirrel-nuzzler, so it must be true".

Included:
Wood ramrods are bad.
Flintlock are unreliable.
Flintlocks are no good in the rain/snow/wind.
You need a range-rod.
You need a synthetic/metal/carbon-fiber/magic ramrod.
Don't use natural lubes, you need this space-age stuff.
You can't clean your gun with just water - you need this crap that costs $15/oz (and is 99.9% water).
4F is the only thing you should use to prime, nothing else works.
You must buy moccasins, the ones you make are no good.
You must make round patches.
You can't do X....
Please add to this list

People come to this site for facts - please don't feed them misinformation.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Find the right steel and a fellow shooter who is good with a cutting torch, and you probably could pay even less.

Tons less!.....You don't need Ar500 steel for muzzleloaders...3/8 mild steel will handle everything from .22 to .44 mag and all muzzleloaders.....Roundball shooters can even get by with 1/4" plate.
When you buy a pre-manufactured targets you are paying for markup multiple times.

Junkyards are full of potential targets...I've seen people even use old saw blades, brake drums, grader blade edges etc..

If you can find a junkyard that gets manufacturing scrap like tank bulkhead cutouts, you've found gold.

Even if you have to buy the steel, you can make a lot of targets out square or rectangular shaped that can be sheared when purchased....Welding on the other hand, needs to be A+ as shooting puts tremendous stress on welds.

 

[coloradoclyde]

If you could change one thing about muzzleloading, what would it be?.....

I'd like to see an end to all the fairy tales spread by those who "heard it from ole' Graybeard Squirrel-nuzzler, so it must be true".

Included:
Wood ramrods are bad.
Flintlock are unreliable.
Flintlocks are no good in the rain/snow/wind.
You need a range-rod.
You need a synthetic/metal/carbon-fiber/magic ramrod.
Don't use natural lubes, you need this space-age stuff.
You can't clean your gun with just water - you need this crap that costs $15/oz (and is 99.9% water).
4F is the only thing you should use to prime, nothing else works.
You must buy moccasins, the ones you make are no good.
You must make round patches.
You can't do X....
Please add to this list

People come to this site for facts - please don't feed them misinformation.

Where there is ignorance there is always someone waiting to exploit it.

I think we do a pretty good job of dispelling the myths you mentioned....Here, any ways.... :thumbsup:

 

[hanshi]

Things like steel plate targets, balloons and even exploding targets are fun, hit or miss verification and newbie friendly targets help KEEP shooters interested.

 

[Mickc01]

We need more young people. No insults intended but....It seems like our hobby/sport had become a way to full of fat, bearded old farts (yours truly included).

 

[coloradoclyde]

We need more young people. No insults intended but....It seems like our hobby/sport had become a way to full of fat, bearded old farts (yours truly included).

I was going to agree with you....But, then I got to thinking about my own youth.....Rendezvous' were full of guns, liquor, or other debauchery....There were a few kids....but mostly it was middle aged adults and older......While popularity may have declined....Not much else has really changed.

 

[sidelock]

If you would like to see a bunch of folks who like shooting BP, attend a NSSA (north south skirmish ***.) match. No super-duper match made rifles, just a bunch of very good shooters having a good time shooting civil war rifles.

 

[azmntman]

We need more young people. No insults intended but....It seems like our hobby/sport had become a way to full of fat, bearded old farts (yours truly included).

Well I shaved my beard 3 weeks ago!! :rotf:

 

[coloradoclyde]

If you would like to see a bunch of folks who like shooting BP, attend a NSSA (north south skirmish ***.) match. No super-duper match made rifles, just a bunch of very good shooters having a good time shooting civil war rifles.

I cannot argue that!... :thumbsup:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Lobbyists have to be registered....Follow the money.

Every year from 1998 through 2010, the NRA spent at least ten times more than the NSSF on direct lobbying. Today those numbers are converging””the NRA has spent $1.7 million so far in 2013, compared to $1.1 million spent by the NSSF, mostly in efforts to loosen state requirements for concealed carry permits. The NRA still boasts the political muscle to sway the outcome of major legislation, but the big gun lobby’s intervention is conspicuous and subject to ridicule, and an NRA campaign contribution can sometimes become a political liability””in a 2013 PPP poll, 39% of respondents said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate backed by the NRA, whereas only 26% said they’d be more likely to. This April, when Senator Mitch McConnell (the NRA’s single biggest recipient of campaign contributions) used procedural tactics to block an expanded background check bill, NRA Board member Adolphous Busch publicly resigned from the organization, saying the group “clearly places priority on the needs of gun and ammunition manufacturers while disregarding the opinions of [its] 4 million individual members.”

 

[RonRC]

I support the idea of other posters who said that TV programs and movies that prominently feature traditional muzzle loaders may assist in the expansion of muzzle loading. I am another 70 year old who was influenced by Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone shows on TV. I only started about 5 years ago due to dictates of life, but my interest took root back in the late 50's and early 60's TV.

Bluegrass music and banjo playing is a good analog to muzzle loading. Both the music and instrument were in the doldrums until the movie Bonnie and Clyde. People heard the banjo in the background playing Foggy Mountain Breakdown (even though Bluegrass banjo was not contemporary with Bonnie and Clyde). The banjo making industry exploded. Japanese made banjos showed up at our docks by the thousands. Bluegrass recordings began to sell.
Then, the interest started to fade and there was the movie Deliverance! Again, the banjo industry grew. Brother, Where Art Thou brought the 3rd regeneration of the Bluegrass instrument making industry.
Major Point: Movies and TVs can make a BIG difference
Ron

 

[Squatch84]

I Agree with everyone here. I'm a younger guy, I started getting interested in Muzzleloaders in my early 20's. I think the movie The Patriot got me interested. So I watch alot of movies with muzzleloaders in them. The mountain men with Charlton Heston, Last of the Mohicans, etc. While I agree with making a primitive season for hunting not include certain "types" of firearms, I do disagree with making it flint only. My first muzzleloader was a caplock at the age of 22. My brother now uses it. I moved into flint when I knew more about loading, cleaning, quirks and dispelled myths. Flint is all I use now and I've taken the plunge into building. But if it weren't for that first "cheap" caplock I wouldn't be having the fun I am now. Public knowledge and sentiment is what I would change. Show people thru more accessible channels that you don't really need something modern to take game in the primitive or traditional seasons.