"Ignition"

[springfield art]

What ignited your interest in shooting muzzleloader?

I figure in my case it may have been watching Fess Parker in his roles a David Crockett and Daniel Boone. I know that by age 11 or 12 I was swooning over advertisements for the Numrich Arms Minuteman long rifle.

I grew up with a gun fetish I've never gotten over and as soon as I was licensed to drive I spent many weekend driving back roads of the Cascade Mountains and shooting. One day I ran into a couple of guys shooting muzzleloaders they'd built from parts, not kits. The rifles we're beautiful and my first whiff of black powder smoke rekindled my interest. Then I spotted a T/C .50 Hawken in a neighborhood hardware store, it took me about year and a half but I finally bought it. With little info and no coach it took a while to learn the ropes but I was hooked. That was about 1975 or 1976 and I've been shooting muzzleloaders ever since expanding my collection along the way. Literally thousands of shots later I still own my original T/C Hawken. I still shoot it occasionally, it's been well maintained, works perfectly and is still accurate.

What's your story?

It's amazing how many of us Boomers were influenced by that, including me. Then came the Civil War Centennial, then the Bi-Centennial, etc. We lived in interesting times! Then there was Cowboy Action which brought back many old-time guns, etc. Civil War enacting for the 150th, etc. Now, I'm hoping many of us can enjoy the 250th of the Revolution, except there will be much "political correctness" involved, I guess.

 

[pmccoywss]

Fess Parker

 

[springfield art]

What ignited my interest in shooting muzzleloading ?

Well it was inevitable as I have been collecting original US issued war time rifles (no wall hangers) for some time now.
Late 2018 I stumbled on a .410 round ball black powder musket in a thrift store for like 60 bucks. It had a nice carving of a Duck head on the stock. I cleaned it and found it’s a Spanish Import late 1800s to early 1900s to Mexico. They called it a Monkey Gun. I guess reason being it was used to hunt fowl small critters and monkeys in the trees. Fast forward it cleaned up well and inspected to be in good shape and became a nice wall hanger.
Then 2020 the ammo shortage hit with Covid. So one afternoon I was staring at it and thought why not. Ordered .395 balls .010 patches, caps & some ff black powder. Did an inspection and good cleaning research. I loaded it up 35 grains mounted it in a wooded held vice and with a string hid in case it blew up, with video going. And she fired!!! Straight and true!! That was it, I was HOOKED!!!
I’ve since I had a blast shooting it many times and and within a year acquired my originals, 1863 Springfield .58 cal minie and 1854 Johnson 54 cal round ball (not wall hangers) Well it’s been a while since I’ve shot any of my 15 other brass cases War time rifles Hahahah. A close friend who owns an indoor range let’s me shoot the BP indoors which really turns heads with the young guys with all the modern ARs etc. the questions and curiosity is pretty cool. They love em.
I even enjoy cleaning them. It’s relaxing, some music, alone time from my wife, little scotch and make the cleaning after shooting part of the entire experience. Then searched the net found this site and I’m in pig heaven!!!!! Love this site, it’s a wealth of information!!
Now I’m on the hunt for a decent Kentucky or PA Flint lock Long Gun or Brown Bess. As my addiction continues!! So my saga continues. Yeah I’m a bit goofy in the video, heck it was fun!!
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[springfield art]

It's true that among the 'general public', the average person who is not 'gun savvy', has absolutely NO IDEA how or what a muzzleloader is set off, or loaded, for that matter.

 

[JCKelly]

My Grandfather, Frank Jackson (after THE Andrew) Kelly, never shot a breechloader "til he was 18. I grew up hearing stories about his rifle. E.g., how it "kept the peace" in Clearfield Co., PA, and when his father (vet of the 76th Pennsylvania Volunteers) made him shoot an apple off his Dad's head to prove a point, et cetera. I've had a passion for old muzzle loaders since early childhood.

 

[ohio ramrod]

When I was a teenager my brother-in-law brought a muzzle loading rifle out to the farm to sight it in. I was hooked on black powder. So I bought a 28 gauge shot gun to hunt rabbits. Back in the early sixties I could shoot the 28 gauge for 2&12 cents a shot while 12 gauge shells cost ten cents each. So I could get four times as many rabbits for the same cost. Back then money was scarce and rabbits were plentiful.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I've always been interested in the Revolutionary War. The weapons of the period always intrigued me. So after having owned and shot modern firearms forever, I decided one day to try a muzzle loader. Having no one around to teach me, I read as much as I could on the subject. I decided it best to start with a Caplock. That was ok for a few years, but it just didn't feel right, nor did it jive with my interest in the Revolutionary War. So, one day I decided to try a flintlock. I ordered a Lyman GPR, and although not a representation of a Revolutionary War gun, it still was a flintlock. I was hooked, and have been shooting them ever since. That's been at least 30 or more years now.

 

[Colonial Boy]

I got my first introduction to muzzle loaders when I was about 6 or 7, I was on holidays at my Uncle Pat’s house in a small country town.
Uncle was showing me his rifle and shotgun and his pistols and I asked him why didn’t people just put the powder and shot down the barrel from the front and not have to buy cartridges (l have no memory of ever seeing a picture of a m/l gun, so it may have been an original thought.)
Anyway he laughed and said that they used to be made that way and that there was one or two at the farm; he lived in town and walked each day to the farm which was run by his oldest brother, he and his other two brothers owned minority shares as back in those days the eldest inherited.
Anyway Uncle Pat took me with him next day and, sure enough, there was a m/l single barrel shotgun there and it had been put away carefully and was in good condition though it had had a lot of use. Uncle found some caps but nothing else so he sacrificed some black powder shot shells and loaded it up and so I saw a muzzle loader fired for the first time and Uncle let me fire a blank.
That was eighty years ago and I’m still hooked, my latest percussion pistol is an 1858 Tranter double action 4th model, revolver, externally in poor condition but mechanically as new.

 

[Josephg]

What ignited your interest in shooting muzzleloader?

Looking through my dads old west magazines when I was in grade school. They used to have articles on old shooting matches, types of rifles, how they were loaded and shot and what they shot at.