Muzzle Blasts Focus?

[Celt5494]

I hadn't heard about the price jump. I won't renew if that is the case. There is not enough in it for that much money unless the reader is really into the goings on at Friendship, which I ain't. I do enjoy the history articles though but not $75 worth. I will let it lapse and stick with Muzzleloader magazine.

I let my Muzzleloader Magazine lapse some years ago. I got tired of the stories about "Old Tacky" I know it's difficult to come up with content. At least they used to have some great historical events pages.

 

[FishDFly]

I once asked the President of the NMLRA why he did not come here and address issues about the NMLRA and Muzzle Blasts.

He said he came here to see what is being said.

Then he looked at me and said, I am not stupid.

 

[smoothshooter]

Was thinking about renewing my NMLRA membership. Let it lapse a year or two ago. Muzzle Blasts magazine is really the only thing I’m interested in. I remember there starting to be more inline hunting content my last few issues. Has this continued? Are they trying to be more broad with the content or are they staying more traditional focused? Thanks…

Muzzleloader Magazine is a very superior magazine, but they only do 4 issues or so a year, I think.

 

[smoothshooter]

In fairness, you can save some $ with a digital subscription. I like real, paper magazines though, and have some Red Farris newsletters pre-MB issues from back in the 1930's and boxes of 1940-1998 MB I bought/subscribed when I lived only 5 hours away. Nowadays Friendship is a 2000 mile round trip.

Eric Bye had some good articles in MB a few years ago and wrote a good flintlock book they sell. Bevel Bros were mentioned already. The Fred Stutzenberger series of gunsmithing articles were outstanding, but will soon be no more with his passing. Hope they someday put all those in a book and sell it. I'd buy a copy.

I will miss my membership after all these years, but I have better places to put the money. YMMV depending on age, location or interests.

Eric Bye is a good writer, but I have been pretty irritated with him. A few years ago I ordered his new book on shooting muzzleloaders and some historical background as soon as it was available. Noticed a few errors though.
Anyway a couple of years later he puts out a second, revised and corrected edition.
What got to me was that I had just bought the first edition, and now a corrected was available. Should have gotten it right the first time.
My thought was “Really!!!??? You spend the time and resources it takes to do a nice hard cover book without proof-reading it, and having a couple of other experts you trust proofread it too before sending it to the publisher??? Really?? !!!
Not very professional.
Needless to say I will not be buying the corrected edition.

 

[smoothshooter]

I would like to add my thoughts to this issue, it's not fair to compare MUZZLELOADER to Muzzle Blasts - it's apples and oranges. MB is the membership publication of an organization, we are a commercial magazine. I would imagine very few people join the NMLRA strictly so that they can receive MB. I would also like to add that I have surprised numerous people at Friendship when they would come to me to ask about my opinion regarding the inclusion of modern / in-line muzzleloaders in MB. The NMLRA is the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association, not the National Traditional Muzzle Loading Rifle Association. Considering that shooting sports and our second amendment rights are constantly under attack, I support the welcoming modern muzzle loaders into the nmlra. We all need to stick together.

That being said, there are plenty of places you can read about modern muzzleloaders (and I don't personally care for them) so you won't see them in our pages.

I too wish we had more western stuff in MUZZLELOADER, but I am at the mercy of what is sent in (and unfortunately not everything that is sent in is fit for publishing). I have been trying to add a staff writer to write a column about the western fur trade era ever since Rex Allen Norman stopped writing (and I have heard he has pretty much dropped out of the hobby). I have yet to find anyone.

Western Fur Trade and a Women's column (like what Beth Gilgun used to write) are 2 areas I would like to have in each issue. That being said, the focus of the magazine will pretty much always be eastern / 18th century just because of numbers, the vast majority of our subscribers lives in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and New York.

You are correct about the difference in the two magazines mentioned above.
There is a writer that has done articles for several years for Muzzleloader Magazine that periodically picks a historical Figure or event and will do a lengthy installment in several consecutive issues that are the best researched and documented articles I have ever seen. Unfortunately I don’t remember his name; and I don’t want to walk up to my shop at the moment where I have past issues stored to look up his name. I have kept several back-issues of Muzzleloader because of his articles.
The story line I remember most was the one he did a series on Captain John Smith of Jamestown fame. Got a lot into his military career before he came to America for a while. The life be lived , and the military campaigns he was involved in and led, dwarfed anything he did in the Virginia colony. Would make an excellent historical miniseries.
If I can come up with the author’s name, I will post it here.

 

[Jason Gatliff]

Muzzleloader Magazine is a very superior magazine, but they only do 4 issues or so a year.

*Six issues per year, we are bi-monthly

 

[Jason Gatliff]

You are correct about the difference in the two magazines mentioned above.
There is a writer that has done articles for several years for Muzzleloader Magazine that periodically picks a historical Figure or event and will do a lengthy installment in several consecutive issues that are the best researched and documented articles I have ever seen. Unfortunately I don’t remember his name; and I don’t want to walk up to my shop at the moment where I have past issues stored to look up his name. I have kept several back-issues of Muzzleloader because of his articles.
The story line I remember most was the one he did a series on Captain John Smith of Jamestown fame. Got a lot into his military career before he came to America for a while. The life be lived , and the military campaigns he was involved in and led, dwarfed anything he did in the Virginia colony.
If I can come up with the author’s name, I will post it here.

I think you're talking about Tony Hunter. He wrote for us for many years, unfortunately Tony passed away a couple of years ago.

 

[smoothshooter]

*Six issues per year, we are bi-monthly

Sorry. I stand corrected.

 

[smoothshooter]

I think you're talking about Tony Hunter. He wrote for us for many years, unfortunately Tony passed away a couple of years ago.

Very, very sorry to hear it. I have been what must have been one of his biggest fans.
Another great mind gone.

 

[smoothshooter]

*Six issues per year, we are bi-monthly

Sorry. I stand corrected.

 

[Jason Gatliff]

Very, very sorry to hear it. I have been what must have been one of his biggest fans.
Another great mind gone.

Tony was a great guy, he wrote for MUZZLELOADER for decades and was incredibly dedicated. Even when he was in the hospital before his passing he kept telling his family that he had a deadline and needed to get to the library to work on his next article!

 

[rp77469]

The criticisms of the NMLRA for inclusion of so-called "modern muzzleloaders" fails to recognize that going back over 60 years innovative muzzleloading rifles, shotguns, and pistols were welcome at Friendship in many matches. Specifically, I recall several over/under shotguns that, from a distance would be nigh onto impossible to discern from modern semi-autos of that time.

Very true. Somewhere in my stash of back issues of MB is a series of articles from the 60's-70's detailing how to build a Friendship Special(?) over/under. Can't remember if it was inline or not, but I wanted one badly in my early black powder days.

..instead of hoarding your last month;s muzzleloading magazine, consider leaving it at your barbershop or doctor's waiting room ?

I have a library of several hundred different issues of ML, MB, Buckskin Report, Blackpowder Report and even a couple of the four page Red Farris memeographed newsletters from the late 1930's. I hope to find a good home for these when the time comes. Not soon, though, God willing!

 

[rp77469]

Tony was a great guy, he wrote for MUZZLELOADER for decades and was incredibly dedicated. Even when he was in the hospital before his passing he kept telling his family that he had a deadline and needed to get to the library to work on his next article!

Sorry to have missed this news. My whole family had capotes we made from his blankets and I still wear mine after all these years. Read him for decades. A great loss. He ran with the San Patricio bunch at least sometimes. Used to go there once a year.

 

[sturmkatze]

Eric Bye is a good writer, but I have been pretty irritated with him. A few years ago I ordered his new book on shooting muzzleloaders and some historical background as soon as it was available. Noticed a few errors though.
Anyway a couple of years later he puts out a second, revised and corrected edition.
What got to me was that I had just bought the first edition, and now a corrected was available. Should have gotten it right the first time.
My thought was “Really!!!??? You spend the time and resources it takes to do a nice hard cover book without proof-reading it, and having a couple of other experts you trust proofread it too before sending it to the publisher??? Really?? !!!
Not very professional.
Needless to say I will not be buying the corrected edition.

Have you ever written anything like that? No matter what you do there will be typos. It’s easy to talk and say that until you actually put out a book yourself don’t criticize. Well you bought was new old stock. Did you ask if there was an updated version for you bought the book or did you just buy it?