My thanks to Blogman and Hawkeye2. The best thing that came out of that encounter was this: A couple of days later I was having coffee with the (then) NMLRA NH State Rep and told him about it in detail. We decided it was time we did something to fix the problem because nobody else was. He got in touch with some of his contacts in the NH Parks & Wildlife Department and fussed at them. Their response was that they had been concerned about the apparent fact that a) The ML Hunting Season was new, b) A lot of sporting goods stores, department stores, and shooting supply outlets were trying to get in that new market by
actively promoting ML firearms and supplies, c) Most of the sales force in those stores were uneducated in the particulars of ML shooting and ML safety, and d) Some of them were perpetuating "Old Wive's Tales" and other misinformation on the subject with no awareness that they were endangering anyone. The Parks & Wildlife folks wanted to do something, but admitted they didn't have anyone on staff who were knowledgeable enough to do so.
They asked if we could help. The answer was a loud
"You betcha!" We suggested a Muzzleloading Hunter Safety Course to be taught by volunteers from our local ML Club and directed by Bob (State NMLRA Rep) and myself. We prepared course material, designed a poster to announce the course, with tear-off sheets containing the key information on location and timing plus contact info for the two of us, and a single sheet tri-fold information pamphlet titled "Welcome to Muzzleloading" which contained critical information on muzzleloading firearms safety including loading information, sketches, and suggested load data for popular firearms that were available a the time --- as offered by the manufacturers.
The State Fish & Game funded printing and distribution of the posters and pamphlets, the instructional material and
a short slide program. Our club members were the instructors including Bob and myself. It was a success! After the first sessions, we started getting people from neighboring states coming to sit in and watch, then ask for more info and help. We taught the course in several states, intending them as "Train the Instructor" courses. After the first season, Bob sent a complete set of our course material to Friendship and they adopted it as their own and took it nation wide. It still exists as the NMLRA Muzzleloading Hunter Safety Course and the tri-fold pamphlet we designed is still used, but with the heading changed to read National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association and the load chart deleted because of liability restrictions, we were told. So, you see, something good really did come of that potential disaster. Every once in a while you get lucky.
Tanglefoot
