Why do muzzle loaders make you grin?

[Cruzatte]

"Dam! Would you look at the size of that hole in the target? An it took out the whole X ring too!!"

As Wil Geer said to Robert Redford in Jeremiah Johnson "Yep Pilgrim, seen it comin'. Seen it right off."

Cruzatte

 

[merdean]

I shoot muzzleloaders because I like them. I shoot cartridge guns because I grew up with them. I smile while doing so because I like to shoot. But when I can smile through the smoke, that is the best of all. My wife can tell if I had a good day shooting or hunting. I come home with my face streaked in black and a smile showing through.

 

[Mad Irish Jack]

:hmm: :: :: :winking: :thumbsup: :redthumb: :front: :blue: :grey: :m2c:

 

[Tahquamenon]

Everything about muzzleloaders makes me happy and smiling.

The why is because of the tinkering aspect of loading shooting and maintaining them. Always a little something different here and there from one rifle to the next. Every muzzleloader has it's own characteristic that requires a certain level of mastering and understand to make it function the best.

:m2c:

 

[The Kansan]

Squire Robin,

I have been contemplating your question for a couple of weeks now, trying to narrow it down to a succinct and accurate answer. This is the best I can do:

I suppose that, on some level, I like/enjoy every single aspect of shooting muzzle loaders. From the history, through the set up and building, to the firing and even (to a certain extent!) the clean up afterwords. I do most of my historical trekking alone or with my best friend and I appreciate the solitude and sense of wonder about the universe that seems to prevail in such settings.

These are the things that I enjoy about this great sport. BUT, if you want to know what it is about this sport that really makes me grin;

It's the people behind the guns! The friends I have who are literally scattered all over the world! IT'S THE NUTS BEHIND THE BARRELS WHO KEEP ME GRINNING! Knowing that I'm welcome at almost any campfire for a chat and a hot cup with a side serving of tickled ribs. I'm honored to say that I owe a debt of gratitude to just damn near every single person I've come in contact with since I first started doing this stuff.

That's the part of muzzleloading that really makes me grin; The old hivernant who takes time to show a newcomer why short strokes on a ramrod are important. The newbie who respectfully asks an honest opinion on something he's pretty sure he already knows the answer to. The old timer who isn't afraid to admit that he doesn't know everything even if he's pretty darn sure he knows most of it!

I've been a member of many different groups and belonged to a myriad of organizations, but the shifting and ever changing informal world of front stuffers is where I'm happiest. Along side tens of thousands of other fools who are grinning just as broadly as I am. I thank you all for making me grin for nearly three decades... And I salute you all!


...The Kansan...

 

[Bob J]

It's the sheer silliness that such a thing works at all that make it fun. It's like you're creating magic to bring life to these quarter-of-a-millennium old designs.
* sigh *

:RO: