why I like shooting muzzle stuffers

[Pete G]

They are a time machine for me; I like the history

 

[RATROD56]

It's like knowing a lost art. Similar to celestial navigation and Morse code.

today I shot my cabelas' stainless Hawken style 54. 90-100g ffg and prb gave me a 1.5 inch group at 50m. for 10 shots. i'm ready for bear.
while sitting having lunch it came to me why I enjoy muzzle loaders so much.
instant gratification! I load the powder charge I want to try, smack a projectile on top of it, stick a cap on and shoot.
I don't have to consult a loading manual. I don't have to prep a cartridge, I get results of any change in charge and method instantly.
yeah this kung fu flu lock down has me going stir crazy, but at least I get to shoot all I want!

One thing I love most about muzzleloading, no one panic bought all the damn ammo.

 

[RATROD56]

They are a time machine for me; I like the history

Me too, i love everything from the 18th & 19th centuries. If youre into stuff like that, check Townsends.us

 

[Boston Bill]

Me too, i love everything from the 18th & 19th centuries. If youre into stuff like that, check Townsends.us

WOW! Awesome web site!

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

It’s really economical too. Even if you buy all the components (guilty as charged), the per shot cost especially in a .32-.50 is like $0.15-$0.30 a round? That’s cheap (or cheaper) as most central-fire metallic cartridges for handguns.

If you harvest lead, cast, make your own patching, that cuts the cost tremendously. Learn to knap flint and there you go, free flints. The only real tricky thing is powder, but I know some guys who mill there own powder in the backyard for pennies a pound with good success.

And the rate of fire is naturally far slower than the unmentionables. You can spend hours at the range or in the woods shooting constantly and only spend a few bucks. That and all the component you need are always easily found online, nobody ever panic buys muzzleloader stuff. At my local sporting goods store ALL unmentionable ammo is sold out. The muzzleloading nook is still packed with balls, caps, flints, etc.

Only issue is finding powder. But, at least for now and by the grace of God, we have online powder vendors and once you make a 25lbs-50lbs order the per pound cost is very reasonable and that will last a long time. Anyone serious about muzzleloading and who already knows they like it should buy bulk powder from these vendors. They’re pretty much the only way for many (myself included) to get real black powder.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

And the zen state others mention is real. I feel a deep sense of satisfaction and relaxation during and after shooting my muzzleloaders, especially if I’m left alone with nothing but the forest or desert, my pouch and horn, and my rifle and a mark to fire at!

 

[BullRunBear]

I agree with the peaceful, zen feeling when shooting traditional muzzleloaders. But I enjoy the other side of the coin. When shooting on a modern/BP range my BP guns often attract attention, especially from youngsters. Muzzleloaders are completely outside their experience of 22 semiauto pistols or rifles. They gather behind the firing line to see what these strange looking, smoky, smelly guns are. They are FASCINATED and have approximately 50 gazillion questions during the cease fire. I love explaining about the guns, how they work and their place in history.

Jeff

 

[RATROD56]

WOW! Awesome web site!

Glad you like it. They have videos on YouTube that show cooking, and other things from the 17 & 18 hundreds. Pretty cool, you should check it out. PS. That website has a free mail order catalog you can order.

 

[fishmusic]

I have been doing this for 5+ years, still a newbie. I had nothing to with guns of any type prior to that. I bought a Plains Pistol kit because it seemed cool. The bug bit hard! I enjoy the building, tuning and shooting of these charismatic weapons. Many have stated the Zen of the sport and I could not agree more. I enjoy the personal challenge of learning to shoot. To be totally in that moment when the trigger snaps and the following bang is a Valhalla moment. Right now I really miss being able to go to rhe range.

 

[Art Caputo]

You from joisey? I'm from Joisey!
What exit?
GSPW #117
Gone are the days you could walk down the street past the cop shop with a shotgun in a bag and a pocket full of bird shot shells. I shake my own head at the thought of it. Lol
I miss it though.

You from joisey? I'm from Joisey!
What exit?
GSPW #117
Gone are the days you could walk down the street past the cop shop with a shotgun in a bag and a pocket full of bird shot shells. I shake my own head at the thought of it. Lol
I miss it though.

I was due west, Rt46 frim the GW Bridge. “the country”. Lots of game! Yes, I remember those days very well. They are gone forever!!!

 

[Carbon 6]

I have always said every game animal taken with a muzzle loader is worth ten from a breach loader.

20

 

[Capnball]

I was due west, Rt46 frim the GW Bridge. “the country”. Lots of game! Yes, I remember those days very well. They are gone forever!!!

Out by Netcong and Newton? Real pretty country out that way. Used to drive right through it on my way to the Poconos. I was born in Jersey City but I grew up "down the shore" Monmouth county. Raised my kids in Ocean County. I live in MD now, right smack in the middle of Amish country. I love it!.

 

[Capnball]

My buddy Joe was a muzzle loader fan. We rode many many miles together. We're veterans and outdoorsman. We had made plans to go out and he was going to show me the ins and outs of muzzleloaders. Joe passed away five years ago this week. I learned it because it was supposed to be. Better then that, I resurrected a civil war rifle for my first muzzleloader.

My buddy Joe

 

[bud in pa]

Glad to see that there are others from joisey. I grew up in North Bergen, I grew up in the 50's and 60's. I remember when the state would stock phesants in North Bergen, Jersey
City, and Secaucus. Heck I remember getting on the bus with my gun to go hunting in Secaucus. The bus ride only cost 15 cents! I will always be a BP shooter, no runs on ammo during a panic. I am in possession of close to 200 pounds of lead, and if necessary I can produce my own powder. I also, like my ancestors, like a smoothie, for it's versatility.

 

[Eutycus]

I agree with the peaceful, zen feeling when shooting traditional muzzleloaders. But I enjoy the other side of the coin. When shooting on a modern/BP range my BP guns often attract attention, especially from youngsters. Muzzleloaders are completely outside their experience of 22 semiauto pistols or rifles. They gather behind the firing line to see what these strange looking, smoky, smelly guns are. They are FASCINATED and have approximately 50 gazillion questions during the cease fire. I love explaining about the guns, how they work and their place in history.

Jeff

Can't agree more. The fascination in the eyes of youngsters (and not-so youngsters too) is pretty much worth it.

 

[Capnball]

I enjoy the history behind many of them, maybe that's why I don't care for inlines or modern ones.

A well done long rifle is a work of art from the hands of a craftsman long gone from the world. The military musket could have been the witness to some very important events in history.

By extension, that's probably why I enjoy working on old houses/structures so much as a contractor. I get to become a part of the story of that house for guys 100 years from now so I try to pay attention to details so they won't be saying, what the heck was he thinking?

I have three muzzleloaders, a flintlock, a cap lock and an inline. I like em all but the caplock is my favorite.

 

[Art Caputo]

Out by Netcong and Newton? Real pretty country out that way. Used to drive right through it on my way to the Poconos. I was born in Jersey City but I grew up "down the shore" Monmouth county. Raised my kids in Ocean County. I live in MD now, right smack in the middle of Amish country. I love it!.

Yes! I was raised in a small iron mining town about 20 minutes from Netcong, ”Ironia”. My first home was in Netcong when I got married. My job landed me in North Carolina for several years, finally ending up in rural Massachusetts For the last 35 years. My parents retired to Monmouth county........We spent just about every summer on the Jersey shore....Point Pleasant to Wildwood.....

 

[Carbon 6]

today I shot my cabelas' stainless Hawken style 54. 90-100g ffg and prb gave me a 1.5 inch group at 50m. for 10 shots. i'm ready for bear.
while sitting having lunch it came to me why I enjoy muzzle loaders so much.

Wait until you discover the world of flintlocks.
Your journey has just begun.

 

[Lippy984]

With me, the admiration and enchantment for the muzzleloader was engrained at an early age. Raised in rural NewJersey in the 60’s, it was shotgun/buckshot only for deer, IMO,useless, except for very specific circumstances. Since muzzleloaders we’re allowed, we quickly found a kit built muzzleloader, once mastered, was far more effective for the typical 20-100 yard distances common to our hunting grounds. When shotgun slugs were eventually allowed, I never bothered, continuing to get my share of deer with my muzzleloaders. 50 years later, while I enjoy competing in sports like PRS, and hunt at long range in the western part of the country with precision centerfires, the muzzleloader continues to be my firearm of choice for deer hunting in the Northeast where ai reside. The ‘allure” will likely follow me to the grave.

Did you happen to live in Wantage, NJ?

 

[Capnball]

Yes! I was raised in a small iron mining town about 20 minutes from Netcong, ”Ironia”. My first home was in Netcong when I got married. My job landed me in North Carolina for several years, finally ending up in rural Massachusetts For the last 35 years. My parents retired to Monmouth county........We spent just about every summer on the Jersey shore....Point Pleasant to Wildwood.....

I've been there. There's a little slice of history there.
I raised my kids in Brick NJ. My in-laws retired right around the corner from us in one of those giant retirement communities. When I lived there Brick NJ was billed as the safest place in America to raise your kids for two years and second place after that. Both my boys finished school there, neither had any (serious) problems with the cops and neither of them ever had a fight that I'm aware of. Now it's a little different. Afermative low income housing saw to that. I watched it happen. The year I left the county was named a heroin hotspot in NJ. Crime soared and some really sketchy people were moving into the area. I feel very fortunate to have lived there when I did but more fortunate to have gotten out when I did. A few weeks before we moved my wife and I were doing our walk around the neighborhood and a "deck" of heroin packs rubber banded together was just sitting in the middle of the street. A neighbor of ours found two cardboard box's of AK47 ammo at the foot if his flagpole on our block and finally a girls body was found in the woods not far from our house. It was absolutely time to go.