This article appeared first in the April 2020 issue of Muzzle Blasts Magazine. Order yours today

Written by Shannon Lewis

My name is Shannon Lewis and I am proud to be from Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. I am currently the president of our state muzzleloading club, the “WV Muzzleloader Association.”  

I got my start shooting when I was about 8 years old. I went with my dad to the competitions. My first gun, actually all my guns for that matter, have been built by my dad Lenny.

I started off with a tiny little flintlock that was stocked from sassafras wood so that it was lighter and I could hold it. I then had another gun that was able to switch from a flintlock to percussion ignition. I shot flint for a long time and now my current gun is a .40 caliber percussion. However, it is made with interchangeable locks as well. I also have a .54 caliberhunting rifle that my dad built out of parts that I have won over the years. Instead of brass it has elk and deer antler on it. Shooting and hunting is something that we did as a family. My mom and dad have 3 girls. We all hunt and we all shoot. I have been hunting as long as I can remember and have been eating deer meat since I was old enough to remember. Deer jerky in our home was a big thing and it often didn’t last long after getting it off the stove. I killed my first deer with a muzzleloader when I was 11. I was so proud and remember dad telling me that if you’re going to shoot it, then you have to gut and drag it. Of course I had to have help, but that saying has stuck with me and I have gutted and drug my own deer ever since. I still to this day hunt with my muzzleloader, both my .54 and my offhand gun. I really enjoy using my muzzleloader for competitive shooting and hunting.

I have been shooting competitively for several years and have been coming out to Friendship, Indiana for about 15 years. I have shot different matches and have done pretty well. I currently hold 3 national records.  My family also shoots at matches around WV and at several different locations with different clubs.  

West Virginia holds an annual State Offhand Shoot to determine the top shooters in the state. I have had the honor of winning the women’s match and being named the top female shooter a few times. This is one of my favorite matches of the year. We get people from all over the state as well as some out of state people. We shoot, eat, sit around a campfire and have a good time. The people that I meet and shoot within WV and at the Nationals in Friendship have become like family.

I became a member of the West Virginia Muzzle Loading Association when I was little. I have since grown up in the organization and represent them as president. I have grown up around the muzzleloader community. The people within this organization are some of the nicest, genuine people you will ever meet.  Our club started helping at events such as WV National Hunting and Fishing Days; Beyond the Backyard; Wyoming County Days and an event at Hunting Hills, PA. At these events, we provide opportunity for kids as young as 4, as well as others, to experience muzzleloading. It includes hands-on education, shooting, or discussion.  I was recently honored to receive the James Evans WV Sportsman of the Year Award for 2019 for my efforts in promoting muzzleloading, hunting, shooting and outdoor events in WV.

Almost 2 years ago at one of our events, a gentleman, Mike Shamblin, came to watch and see what we were all about. He talked about how 4-H in WV has a shooting sports program, but that at that time our kids couldn’t compete to go to 4-H Nationals.  This was because there was not a sanctioned event to serve as the qualifier. After deep discussion with Mike and others about what we needed to do as a state, and how the WVMLA could help, we were able to create a partnership that opened the door for creating the necessary sanctioned event.   

In the process of all of this, we started off with a fun shoot to determine interest and additional needs to make a sanctioned event happen.  We then invited those same kids to participate in a spring shoot which was piggybacked off the WV Territorials. At this match the WV 4-H, Shooting Sports awarded the top three Junior and Senior shooters in 4-H, a sponsorship to attend the Spring National Shoot in Friendship Indiana.    This past fall, we held the 1st annual 4-H national qualifier. At this match, the top three Senior shooters were determined and they will now go on to the national competition representing WV.

Due to all my opportunities and experiences that muzzle-loading has given me, I want to take a minute to thank all the people along the way who have helped me and have made the sport what it has come to mean to me. I always say that there is something in the powder that we shoot. I have learned it is not the powder, it is the people. We are a family.  To say I am proud to represent WV and our club as the president, as well as being a fellow shooter. And, that is an understatement, I am truly blessed.