Muzzleloader

Top 10 things you need to know about your new Muzzleloader

If, like many of us Santa brought you a new Muzzleloader or muzzleloader kit, you’ll be spending the next few weekends tinkering with it. This list is brought to you courtesy of the NMLRA Facebook group to give you the best tips and tricks to break in your new muzzleloader safely.  

#1 Read the manual

Whether you are familiar with modern firearms or not, muzzleloaders are a different animal.

We recommend that you read the manufacturer's manual that came with your new muzzleloader, if one is not available, please go online and find the digital version at your manufacturer’s website. Manuals will give you correct loading procedure and load data for your firearm. 

If you have added a new custom built muzzleloader to your collection, be sure to communicate with the builder about safe load measurements. If your builder is not available, please reach out to some online forums or facebook groups and ask the folks there

#2 Don’t assume your local sporting good stores know black powder

    It can be hard to find real black powder, but it is very important to remember that Pyrodex, Trip 7, etc is not blackpowder. We don’t advise ever using smokeless powder in your traditional muzzleloader. Smokeless Powder is more explosive than traditional black powder. Using Smokeless in your traditional muzzleloader can result in serious injury or death. 

    If you are having trouble finding real black powder in your area, as it is not carried in many gun shops or sporting goods stores, be sure to check out the list of authorized dealers from both Schuetzen Black Powder, and Goex Black Powder. NMLRA Members also receive a discount on black powder from both Goex and Swiss if you purchase on NMLRA Grounds. 

#3 Keep your Powder away from your shooting area 

    It’s important to remember that any container holding black powder is highly explosive. Many newcomers make the mistake of leaving their black powder can near there firing position or bench, not realizing that a percussion or flintlock firearm can throw sparks around the area. If one of these sparks hits your powder can, you won’t want to be within 50 yards of it! 

#4 Of all the laws you must recall. First the powder, then the patch and ball.

    It can seem very simple, 3 steps between shots, nothing fancy, just a lot of ramrodding, but you’ll be surprised how often you can mix them up if you aren’t focused. 

    Always pay attention when you are loading your new muzzleloader, you don’t want to accidentally double load your powder, patch or your ball. It won’t just mess up your grouping, but it could seriously injure your rifle and you! 

    On our ranges though, the most often forgotten step in the powder, resulting in a fair amount of heckling as we work to pull the ball.

#5 Load Safely

    Remember, you are handling an explosive powder each time you load your muzzleloader.

 Never load a muzzleloader’s powder straight from your powder horn or powder can, always use a measure. This ensures a repeatable load for more accurate shooting, but it also keeps you safe from any rogue sparks that could ignite your powder. 

#6 Mentorship

If you haven't been around muzzleloaders much it can be very daunting. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a local shooting club or gun shop for some help. We’ve got a list of Official NMLRA Charter Clubs as well as Field Representatives all over the United States that are trained to answer your questions. 

Our facebook group is packed with over 4,000 members of all skill levels, reach out there anytime and you’ll receive many great responses.  

#7 Is it loaded? 

    Like all firearms, it is paramount you behave that every muzzleloader is always loaded. If you aren’t sure, there are a couple steps you can follow to check. 

  1. Point the Muzzleloader in a safe direction

    1. Flintlocks - Open the Frizzen and place the hammer in the down position. 

    2. Percussion Locks- Ensure there is no percussion cap or remains of a percussion cap on the nipple. Keep the hammer in the down position over the nipple or put the hammer on Half cock with a washer over the nipple. 

  2. Remove your ramrod and place it down the barrel until the ram rod cannot go in any further. Mark the spot on your ramrod flush the muzzle. We recommend a permanent marker or a piece of tape for accuracy. 

  3. Remove your ramrod from the barrel and place it alongside the barrel of your muzzleloader so the line you marked is in line with the muzzle, and the base is pointed back towards the area described below 

    1. Flintlock Firearm: The touch hole, or flash hole, located on the side where the ignition spark reaches the charge

    2. Percussion Lock Firearm: The drum area, located on the side of the breech

    3. In-line Firearm: The breech plug

    4. You should be familiar enough with your firearm to know if there is a cavity in the breech plug that will allow powder between the rod tip and the flash hole.

    5. If there is a cavity, check to see if it is filled with powder. Insert a .22-caliber ramrod, made of brass or other non-ferrous metal, into the bore until it stops.

    6. Remove the rod, and measure along the outside of the barrel to see if the rod tip reaches the flash hole of the breech plug. If the rod reaches the flash hole, the muzzleloader is empty and has no projectile or powder in the barrel.

  4. If a projectile or powder is inside the barrel, use a CO2 discharger to clear the barrel. Then reinsert the range rod into the barrel to make sure the projectile and all powder have been removed.

  5. After you are certain the firearm is empty, insert the range rod back into the barrel. Make a permanent "unloaded" or "empty" mark on the rod at the spot where the rod exits the muzzle. You now can use this mark to verify whether the barrel is empty whenever the range rod is inserted.

Source

#8 Cleaning your muzzleloader 

    You can find countless online forums and comment threads discussing how often to clean your muzzleloader. Should I clean after every shot? After an hour? After a day?

    Well, there isn’t really a rule. Many of our competitive marksmen will clean their barrels after each shot to make sure each shot is as accurate as possible. If you are plinking at your home range, you can get away with a few shots before cleaning. 

    Like all modern firearms, it’s important to clean your muzzleloader well after each trip to the range. Swab down the barrel with your preferred cleaner and wipe down the exterior as well to prevent rust. 

#9 Always do your research

    Youtube is a great resource for just about everything on the planet, but when it comes to handling black powder, always triple check the information presented in the video. 

    We recommend this video from The Black Powder Maniac Shooter as a good starting point for a flintlock. Hickok 45 also has several good videos on muzzleloaders. 

#10 Safety Safety Safety 

    We all know Eye Protection and hearing protection are important when shooting modern firearms, with muzzleloaders you’ll hear the same. Eye protection is especially important when shooting a sidelock muzzleloader, the ignition explosion on the exterior of the firearm, and near your face. Shrapnel from percussion caps or your flint can easily find its way into your eyes. 

We hope this helps you get started in the world of muzzleloaders! We hope you’ll find your new muzzleloader one of the favorites of your firearms collection, I know we do here at the NMLRA.

How to Load a Muzzleloader

We wanted to bring this illustration out from the Muzzle Blasts Magazine archives. Commissioned in 2015, we’d like to thank Larry Small for illustrating this great diagram.

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How to load a Muzzleloader

  1. Make sure the bore is dry by using a ramrod with a cleaning jig and a clean, dry patch.

  2. With the hammer down for safety, clean the frozen, pan, and flint (watch out for the sharp edges of the flint). Be sure the flash hole is clear of obstruction by inserting a vent pick, paper clip, or pipe cleaner. Load a flintlock with the frizzen and hammer all the way forward.

    1. For a percussion firearm, inspec the nipple for obstruction by using a nipple pick or paper clip. With an unloaded firearm, snap a cap or two. Always point the muzzle in a safe direction.

  3. Pour the powder from a powder horn or flash into a measure. For safety, never pour powder directly into the bore from a horn or flask.

  4. Pour the measured powder charge down the bore. Avoid placing your hands or face directly over the muzzle.

  5. Center a lubricated or moistened patch over the bore and place the lead ball onto the patch.

  6. With the short end of a short starter, set the patched ball into the bore. Use the Pam of your hand to press the ball into the muzzle.

  7. Push the ball deeper with the long end of the short starter by using the palm of your hand.

  8. Firmly seat the load against the powder charge by using short strokes with your ramrod. NEVER fire a muzzleloader if the ball is not firmly seated on the powder charge.

  9. Use a pencil to make a reference mark on your ramrod when the lead ball is correctly loaded.

  10. Remove the ramrod and store it under the barrel.

  11. For a flintlock, fill the pan 1/4 to 1/3 full of priming powder, place the hammer into the half- cock position, and close the frizzen. When ready to shoot, bring the hammer into full cock position.

    1. For a percussion muzzleloader, bring the hammer into the half-cock position and place a cap firmly onto the nipple. When ready to shoot, place the hammer at full cock.

  12. Be certain of your target and what lies beyond. Aim and fire.

  13. Run a damp cleaning patch down the bore and begin the process again, no need to repeat step #9

November 2nd Inline Silhouette Match at the Walter Cline Range

Congratulations to Bob Wetzler for taking top honors today at NMLRA inline silhouette match.

Some incredible shooting today by all competitors.

3 shooters went 19 for 20 and came down to shoot off for the win.

Course of fire was

5 chicken 200m

5 pigs 300m

5 Turkey 420yds

5 rams 500 yds

Shoot off at 500 yds was

Ram,Turkey, pig,chicken first to miss was out and Bob put on a shooting lesson all fell out at Turkey at 500 except Bob smoked it.

Special thanks to Dan Thomas and Rod Scobee for there time to host match and Walter Cline Range

Thank you to Be Still Custom Creations Muzzleloaders for providing us with this coverage of the Inline Match on Saturday.

Photos from the 2019 National Championships Woodswalk

We had near record turn out this past week at the NMLRA Woodswalk range! Thank you, Trent and Robin Wren for working hard before, during, and after the national championships to prepare the range and keep it running smoothly and safely.

Trent and Robin shared these photos all through the championships to keep us informed of all the great marksmen coming through the range.

Photos from the Trap Range Awards at the 2019 NMLRA National Championships

A Special thank you to Robert Frist for sharing these photos with us on Facebook. It’s hard for us to get photos of everything, members like Robert make our jobs a lot easier. Thank you Robert!

We are working on getting scores from the National Championships up as soon as possible, thank you for your patience.

Sunday from the 2019 National Championships at the NMLRA

We had another wonderful day here at the 2019 National Championships. The weather was slightly cloudy with sun all day. A slight breeze kept attendees cool, but was not enough to affect the marksmen on the line.

Today was a wonderful day for catching up with several pieces of living NMLRA history.

The NMLRA Media team worked with families and friends of several 95 year old members who have been around for many years to sit down and document some of their history here at the range.

The Pole Cat Porter exhibit in the Rand House Museum has been very well received by our attendees, we are excited to be sharing in the near future.

Friday from the 2019 National Championships!

We’re excited to see the grounds filling up with camps, marksmen, families and craftsmen today. NMLRA Media spent some time walking through the living history grounds this afternoon.

We’re posting through the day on our social media. Follow us as @NMLRA on facebook and @muzzleblasts on instagram to see stories and photos throughout the days.

Be sure to tag us on social media to be featured on the site and NMLRA social media!

2019 National Family Fun Shoot Recap

There’s one more Family Fun Shoot in the books for us! We had absolutely perfect weather this past weekend at the Family Fun shoot. With over 100 registered participants, the firing lines were bustling all weekend.

If you haven’t seen it, check out this peek into the weekend from the NMLRA Media team-

Mark your Calendars! 37th Annual Spring Rendezvous in 2020

We’d like to thank one of our Charter Clubs, the “New Frontiersmen Muzzle Loading Club” for hosting the 37th Annual Spring Rendezvous in 2020! Check out the flyer below for more information

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Join them Saturday May 16 and Sunday May 17 at the Ashland Conservation Farm. They’ll have primitive and modern camping, rifle and smooth bore shoots, and more!

For more information, check out their website at ACWCL.org

Find out more about NMLRA Charter Clubs