This article appeared first on NMLRA.org, the official website of Muzzle Blasts Magazine and the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association.
Fire by Flint and Steel | John A. Swett | Muzzle Blasts Archives
Dim shapes in the swirling snow slowly materialized into a small party of men, wrapped voluminously against the weather in furs and capotes. Moving slowly downhilL through winter b arren woods, they reached the floor at the upper end of a small valley. They crossed a frozen stream and climbed to the flat top of a knoll where each one eased his burden to the ground.
Up Close and Personal with an RW Wright Flintlock Pistol from 1977
The Gunmaker’s Hall Collaboration Rifle
Thoughts on building a Single Shot Muzzle Loading Pistol | W.A Carver | Muzzle Blasts Archives
Having given some thought to the advantages and loading of a single shot pistol, some considerations on the building of such a pistol seem in order. Perhaps two approaches to the subject would be useful, building a pistol from a kit, keeping in mind what would make the finished piece suitable to serious shooting, and building a pistol which is altogether a target pistol.
May 1, 2020 COVID 19 Update from the NMLRA
The following decisions have been made with the information outlined by the Indiana Governor May 1, 2020 at 2:30 PM. You can read this information here
In accordance with the State of Indiana and Ripley County Health guidelines:
The NMLRA Campground will remain closed until May 23rd at midnight, because of this, NMLRA Women’s Weekend has been POSTPONED. A new date will be announced shortly.
The NMLRA Nationals (June Shoot) has been canceled. The State of Indiana has placed strict gathering limits of <250 until at least July 4, 2020.
We will be organizing and launching an NMLRA Fundraiser in the near future to recoup funds lost due to this cancellation. We will update the official NMLRA social media and website when this launches.
If you are a craftsperson or vendor that sells your wares during our National Events, please send a photo or two of your wares as well as your contact information for customers to order from to media@NMLRA.org to be added to our list of vendors so visitors may shop from you during this hard time.
The May 30th Inline Hunters Match is still on. This event historically hosts less than 100 participants and should fit inside Indiana State Guidelines.
We will be working with county and state health officials to evaluate all new information and reopen as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience in this difficult time, staff will continue to work remotely for the foreseeable future as we do our best to serve the membership of the NMLRA.
Demonstrating Muzzleloading Barrel Rifling with Rice Barrel Co.
Rice Barrel owner Jason Schneider demonstrates ‘old school’ rifling on a vintage style rifling machine owned by the NMLRA. This demonstration was part of the 2018 TN Muzzle Loading History Banquet.
Rice Barrel Co is a longtime NMLRA Commercial Row Vendor and has supplied muzzle loader builders with fine barrels for years. Find out more on their website ricebarrels.com
Featured
The Rules for Finding Firewood Ethically | Outside Magazine
It can be hard to know what the rules are for gathering wood for your campfire. In this video, Wes Siler shows you how to find kindling and logs ethically and safely. Looking for a way to start a fire? We covered that in episode one.
Sagebrush, Cornfields, and Black Powder | Hunting Phesants with Black Powder by Randy Smith
Building a Lancaster Flintlock with Bill Raby | Part 66
Bill Raby is nearly done building his Lancaster Flintlock Rifle. This in depth series seeks to give you a real look at longrifle building from start to finish. Bill is doing a great job sharing this process. If you are wanting to build your first muzzle loader, or your 10th, give this series a watch!
Flintlock Timing by Larry Pletcher | Muzzle Blasts Archives 1990
The equipment that I use to time locks consists of a computer and interface made to scientifically measure time in a high school or college physics lab. It has the ability to measure times to the nearest ten thousandths of a second. The lock is fired electrically, and time is measured until a flash in the pan triggers a photoelectric cell, stopping the clock.
An All Around Gun | Building a Swivel Breech | Muzzle Blasts Archives
The idea for this gun came to me on a deer hunting trip in November 1985, while canoeing down the flooded Muscatatuck River in southern Indiana in pursuit of whitetail. I had seen several does, but no bucks. It seemed, however, that in every other tree there was a squirrel. Normally, our gray and fox squirrels are very shy, but a week of being trapped by floodwaters had made them careless.
Frank House on executing Engraved Script
Frank House originally shared this post on the CLA facebook page
Alright Engravers,
Time to take a big next step in grasping the concept of executing script engraving.....
First of all, it's important to understand the concept of shading... this where the Art of engraving comes to the fore.
Executed deftly, the work has that wonderful, yet subtle "Pop" that even great calligraphy can't quite match.
This next exercise is learning to draw your characters as if you would engrave them.... in other words, refine your script as if it is finished, shaded and detailed.
Script is basically cut from two directions, up-cuts and down-cuts, taking advantage of ones natural ergonomic abilities. Simply stated, it's far easier to control your cuts if executed on a outside arc than one on a inside arc, therefore the work is accomplished from two directions(photos).
The graver is started vertical and rolled away to the outside of the cuts as one proceeds, rolling the graver both back vertically and out to finish the cut, accomplishing the shading on curved cuts.
Vertical cuts are somewhat simpler.
Gradually allow the graver to consistently cut deeper until the finished depth and result are achieved.
The exercise here is to draw and lay-out your design as if you were engraving it. Incorporate the shading, incorporate the up and down cuts as you lay your work drastically speeds the process and helps one to grasp the concept.
I'm certain folks will have questions, I'll do my best....
Stay with me, we'll get there.
Upwards and onwards!
Camp Fire Memories - A Max Vickery Archive
Written by Max Vickery
A friend from home, Phil Hiatt who used to camp with us in the 50's came down with me to fish the creek, listen to some tunes, eat well and reminise a little.
He put on a Coco Taylor tape of the Blues Machine, and Said, 'How do you like that for dinner music? "Wonderful, but it'll change what we're going to have to eat." He came back with, "How's that and what's cookin?" Well it's going to be hot tamales, Louisiana greens and Jalapeno ice cream so I can match dinner to the music."
The tapes spun on as the memories bubbled up with 49 years of smiles. It took us back to Jim and Dorothy Coon's camp, Jane and John Van Way, their father , Morris and Herman Fox who pulled this place up out of the hay field, along with the help of Jo and Helen Evans, Trotter, who planted the pines along highway 62, Bill Reese, Merrel Deer, B. Leroy Compton, our editor and publisher when we headquartered out of Portsmouth, Ohio and others I never met. Lots of tents in those days, maybe one or two trailers, and every camp had its little fire.
The three main camps with the community fires were Morris Van Ways, Bill Mooses Last Chance Hotel, and Jim and Dottie Coons with 50 people gathered around laughing, talking with old friends and making new ones in conversaton. The younger crowd of the camp would be in a close by tent spinning L.P.'s and listening to Stan Kentons Lonesome Road and others.
Turner Kirkland of Dixie Gun Works, Rupert Alexander of Ram Rod Gun Shop, Lou Briggs of no mentionable fame at all at the time, and myself with four ram-rods, gently touching, dancing abba,dabba,dabba around in circles as she stood in the ring between us. The sweet and gentle girl and as afflition remotely related to geese.
There was a great deal of laughter in the camps in those days. Oh, some were more quite with talk of gunsmithing, scores shot that day, and the beautiful grain in the Freeze Maple.
The sound of fox horns came often through the night air followed by "Hear lead, Hear lead." blended with the one-two, beat of Walt Muthing's Tom-Tom.
Dorothy Coon was fixing fox squirrel, groundhog and pork steaks in mustard sauce over an open grill while the ladies of the Luthern Church of Farmers Retreat set tables of food fit for a thrashing ring in what is now the kitchen in the club house. I watched three generations of these ladies perform this service to send their children on to college 'till the old got fired and the young found other interests.
We had a character named Shorty Shelton who lived in an old sheep hearders trailer. He was comical with his 10-gallon hat, a pair of 7 1/2 inch Colt single actions in a double-rigged buscadero which damn near drug ground. The low slug pistols was due to Shorty's height, he was only four foot 13 inches high.
Commercial Row was tarps and blankets spread on the ground, and Henry Thurman was chief range officer with Riley as his assistant while old Red Ferris scored targets in the loft of the Club House and wrote a squib for Muzzle Blasts titled, "Red's Ramblings."
The offhand line was dominated by Joe Evans, Jesse Woods, Merrel Deer, Earl Black, Don Schurman, Jim Henderson, Al Leaf and bumped accasionally by this author. Bench guns were of .45, .48 and .50 caliber with very few under-strikers. Claud Turner won most of the flint-bench. Pop Boltz always placed in the squirrel-rifle bench, and Ralph and Mandy Dunn was always on station 50 on the east end of the 50-yd. line wth a green painted bench and stool, the same color as their house.
There were improvements coming and some extra money was needed to swing the projects. Morris Van Way got us the 16-acres which is now the trap range and the hills behind it. Ladow Johnston made the motion to have a dollar gate few for spectators which got us $2,000 the first time it was tried. Trudy Bagby, first co-owner of Golden Age Arms, suggested a one week pre-camping fee for those who came early and got the best spots, and registered shooters left their cars free in the Ernie Laker's parking lot. Re-entry targets went from 50 cents to a dollar, the Seneca Run was invented and we started into our change.
Time was when everyone knew everyone else as we were smaller then, but we were family and the different segments of our sport talked more with each other.Charlett Roberts saw this change and sponcered the program of "Howdy Neighbor" so that each camp introduced itself to those on the other side. We could be in better shape if that attitude could return. The change has been noticed again, and it's very pleasant to hear our president, Chuck Hearn refer to us now as "family" for it is greatly needed.
This takes our older members back aways, and lets the new ones see how it used to be in hopes that they remember their good times as I remember mine, and as always, thanks for reading.
2020 Missouri NMRLA Territorials POSTPONED
The 2020 Missouri NMLRA Territorials have been postponed due to COVID 19. Please follow the FT Osage Muzzleloaders facebook page for more information. They are working on getting new dates planned as soon as possible.
