Muzzleloading 101 and beyond

Dave951

Dave951

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So, don't know much about muzzleloading but want to know more? Got a whiff of the holy black and can't quite scratch that craving? Or are you one of us folks who have pretty much given in to the dark arts of shooting and want to pass your knowledge on?

Well, the NRA in conjunction with the NMLRA and others have put together a set of courses. The NRA combines muzzleloading rifle, pistol and shotgun courses into one- NRA Basic Muzzleloading. I'm certified to teach it as is @Catfish. It covers the very basics of the sport, safety, and care of the arms.

The next step is the deep end of the pool- Instructor. First you must take Basic Muzzleloading, then Basic Instructor Training, and then Muzzleloading Instructor. Before taking the instructor level class, you must successfully demonstrate competency in muzzleloading with rifle, pistol and shotgun by shooting the "qual" course, a qualification, with all the arms. No other NRA course does it this way. It's tons of fun but no walkover.

Once you have that cert in hand, what do you want to do? It opens up a lot of opportunities that are closed otherwise. To work with any youth org in the country, you must have NRA certs. It also opens up being able to teach Hunter safety courses. In short, it's a stepping stone in the world of muzzleloading.

So if there is an interest in taking a trip down a very entertaining rabbit hole of the shooting world, is be glad to organize a class or set of classes.
 
GIXXERMAN said:
I would be interested in taking a class. My first black powder weapon (1860 Colt clone) will be delivered tomorrow. Have everything I think I need to shoot it except percussion caps which seem to be impossible to find lol.
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We don't seem to have that problem in the N-SSA. If you take the class, I'll bring enough for you.
 
Ok as for holding a Basic Class, we're looking for a location at the moment, since it does involve a classroom session. I know of 2 Scout camps that may be options- Camps Raven Knob and Bud Schiele. Camp Raven Knob is near Ladonia NC very close to Fancy Gap. Camp Bud Schiele is SW of Morganton. Depending on where everybody is coming from, this can be adjusted.

There is a cost to the class as there are consumables involved and there's no way around that as it's an official NRA class. The class materials from the NRA aren't free. Past that, I don't do this to make money. I do this to boost interest in black powder and to help deepen the pool of certified instructors to work with kids and others. If you want to go for the Instructor cert, we'll shoot the qual course as part of the Basic class. The range component of the Basic class consists of can you safely load and operate a muzzleloading rifle, pistol and shotgun. There's nothing about marksmanship, that's what the qual course is for in the Instructor class.

But back to the Basic class, the group I shoot with that conducts this class are a very, very experienced bunch of black powder shooters and competitors. Steve ran into one of them at the Smoke on the Mountain event, in fact, Charlie was first place. Another of our group, Bob, makes original type powder horns with authentic engraving and builds flintlocks. Add to that, he's a darn good shot and he and Charlie are serious competition at a match. At no other Basic class will you get exposed to as wide a range of muzzleloading arms and experience as our class. You'll see everything from Longrifles to Civil War originals, to historic exotics. Yeah, we got a very interesting toy box.

Just a few of our guys-
L2R-"Flintlock Bob", myself, Charlie aka "Teddy" or "Mr President"
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Flintlock Bob demonstrating fine form with an original flintlock pistol in his version of "Get off me bloody ship!!"
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Vinny in his element. Vince also makes rifles. Here he's showing a Ferguson, a very, very rare critter. On the table are a generic "Hawken", P58 Enfield, and an original 1869 Rolling Block in 50/70. Vinny is covering the progression in black powder arms through history. The kids love it and yes, we demonstrate all of them.
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And Jim, aka "Cow Doc". He does a great job on lecturing about safety and history.
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And St Marty. If you ever encounter this sweet little old retired school marm and she has a cap and ball revolver in her hands, yer about to get schooled. Don't shoot revolvers against her for money, you'll end up poor. She's probably one of the best cap and ball revolver competitors in the country and an excellent instructor.
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I'm close by - pm me and I'll see if I can help.
 
I’d be interested. Depends on when and exactly where. I’d probably have to come for a weekend as I’m not really near the mountains.
Would we need our own arms for the basic class? I’d like to learn but wouldn’t even know what I wanted to buy without some experience.
 
DRFury said:
I’d be interested. Depends on when and exactly where. I’d probably have to come for a weekend as I’m not really near the mountains.
Would we need our own arms for the basic class? I’d like to learn but wouldn’t even know what I wanted to buy without some experience.
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IF we can use the Scout camp facilities, each camp has a training center with attached bunk rooms, showers, and kitchen. All you'd need is a sleeping bag. Each camp has multiple ranges so getting a place to shoot doesn't present a problem.

As for guns, we bring those. Not everyone has a muzzleloading rifle, pistol and shotgun. We also supply the consumables for each arm. If you're going to shoot the qual course, we need to know beforehand cuz the ammo requirements climb rather quickly and the course cost will be adjusted to include those consumables. The rifle part is easy, there are tons of "Hawken" replicas and we have more than a couple along with a decent supply of rifled muskets and past that, we have some flintlocks as well. We also have more than a couple handguns, both single shot and revolver, the single shots are divided into flint and percussion. Shotguns, this is where folks seem to freak out especially when they look at the price of a Pedersoli, but that's not a problem. Most N-SSA guys shoot smoothbore class and a .69cal smoothbore is nothing more than a 14ga shotgun, so some wads, some shot, and we're in business.

To elaborate on how this class can benefit those new to muzzleloading, our group of instructors is rather unique. Bob, Charlie, Jim, Marty, Vinny, myself and others have extensive experience in a wide range of these arms and have more than a couple interesting items. Our group knowledge base extends from early flintlocks all the way through black powder cartridge. Some of our guys build them, and we're not talking a generic kit. Bob and Vinny buy parts from Muzzleloading Builders Supply, Pecetonia and Rifle Shoppe to finish and make excellent shooting arms that are unique and works of art. Charlie is very knowledgeable in military arms and a crack shot. If @Catfish comes along for the ride, then it's even more experience and depth of knowledge. He's got some interesting stuff as well. So rather than get a bland, packaged NRA course, which is ok for some folks who want to avoid information overload, we have folks present that can help explain history and use of everything we bring, call it an "immersion experience".
 
So here's the current "state of play"- since our competition season is now closed for 2023, I'm looking into getting a class organized. As stated before, we'll probably be using one of two Scout camps. Both have bunkhouse accommodations attached to a classroom along with a kitchen and bathrooms. Both have ranges. Our N-SSA team has 7 certified instructors and we know of a couple more that aren't N-SSA. What you'll get- a serious deep dive into muzzleloading the likes of which you won't find at a "normal" muzzleloading course. Hey, can I help it if our guys are enthusiastic? If you want to shoot the qualification along for Instructor along with the basic course, we can arrange that as well, but be warned, it'll be a loooong day.

I'm throwing this out there for anyone who's interested in this cuz we need to plan to have NRA official materials on hand. Our course information email address-
[email protected]
 
The double set under hammer is actually a bit of a vanity build? I was sitting at a campfire and one of the guys said " I'm looking forward to seeing a metalshaper built DS underhammer!"
I smiled and thanked him for his confidence in my abilities. Another fellow, the campfire know it all, leaned over and told me " Well, it cant be done!"Then he looked me in the eye and told me " But don't feel bad, better men than you have tried and couldn't get it done.. " I kind of thought, hmmmm ....Watch ME!!!

Now to clarify things.. a properly made and tuned Underhammer doesn't really need set triggers?

this action is homemade.. fits into about 3.5" of length, the mainspring is internal, I made the set triggers and fig'rd out the way to drive them, That guard was a Hawken style,
but I farb'd it with a lil help into an elongated rail. it all rides on an insert, as I don't care for the normal through pins of the H&A style.. The 'receiver ' was made in my bud's shop
as the High school he taught shop at.. had a big metal bender 😉 Marlow also cut in and brazed/turned smooth the bands that are in the frame.. the frame I polished and fire blued
when it was ready.

The brass frame rifle, was started by Marlow, but he felt he screwed it up. One day, when we were working in his shop ( at the school ) he threw this to me and asked, "what can you
do with that??" the action is on an insert, is held up in the frame by two keyed slots/screws and one screw through the grip rail. the mainspring is the guard like and H&A and is captured
between the hammer and guard rail..

My Mule ear, Miss Muley, is also a home built design.. and I've built My version of an outside mainspring lock. ( with a Medberry lock behind it I also made ) those phillips screws and only there during the build/fitting... FWIW🙃

Respect Always
Metalshaper/Jonathan

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My Muley.JPG
 
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Here's an update- I'm waiting on getting into contact with the folks who can ok using Camp Raven Knob. They're all at a conference till next week. Our instructor cadre is ready and willing to conduct the class and we're targeting late January. We'll also need to know who is wanting to shoot the Instructor Qualification course of fire. It involves rifle, pistol and shotgun.
 
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