Excuse Me, I'm Loading

FishDFly said:

"Never been to a range the required flash shields...?

"My club doesn't require flash shields, so don't go saying that all ranges require them"

Most ranges require a flint lock shield if shooting a flintlock.

I did not say all ranges require them, see above. The three (3) ranges that I shoot at require them. It is a safety requirement along with safety glasses and hearing protection.

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I have fired with two pirate crew reenactment groups, shot at three different 'pay to shoot' ranges and fired at three different Rendezvous: I have never heard of flash shields being "required".
As far as being hurt by the flash; we cover safety strictly where I have shot, as far as public ranges go it is the Shooter's responsibility to Not pull the trigger if someone is off their right.
As far as "it hurts"; yes I know, one fellow once came up on my left, reached over my shoulder with his pistol and fired! Burned the heck out of my face - he got some strong words from me and the group leader took away his shooting privileges for the rest of the event.

Again, why I don't bother with crowded ranges these days.

I see folks try their hand at competitive shooting and quickly quit.

For some reason they think it is easy and when they are not at the top of the board quickly, they quit. What they do not understand is that the guys at the top have been doing it a long time.

There are no secrets to be at the top of the board. It's 90% mental to get there and practice. Your goal is to shoot better than you did last time and you are only shooting against yourself.

NMLRA sanctioned matches require shields as well as the TMLRA.

Only place I shoot with others are sanctioned matches with a Range Officer.

Having built some half fancy flintlock rifles and being a life long shooter myself, as well as a Hunting Safety Instructor I have run into this situation a time or two myself. I have learned, through dry balling on occasion, (Yes, I'll admit it!) to pay close attention to loading and not answering people's questions until after the gun is at least loaded completely, primed and shot. To the people watching and asking this may seem rude, ( I have looked up from loading to see some unhappy faces from people who thought they were being ignored). I explain myself and just what I would have to go through with pulling a patched round ball or, (God forbid) having to de-breech a custom made rifle with a 42" barrel. Most people understand, it's the ones who don't that get upset the most. When I explain black powder fire arms to a class I stress several things, NO SMOKING when loading (this should be obvious but you'd be surprised!), use a powder measure of some kind, be it hand made, a shell case or store bought, always seat the ball firmly down on the charge and PAY CLOSE ATTENTION while loading, almost to the point of seeming rude. A good thing to do is have your ramrod marked with a "loaded" line in it, that way if you are distracted you have a reference line to check.

Our range has a remote "Wilderness Range"...no modern rifles shooting smokeless powder or jacketed bullets allowed! Rules are very relaxed, flintlocks welcome.

The first time I turned up at a Black Powder club , every one came out to meet me and shake my hand an ask all about my rifle and how long I had been shooting and did I belong to another club . I thought "what a great bunch " it was some years later I realized they were checking me out , making sure I wouldn't blow them up or shoot them .

Cutfinger said:

The first time I turned up at a Black Powder club , every one came out to meet me and shake my hand an ask all about my rifle and how long I had been shooting and did I belong to another club . I thought "what a great bunch " it was some years later I realized they were checking me out , making sure I wouldn't blow them up or shoot them .

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I know of one club you have to shoot so many matches and then they decide if you are allowed to be a member.

FishDFly said:

I know of one club you have to shoot so many matches and then they decide if you are allowed to be a member.

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Good Idea . I have found that black powder shooters in general are nice folks , no game playing trying to get onside your head , unlike some trap shooters I have met . I did know one guy who liked looking in other shooters shooting boxes and picking stuff up , even when he was told not to , and always want to know how much did that cost ? and where did you get that ? He got under my skin a little .

I’ve really enjoyed this revisited thread. I went back and read the other comments.

I’ve been shooting muzzies for about 3.5 decades; mostly paper and fun targets. I never really got into the reenactment part of it. I would travel around my area and shoot with the local clubs. There was enough around that I could burn powder every weekend of the month.

I’ve shot production guns mostly. I must admit I was a little cocky and liked to beat the guys with their custom guns. I never cared much if mine were historically correct as long as they were functional and accurate.

Then I moved back to Oregon not far from the Gun Works. They have a Lay-a-Way program. This allowed me to afford something a little more authentic. I sold all of my production guns except for the ones I use for Classes and Scouts. I also got rid of most of the unmentionables to afford some custom rifles and pistols.

I’m a little prejudiced in that I’ve always felt that a half-stock rifle should be Percussion and a Fullstock should be Flint. There’s a guy in one of my clubs that’s built two percussion long guns and I just want to walk up to him and ask WHY?

I complimented him on the workmanship but then said, “Too bad it’s got the wrong lock on it”. I pray he knew I was kidding, or was I?

Thanks!

Walt

not sure where to post this: Is there one place, here or somewhere, that details accepted black powder shooting practices and/or procedures? For example: when one changes targets, can fellow participant break down revolver and start to load black powder at table at/next to firing line? Check to see if RB is in barrel? I get peppered with rules, regulations and do's/do not's for moderns but curious to know if there's something out there about black powder muzzleloaders. Thanks. Let me know if I need to put tjhis somewhere else.

ormond tony said:

not sure where to post this: Is there one place, here or somewhere, that details accepted black powder shooting practices and/or procedures? For example: when one changes targets, can fellow participant break down revolver and start to load black powder at table at/next to firing line? Check to see if RB is in barrel? I get peppered with rules, regulations and do's/do not's for moderns but curious to know if there's something out there about black powder muzzleloaders. Thanks. Let me know if I need to put tjhis somewhere else.

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General Rule at any range: NO
So long as folk are Downrange, no one is to be handling Any firearm at the Bench (Fireing Line).
At a Backbench, maybe, see Range Rules.
Out on Public Land we generally prefer no one handles their firearm until the other party(s) is back beyond 'Muzzle Line'.
It all for Everyone's Safety...too many yahoots with Zero trigger awareness.

ormond tony said:

Is there one place, here or somewhere, that details accepted black powder shooting practices and/or procedures?

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Most matches or events will use the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) Rules and Regulations as default. The actual line of fire is the only place folks can mess with their guns and only on command by the Range Officer. The Range Officer (RO) does actually walk the firing line with strict observation of participants;
https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...cbba/1584626035866/2020+NMLRA+RANGE+RULES.pdfBasic conduct is described in the first 9-10 pages with the RO being God.
Hope that helps,,

Josephg said:

Usually when I dry ball is when I'm all alone.

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Glad I'm not the only one.

ormond tony said:

not sure where to post this: Is there one place, here or somewhere, that details accepted black powder shooting practices and/or procedures? For example: when one changes targets, can fellow participant break down revolver and start to load black powder at table at/next to firing line? Check to see if RB is in barrel? I get peppered with rules, regulations and do's/do not's for moderns but curious to know if there's something out there about black powder muzzleloaders. Thanks. Let me know if I need to put tjhis somewhere else.

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I am Cheif Range Master at my local club. We have both public and member ranges. It doesn't matter what you're shooting, during a ceasefire, everyone is to stand back behind the yellow line and not touch anything! On other ranges without the safety line, still no touching of anything. In most cases, you can't even carry your gun from your vehicle while the range is cold. You can never be too safe!

I hope this helps.

Walt

As fairly a "New Bee" with muzzle loading I've learned now what to say after three dry ball experiences. Two with my 1864 Type 2 Springfield rifle, one with my 1854 muzzle loaded Aston .54 cal hand gun. All for the reasons of flapping my gums and not paying attention. During the last two a life long friend who was shooting with me, watch and saw, and never said a word until after the last time. Frustrated I asked him why he kept silent, he told me I would have to learn the hard way by making the mistake. That was the best schooling I had. Three years back I've haven't had any mishaps loading or dryballs. Now when shooting, I always take my time to set up my station and if someone approaches while loading I kindly tell them to give me a minute and complete my loading and fire my shot. Then with my firearm down, unloaded, I take a break to talk. Usually they stand there while I complete the loading and shot, they watch with questions then to be asked afterward. If they don't...well then it wasn't important.

Urban Coyote said:

I think we'd probably agree that one should pay close attention when loading a muzzleloader avoiding distraction.

At a range shooting muzzleloaders, especially traditional ones, usually draws the attention of curious spectators. It's a good thing for the sport and we're all ambassadors. Heck, everyone digs being able to say they brought someone in.

Herein lies the opportunity, how do you politely get across to inquisitive spectators it is not a good thing to interrupt a person loading? It happens more often than you might think. My approach has been to ignore them until I complete my loading effort and then excuse myself while I fired the shot. After that I'll answer whatever questions they might have, and there can be some doozies. Perhaps I should be explaining why I ignored them right upfront.

How do you handle this?

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I’m recently retired and I’ve been a high school science teacher for the last 20 years…I have no problem saying, “Wait a minute, be right with you.”

Great thread by the way. I’ve been reading through the posts for the last 40 minutes.

BP Addict said:

It doesn't matter what you're shooting, during a ceasefire, everyone is to stand back behind the yellow line and not touch anything! On other ranges without the safety line, still no touching of anything.

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Our private range implemented this rule awhile back. We don't have a defined yellow line but you do have to stand back from your bench.
I understand the rule and agree with it, but it was handy to be able to drop a load in your upright rifle or continue to charge a revolver cylinder.

I remember being at an event where a guy was changing the rock on his flintlock at a side bench. He had the rifle on it's side on the bench, he finished the install and dropped the hammer to check for fit. The LOADED rifle FIRED without a primer charge!
The shot was fired to the side of the range, in the general direction of a distant walking trail!!
By far the most dangerous errant shot I have ever witnessed
To make matters worse, the man got defensive when chided by those of us present, The RO banned him from shooting for the rest of the weekend event.

Ponderosaman said:

I thought it was a lot to keep track of when loading a BP rifle until I got a SxS ML shotgun. A guy at the range was looking over his shoulder at me, asked what I was doing with my gun. He didn’t realize it was a muzzleloader when I waved him by to shoot the stand we were at.

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I have had the same fun times…two barrels, twice the opportunity to screw it up. When I first started shooting my double barrels, I used to get interrupted all the time. Anymore, I think most people are used to seeing others shooting muzzleloaders.

……Course, someone busts out a beautiful traditional muzzleloader, I’m usually right there looking it over and being a nuisance…so yeah I can be the problem.

RicM said:

As fairly a "New Bee" with muzzle loading I've learned now what to say after three dry ball experiences. Two with my 1764 Type 2 Springfield rifle, one with my 1854 muzzle loaded Aston .54 cal hand gun. All for the reasons of flapping my gums and not paying attention. During the last two a life long friend who was shooting with me, watch and saw, and never said a word until after the last time. Frustrated I asked him why he kept silent, he told me I would have to learn the hard way by making the mistake. That was the best schooling I had. Three years back I've haven't had any mishaps loading or dryballs. Now when shooting, I always take my time to set up my station and if someone approaches while loading I kindly tell them to give me a minute and complete my loading and fire my shot. Then with my firearm down, unloaded, I take a break to talk. Usually they stand there while I complete the loading and shot, they watch with questions then to be asked afterward. If they don't...well then it wasn't important.

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After three and a half decades of shooting muzzies, I still dry ball once in a while. Now, shooting my ramrod, that's still a yet!

Walt

necchi said:

Define "polite".(?)
I never had that problem, I'm too ugly and mean looking. Most folks won't even bother approaching me.
Those that do, generally only get within about 3' and turn away,, I wear the same t-shirt and undergarments for a week and only bathe once a month.
Simple problems have simple solutions.

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John, we love you!