Free Republic

A 75-year-old Vermont homeowner opened fire with a muzzleloader allegedly after three armed men tried to breaking into his residence late Tuesday night. What are the details? Gordon Richard Sr. told investigators the trio tried breaking into his home on Sandy Hill Road in the town of Georgia through a locked interior door from a separate section of the residence where his son lives, WCAX-TV reported, citing state police. Richard added to police that he shot one of the men with a muzzleloader, shut the door, and called 911, the station said. The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m., WCAX said....

A hybrid primitive-style match with paper targets is a hit with local muzzleloader club. There are several aspects to "primitive shooting" with our muzzleloading arms. This includes "loading from the pouch" instead of using a shooting box. It certainly includes using a patched round ball rather than the modern elongated bullets. And primitive shooting does include using targets that are not the typical bull’s eye style, and usually not paper targets. I want to illustrate how a primitive match can be held while using paper targets. It is easy and it’s a lot of fun. A couple of our targets...

Little pocket pistol not doing it for you? Perhaps you should pack this gun. Look at this immense muzzleloading gun small enough to pocket carry for Paul Bunyan that has a loud bang. In a video shared by Best of Weapons we have the king of all muzzleloading handguns. You will see massive flames coming from this big bore. This muzzleloading pistol will have heads turning at the gun range. But be sure to have a vise like grip or else it will fly away from you. Best words of advice is better hold on if anyone ever offers you...

It wasn't the game that the author expected to take with it, but his big .58-caliber flintlock still performed well in the woods. Let me begin this tale by reviewing some background and a few technicalities. The rifle that is the real centerpiece of this story is a .58-caliber flintlock, in the fullstock Hawken style. That was the last rifle made for me by the late Dave Dolliver. It was my second .58-caliber rifle, but compared to some of the other muzzleloading calibers, I had very little experience with the .58s. Getting more experience with the .58s was something I...

Social media has a way of spreading viral content like a wild fire in a desert. And this video of the exploding muzzleloader on the range is gaining a lot of attention. It is a pretty insane video. The shooter should consider himself very lucky that things didn’t end any worse than it already did. The slow motion clip makes the video all the more frightening and crazy. I’m still not sure what caused it, and we don’t want to speculate on anything without knowing details. All we know is that things like this happen, and when they do, you...

For the first time since the National Firearms Act (NFA) was created in 1934, civilians can enjoy suppressed shooting in all 50 states with SilencerCo’s latest innovation: the integrally suppressed Maxim 50 muzzleloader. In addition, this product can be purchased right now on the web with no regulation (no 4473, no tax stamp, no photographs or fingerprints) at store.silencerco.com and be shipped immediately to the purchaser with few exceptions*. Residents in the 42 states that allow civilian ownership of silencers have to pay a $200 tax, fill out forms, send in photos, submit to fingerprinting, and wait months for the...

On a cold winter day in western Washington, two duck hunting rookies loaded up on No. 2 shot and expert advice to take on some wily webfoots. Cedarville Farms, located in Oakville, Washington, is an active farm that includes a working millworks facility. But perhaps more applicable to the topic of this column, it is also home to a waterfowl hunting club situated on more than 100 acres with five swales, a tree-enclosed pond, and 2,500 feet of river frontage. Owner Jon McAninch always donates a couple of two-person guided hunts to the annual Washington Waterfowl Association (WWA) raffle, and...

It all started with the Baker Rifle and the British 95th Rifle Regiment The defining moment for rifles in the western world was when Rifleman Thomas Plunkett serving with the British 95th Rifle regiment took a shot with his Baker rifle towards the end of the Battle of Cacabelos in 1809. Rifleman Plunket laid flat on his back in the snow took a shot at the French General Auguste-Marie-François Colbert. While he lay on the ground, Plunket inserted his foot into the sling of his Baker .705-caliber rifle to stabilize the weapon, the butt of his rifle flushed into his...

Flintlock Construction Inc. offers quality muzzleloading barrels in a variety of calibers, lengths, twists and tapers. I recently purchased a .52-caliber barrel from Charles Burton of Flintlock Construction Inc. (FCI) in northeast Kentucky, and I'm happy to report that it now has a new rifle wrapped around it and is performing very well. My shooting was done using a .512-inch-diameter round ball wrapped in a .015-inch patch. The bore is tapered – just a mere .003 inch within the 35-inch length – but it is easily felt both when loading a patched round ball and when cleaning the gun. That...

Hunting with muzzleloaders is popular enough that most states have special or separate seasons for hunters using them. The rules for those seasons vary, so if you are setting up a hunt, even near home, do a little homework to see which guns, calibers, sights and styles of ignition are favored during those times. In my home state of Washington, the ignition must be exposed, which means an in-line rifle that has an enclosed percussion nipple and cap are not allowed. Also, Washington does not allow scopes on muzzleloaders when used during the muzzleloading seasons. Scoped muzzleloaders can only be...

Full title: MILLER: Exclusive — Shock verdict — Mark Witaschek guilty of possessing muzzleloader bullets in D.C.… while NBC’s David Gregory got off scot freeIn a surprising twist at the end of a long trial, a District of Columbia judge found Mark Witaschek guilty of “attempted possession of unlawful ammunition” for antique replica muzzleloader bullets. Judge Robert Morin sentenced Mr. Witaschek to time served, a $50 fine and required him to enroll with the Metropolitan Police Department’s firearm offenders’ registry within 48 hours. Outside the courtroom, I asked Mr. Witaschek how he felt about the verdict. “I’m completely outraged by...

Ray Carr, a resident of Charleston, Illinois, builds and sells homemade cannons. His most recent one is modeled after an 1862 Mountain Howitzer, it’s fully operational, and it can be yours for the low price of $4,750. Despite the high price tag and the obviously limited market, Carr claims that a bunch of people are interested. He told The Daily Eastern News, “Most [prospective buyers] say, ‘I’d love to have it, but the wife wouldn’t let me.’” We've all been there before. So, what motivates a man to build homemade Civil War replica cannons? The same thing that motivates all...

MASSENA — Walking into the woods Saturday behind the Massena Rod and Gun Club, 155 Patterson Road, was like stepping 200 years into the past. Nearly a dozen competitors braved the elements for the first St. Lawrence Valley Primitive Snowshoe Biathlon. One by one, the racers donned their wooden snowshoes, packed their long guns with black powder and trekked through the snowy woods, stopping only to take aim at several targets scattered throughout the mile-long course. It was not only a race against the clock, but also a jump back into a world before automatic rifles and snowmobiles. Contestants as...

These are targets printed in Ned Roberts book "The Muzzle Loading Cap Lock Rifle". Accurate rifles are not a new invention.

A priceless relic of Victoria's history, the Plains rifle once carried by Juan Linn, the city's last Mexican-rule alcalde and first Republic of Texas-era mayor, has been found, restored and will soon be put on public display. Gary Dunnam, Victoria County's heritage director, gave those attending Monday morning's meeting of county commissioners court the first public peek at the restored muzzleloader. "This is Juan Linn's rifle," Dunnam said as he pulled the long, iron-barreled antique from a modern-day camo-print case and handed it to the commissioners for their inspection. "It is a significant artifact which reminds us of one of...