My Little Ones Shooting Black Powder

[mom of 3 angels]

Been out to our annual mountain man event this past week and just thought I'd share some cute pics of my kids shooting black powder. Littlest one is 4 (in pink) and she asked for 3 days straight to go to the shooting range. She didn't hit a dang thing (had to have help pulling the trigger and it's hard to explain sight picture to a 4 year old) but had a blast! My middle one is 6 (in purple) and she hit 4 of 5 shots and placed second in the girls shoot (age 15 and under). And my oldest (8 years old in rev war outfit) placed first in a shoot/tomahawk/knife combined competition (16 and under) and he did his hawk and knife throwing and half his shooting in the rain. What a trooper! We had some great folks down at the range that were more than willing to get young ones shooting and if you can't tell by the grin on my littlest, they had a fantastic time. I have lots of catching up to do after being gone for a week and plenty going on with the archery hunt opening Saturday and two birthdays and school starting next week, so I'll probably be sporadic on the boards for a while, but still here checking in every now and then . . . :)

[Shoots Running]

Excellent pictures, and so good to see the young'uns paid some attention by the olders. We all have an obligation, I think, to bring them along in our sport and way of life. Without them, it's all a dead end.

Good on ya! And thanks especially for your Good Work!

[KimberPB]

Great pics Mom. I think the smile on the little ones face says it all! Congrats to the two oldest for placing 1st and 2nd in there age classes. I bet you're one proud mom. Thanks for posting.

[KimberRB]

Mom it looks like you had a great time. It’s nice to speed time with the kids and they looked like they were having the time of their lives. I know I always enjoy the time I spend with my kids. Congrads on 1st and 2nd place

[HK4U]

The main thing was they were having fun. Shooting should be fun and they will grow up loving it and will learn more and more each time they go. Sounds like you will be plenty busy for a while but stop by when you can.

[wuzfuz]

Bless you for seeing that your little ones are learning to handle firearms properly. I was soundly criticized for teaching my kids to handle all of my firearms in regular training sessions in the desert where we lived. Even though I was certified as a Basic Marksmanship Instructor and Range Master, some people felt it was terrible to allow children to handle guns. Letting a kid see what a hollow point does to a canteloupe is more effective than keeping them in a gun-free bubble. My kids know how much fun the shooting sports can be, plus they are much safer around guns than most adults.

[Scarecrow]

Originally Posted by wuzfuz

Bless you for seeing that your little ones are learning to handle firearms properly. I was soundly criticized for teaching my kids to handle all of my firearms in regular training sessions in the desert where we lived. Even though I was certified as a Basic Marksmanship Instructor and Range Master, some people felt it was terrible to allow children to handle guns. Letting a kid see what a hollow point does to a canteloupe is more effective than keeping them in a gun-free bubble. My kids know how much fun the shooting sports can be, plus they are much safer around guns than most adults.

+1 to that.. education is the key! and many people could learn by your's and mom's example of teaching the young one's properly. mom, congrats to your kids! they look like they had an awesome time! and you must be proud.

[IheartTedNugent]

Looks like a fun event to attend.

[tattedupboy]

I've never even shot black powder. What's it like?

[mom of 3 angels]

Originally Posted by tattedupboy

I've never even shot black powder. What's it like?

That's a good question. It's like a single shot rifle only even slower to load so longer between shots :) Black powder rifles were the beginning of firearms as we know them. I love the connection with history--these are the guns our founding fathers shot. You measure your own powder for each shot--some like a little more, some a little less--you can load heavier for a long shot and then get kicked in the shoulder so hard it about throws you over or you can load 20 grains and a 4 year old can shoot a 54 cal rifle. You have your choice between a percussion that uses a pre primed cap to spark and ignite your powder or a flint lock that uses a piece of flint hitting steel to ignite it. Either method has its advantages and both are prone to misfires just by not getting enough spark. Shooting a flintlock you also see the spark when the flint hits the steel as you fire (the lock is right in front of your firing hand) which can be a little unnerving for some (we've only had our kids shoot percussion style for this reason). I don't know the exact year percussion locks became available--I think it was around 1840, but flintlocks were around before that. So after you load your powder you put your patch over the muzzle--either lube it with some type of lubricant or put it in your mouth for a while and it's "spit lubed" (the problem with spit lubing is that if you are shooting a lot your mouth gets really dry). Then you stick your round ball on the patch (modern muzzleloaders sometimes use the sabots--bullet shaped balls--but I've only used round balls) and shove it all down the barrel with your ramrod until it gets to the breech end and is sitting on top of the powder. Then you're about ready to fire so you go to the line and either put your percussion cap on or put your priming powder in the flintlock pan, cock it back, aim, hold, fire, and hold longer. The hold is very important as sometimes the powder doesn't ignite and sometimes it ignites and burns a little slower than you expect and it takes a half second (sometimes longer) for the gun to actually go boom. Then you have a bunch of smoke and you start over--powder, patch, ball, powder, patch, ball as long as you have powder, patches, balls and time to shoot. You have to keep your brain on so you don't load two loads down the muzzle or forget the powder or something like that--could be dangerous!
Okay, that kind of went on and on--I tend to ramble sometimes . . . hopefully gives you some idea what shooting black powder is like--you should try it at least once in your life, could probably look up the local muzzleloaders association and show up to one of their shoots. Most people are more than willing to help someone else learn. :)