People come to the sport of muzzleloading for one of two reasons. Let's divide new muzzleloaders into two groups according to the reason they become involved in the sport. The first group is that composed of people who may or may not be "shooters" prior to becoming involved in muzzleloading, but who find they have a real interest in target shooting, hunting, or simply "plinking" with an authentically styled "primitive" weapon. I fall into this category.

In my case, my introduction to muzzleloading came to me like a bolt from the blue while reading an outdoor equipment catalog one day. I had been surrounded by gun enthusiast friends most of my life and many had been the times that I had been invited to shoot various centerfire handguns and rifles, at one range or another or in the field. I had actually extended the effort to appease my friends by going shooting on occasion but somehow the shooting sport never "grabbed me". Mind you, no one had ever mentioned "muzzleloaders" to me.

Then, one day, years ago, this outdoor supplies catalog came in the mail and I thumbed through it in search of anything I didn't realize I needed very badly. As I was thumbing, I came across an ad for a "Hawken" style replica black powder rifle and as I looked at the ad I thought "Boy, wouldn't it be a great idea to produce a muzzleloading gun like this that one could actually shoot?"

I continued reading the ad until I got to the company's logo which read "You can shoot it!" Upon reading the logo I thought "Boy, wouldn't it be great if they made this gun in such a way that one could actually shoot it with a hunting load and some reasonable degree of accuracy?"

Needless to say, it didn't take much more reading on my part before I realized that the C.V.A. St. Louis Hawken replica I was looking at in the ad was, in fact, a truly "shootable" rifle with serious hunting capability. I literally leaped out of my seat, grabbed the receiver of the nearest telephone and ordered the gun. In retrospect, while that rifle may not have been of the quality of the more expensive blackpowder rifles I shoot now, that was a wise purchase. I taught myself how to shoot using that inexpensive gun and I became involved in what has turned out to be a life long hobby thanks to that inexpensive gun. What more can one ask of a spontaneous purchase like that purchase was?

The second group of people coming to the sport of muzzleloading today is composed of those hunters who are not interested in learning to use primitive weapons. Instead, they are motivated by the opportunity to extend their hunting season to include "muzzleloader only" season. This opportunity presents itself as a result of the efforts of the many blackpowder traditionalists throughout the country who were instrumental in prompting state game commissions nationwide to establish separate muzzleloader only seasons in addition to and often prior to regular big game hunting season.

Unfortunately, when these "muzzleloader only" hunting seasons were first established, the only muzzleloaders available to sportsmen were built with tradition in mind. Many of the most popular of these did not actually replicate guns of days gone by, but they were manufactured to offer the shooter the feel of blackpowder hunting tradition by employing traditional styling. At the time the laws were established, no one could have realized that no sooner would they be in place, than companies would begin to manufacture guns that while satisfying the letter of the law, had absolutely no level of traditional authenticity to them at all. In fact, they were designed to offer for sale a hunting rifle that while satisfying the letter of the law in most states, relieved the shooter of as many of the burdens of the sport of traditional blackpowder hunting as possible. They did this by offering a closed ignition system that cannot be adversely effected by rain, often, synthetic, waterproof stocks, often mounts for telescopic sights, and accessories such as false black powder, quick loading, false black powder pellets, and plastic jacketed, conical bullets. The manufacturers of these rifles also boast of dramatically increased ranges. Needless to say, the traditionalists don't appreciate having to share the field with those who opt for the non-traditional, "gimme an unfair advantage", guns during muzzleloader season.

I mention these guns and the conflict that exists between the outer fringes of each of these groups not to become involved in this debate here. Instead, I mention them because while the utterly modern, totally non-traditional muzzleloading guns maybe be of no interest to me, they are an option for the beginner, until they are banned from use in the field during primitive weapons season. They present an option that will not be discussed here, beyond this, however.

The options that will be discussed here all fall within the realm of more or less traditionally styled, muzzleloading rifles. Any number of these are currently produced, all are safe to shoot, and the range in price is such that many fall within any person's budget while some don't fall within any thinking person's budget. Let's look at a few options.

First, there is the question of ignition. For all practical purposes, one's first muzzleloading gun will employ one of two types of ignition system, these being the "flintlock" ignition system and the percussion" ignition system. Relatively reasonably priced, working replicas of the more primitive "matchlock" ignition rifles are also currently available but these guns are not very readily available, more expensive and a poor choice as a beginning gun for most shooters. We should understand that we are talking about a hobby here. One becomes involved in blackpowder shooting for fun and for no reason but fun. As such, while I will make recommendations concerning what I view to be the most appropriate beginner's gun, the shooter should make whatever choice strikes him or her as being the most fun. If it's a matchlock rifle that for no good reason tickles your fancy, a matchlock rifle is what you should get. If it's a flintlock rifle that "does it for you", then it is certainly a flintlock rifle that should become your first muzzleloading gun. However, I am going to recommend that your first gun be one that employs the percussion ignition system.

There is a trend afoot of late, for more experienced blackpowder shooters to pride themselves upon their shooting of flintlock as opposed to percussion rifles. I sense that many flintlock shooters feel that the flint and steel ignition system is somehow the more legitimate of the two. This may be partially due to the fact that the flint and steel system is more difficult to perfect at first. Perhaps it's because this system is the more difficult to use in inclement weather. Perhaps it is because it is the older of the two ignition systems. Or perhaps it is because flintlock rifles were in use for a much longer period of time, historically, than percussion muzzleloaders were. To some extent, I think this attitude is a reaction to the current explosion in popularity of the thoroughly modern rifles mentioned earlier and the fact that these rifles employ a non-traditional, highly sophisticated form of percussion ignition.

Be that as it may, the percussion ignition system is a perfectly legitimate, historically correct, method of firing a muzzleloading rifle and no one should feel the least bit "left out" when using a percussion rifle either at the range or in the field. Maybe once you've been shooting for awhile you'll develop a desire to try your hand at flintlock shooting. At that point, you may decide you like it better than percussion shooting. This is your prerogative as a hobbyist. I must tell you, however, that while I own a fine, custom flintlock rifle and while I do enjoy shooting it on occasion, percussion rifles remain my true love in the world of muzzleloading. You may find the same is true for you.

The percussion ignition system differs from the flintlock ignition system as follows. The concept behind the firing of all muzzleloading rifles is a simple one. A charge of highly explosive, black powder is dumped into a barrel that is sealed off at one end. On top of that powder, a projectile is tightly seated. A spark is introduced to the main powder charge through a small hole drilled through the barrel, the powder charge explodes and the explosion forces the projectile out of the open end of the barrel. In the earlier, flintock rifles, the method of ignition used to cause the main powder charge to explode was a spark that was created when a piece of flint engaged in the mechanism of the rifle's "lock" was forced down rapidly in such a way as to cause it to strike against a piece of steel (known as the frizzen). This spark would fall upon a part of the lock known as "the pan" which was filled with a fine granulation of black powder and situated just next to the hole in the barrel near the main powder charge. The spark would cause the "pan powder" to flash (this is the proverbial flash in the pan") and this flash would quickly work it's way through the hole in the barrel (the "touch hole"), igniting the main powder charge.

When you envision this form of ignition, you can foresee problems very easily. For example, suppose you are trying to pour some pan powder in the powder pan and the wind is blowing hard or it is pouring rain? Suppose your flint has struck your frizzen thirty or forty times and the next time it is to strike it has become so dull that it will no longer deliver a spark without being sharpened (or "flaked")? Invariably, this will happen just as you are looking down the barrel at the only deer to come within range all season. Mark my words! Experienced flintlock shooters will argue that with practice, you'll have your flinter going off as reliably as any percussion rifle on the market but for our purposes now, the flinter is not the better of the two choices for a first gun. Besides, the flintlock ignition system went out of existence when the percussion system was invented for a reason. Even the old timers preferred the percussion system.

The percussion ignition system differs from the flintlock ignition system as follows. Instead of employing a piece of flint and a steel frizzen striking together to create a spark which ignites the "pan powder", a small, brass cap with a tiny charge of a substance that explodes upon being struck sharply is used. Instead of a "touch hole" simply being drilled through the barrel near the main powder charge in order to offer the spark to that powder charge, a hollow "nipple" is either welded or fitted into a drum which contains a channel that leads to the main powder charge. The cap containing the slight charge of fulminate of mercury (the slight charge of explosive material) is set upon this nipple. The nipple is positioned under the gun's "hammer" and when the trigger is pulled, the hammer slaps down upon the small, brass, cap causing the substance in the cap to explode. This, in turn, sends a spark to the main powder charge causing it to explode, pushing the ball out of the barrel.

Consider the disadvantages of the flintlock ignition system we discussed and you can see the improvement that the percussion ignition system offers. With the percussion cap system, once the cap is set upon the nipple, the area is sealed. Wind cannot blow the cap off as it can blow the pan powder out of the pan. Rain cannot (usually) effect either the explosive charge intended to ignite the main powder charge or the main powder charge. There is no flint to become dull. All in all, it is a better system and obviously the precursor to the self contained cartridge system developed during our American Civil War. For all of these reasons, I will definitely recommend that the beginner purchase a percussion rifle as a first muzzleloader. Like me, you may just find you'll always prefer them anyway.

Once you have decided upon the ignition system most appropriate for you, you will have to decide upon a style of gun that you will gravitate toward for personal reasons and that you will opt for, for practical reasons. Many attribute the incredible popularity of the "Hawken style" rifle to the fact that many modern muzzleloader shooters were first attracted to the idea of shooting muzzleloaders by some of the now old movies which portrayed "Mountain Men" using guns of this style. Such movies as "The Mountain Men" starring Brian Keith and Charlton Heston is one such fine, old movie. Perhaps the most influential of all was "Jeremiah Johnson" starring Robert Redford (as the fictitious character Jeremiah Johnson, loosely based upon the character of Mountain Man "Liver Eater Johnson", Will Geer as "Bearclaw Chris Lapp, and Stefan Gierasch as "Del Cue". I am not ashamed to tell you that I sat watching that movie for the first time thinking to myself "I AM A MOUNTAIN MAN, BY GOD!" and I have had these words running through my mind each of the many, many times I have watched that wonderful movie since. I'm not ashamed to tell you that I own the copy of the movie that I taped from television, a store bought copy of the movie "just in case" and another store bought copy of the movie "just in case again" either. It's true. We are effected by the time in history a gun was in use and by the image of the people of history who used the guns we become interested in. There's nothing wrong with that.

But the romance of periods in history and "Hollywood Hype" are not the only reasons that the "Hawken" style rifles are a good choice for the beginner muzzleloader. These guns are extremely practical shooting pieces as well. They employ a hooked breech method of setting the barrel of the rifle into the stock and a "barrel key" method of securing the barrel to the stock. This system enables the shooter to remove the barrel from the remainder of the gun easily and safely for ease of cleaning after a shooting session. Trust me, folks: Beginners will appreciate this feature.

The other method of securing a barrel to a rifle stock is via pinning. A barrel that has been pinned to a rifle stock should rarely be separated from the remainder of the gun as frequent separation will cause the pins to become loose. As such, when the rifle is thoroughly cleaned after each shooting session, it will have to be cleaned with the barrel in place. This presents a multitude of problems, from the cleaning being an awkward procedure because the gun is so long, to the possibility of getting water between the gun stock and the metal parts of the gun. All things considered, I am going to recommend a "Hawken Style" rifle with a percussion ignition as a first muzzleloading rifle.

Now that we have decided that a percussion cap, hooked breech, keyed barrel rifle would be a good gun for you to start in the sport of muzzleloading with, we should address the question of caliber. What's the gun going to be? Will it be a little "side hammer" .32? Maybe a .45 caliber "Hawken Style" rifle? How about a .54 or even a .58 caliber boomer? Well, even more than being a decision based primarily upon whim, this is a question of function. What is it that you want to do with the gun? If you are interested in doing some hunting, what is it you want to hunt? Squirrel? Moose? Bear? Deer? Elephant?

Maybe you would like to use your gun primarily for range shooting but leave the hunting option open. Maybe you'd like to use the gun primarily for hunting, shooting at the range only occasionally? Maybe you know darn well that you are never going hunting but you don't want to admit this to yourself because it is the fantasy that you will go hunting which makes your target shooting so enjoyable. Whatever it is that you envision enjoying most about the sport of muzzleloading, we need to keep the caliber of your gun in line with your vision.

The range in calibers of guns available to muzzleloaders is vast. So that I am sure that we all understand our terminology here, a "caliber" is a fraction of an inch. The correlation between calibers and inches is such that a .50 caliber gun utilizes a bore (the hole in the barrel) that is precisely one half inch across. Into it will fit a ball that is slightly smaller than that. The law in most states specifies that muzzleloading rifle of at least .45 caliber must be used in the hunting of all big game (deer, bear, etc.) This being the case, we have an idea of what the caliber of the gun we plan to buy should be.

We will talk more about hunting later. For now, suffice it to say that I do not recommend hunting large game with a ball any smaller than .50 caliber. Personally, I use nothing but .54s and as I am writing this I have a well known , American gun maker building me a .62 to be used by me exclusively for hunting. We now know that if your dream is to hunt large game with a muzzleloading rifle, the first gun you buy should be a keyed barrel, percussion cap, .50 or .54 caliber gun.

If your dream is to hunt squirrel with a muzzleloader, you might want to go with a small caliber long gun. A .36 caliber or a .32 caliber gun is sufficient for "bushy tail" hunting, but few of these rifles are made with easily removable barrels. Those of you who dream of using your first muzzleloader for purposes of hunting very small game might opt to buy a .32 caliber, percussion cap, long gun with a pinned barrel. That little .32 will burn far less powder than a .54 will too so if economy is important to you, the smaller calibers may be the answer.

If your dream is target shooting and maybe hunting on occasion, the hunting caliber is called for. However, if target shooting and never hunting is what you see yourself doing with your new gun, then the .45 is right up your alley. I am going to shoot from the hip here (so to speak) for a second and advise you to keep the hunting option open and buy a range gun with adequate stopping power for big game. Given what we have learned so far, I am going to advise you to select a .50 caliber, keyed barrel, percussion ignition rifle as your first blackpowder gun.

Now that we have selected a style of gun, a system of ignition, and the caliber of our first gun, we must address the question of appropriate "twist". "Twist" refers to the degree of turn of the rifling that has been cut into the inside of the barrel of your gun by the barrel maker. In order to understand this we must understand the following bit of firearms history.

In days gone by, when guns were first being developed, the earliest guns were "smooth bores". In other words, they were not "rifled" but instead their barrels were metal tubes that were smooth on the inside. The problem that immediately occurred to those who made and shot smooth bores was that the fouling left by the powder burned upon firing the gun, clogged up the barrel and made future loading difficult. The burned powder fouling had nowhere to go in the barrel and remaining in the barrel, it got in the way of the next ball to be loaded. In order to remedy this problem, gun makers conceived the idea of cutting grooves into the wall of the barrel so that powder fouling created upon firing would have someplace to fall into.

This idea worked so well that in time it occurred to gun makers to spiral the grooves cut into the wall of the barrel so that the surface area of the groove would be increased, hence giving the fouling even more of a chasm to fall into. Lo and Behold, not only did this idea work well but in addition to working well, gunmakers observed that the balls being fired from the barrels with spiraled grooves cut into their walls flew more accurately than those being fired out of "smooth bores". The spiraled rifling was imparting a rate of spin to the ball being fired from the barrel and this spin was helping in the stabilization of the projectile being fired while it was in flight.

The rate of twist of a rifled barrel refers to the length of barrel required in order to turn a ball one, complete turn. In other words, a rate of twist of "1 in 66" tells us that a ball being fired through the barrel in question and engaged by the rifling will make one full revolution in 66 inches of barrel length. A "1 in 66" inch twist is a relatively "slow twist". A "1 in 24" inch twist is a relatively "quick twist".

Rate of twist becomes important to the prospective owner of a first muzzleloading rifle for the following reason. Different rates of twist are more appropriate for some calibers than they are for others. Also, different rates of twist stabilize different shaped projectiles more accurately than they do others, even of the same caliber. As such, we again need to know what it is that you want to do with your gun in order to pick you a first gun with an appropriate rate of twist.

As a rule, larger calibers are stabilized best when spun with a slower rate of twist. Hence, if you are going to shoot round ball as opposed to a conical projectile, your big bore (.50 caliber and better) rifle should come with slow twist rifling. Again, 1 turn in 66 inches is a nice, slow twist for a .50 or .54 caliber ball to fly at. If you are sure that it is exclusively round ball that you will be shooting through your gun, this is the rate of twist I would recommend for your big bore. Be sure to ask the question when buying the gun too because a faster rate of twist, the "1 in 48", is often employed in big bore rifles. This is true not only because the "1 in 48" inch twist was used extensively in muzzleloaders of historical times, but also because this rate of twist will fire both a round ball and a conical projectile adequately.

But suppose you know that your new rifle will be used primarily as a hunting tool and that as such, you might want to shoot the more damaging conical projectile at the game to become your target? Well, as stated above, the "1 in 48" inch twist might serve your purposes, however a faster rate of twist, one designed specifically for conical bullets, might be even more appropriate. For exclusively conical big bore, bullet shooting, a fast "1 in 32" or a faster "1 in 28" inch twist might be the gun you're looking for. In smaller calibers, such as the .45 or smaller, this question of rate of twist is not as much of an issue as we generally do not see the range in options available to the shooter among commonly sold, small bore, muzzleloading rifles.

Finally, before opting for one rate of twist or another, one might want to keep in mind that in a big bore rifle that is made to use very heavy loads very commonly, a very slow rate of twist might be what the shooter is looking for. For example, if the first animal you intend to shoot at with your new muzzleloader is one form of African Megafauna or another, a big bore rifle with an extremely low rate of twist might be what is called for. This is due to the fact that in order to maximize penetration and energy delivered upon impact, very heavy powder charges might be in order. Very heavy powder charges (175 grain and up) will cause a projectile to exit the barrel so rapidly that there is a danger that in a rifle employing a faster rate of twist, the projectile might "strip the rifling". In other words, blow out so fast that the rifling does not have a chance to impart a spin to the projectile. In such an instance, slower rifling (like "1 in 144") will stand a much better chance of engaging the projectile on its exit route.

Now that you know the basics of twist and what it can do for or to you, its time for us to make a buying decision. What twist rifle are we going to buy? We will assume that it is not your intention to hunt Africa or Brown Bear with your first muzzleloader. We remember that we have already decided on to buy a .50 caliber, percussion ignition rifle. As such, we have to make a decision about the kind of projectile you want to shoot from this new rifle of yours. As I am something of a traditionalist where this sport is concerned, I am going to advise you to buy a round ball shooter. We remember that a round ball shooter generally employs a 1 in 48 to a 1 in 72 inch twist in a big bore gun. As your new gun is a .50, we'll look for a I in 66 inch twist or thereabouts. Again, you know the details now and you know your own desires so you will have to modify this recommendation to suit your own needs.

I will mention this question more so that you will never say I didn't than because it is likely to be important to you. Within the lock mechanism of today's modern muzzleloading replicas, one of two types of "main springs" can be found. One of these is a coil spring, like the springs we know most readily. The other type is the more traditional "V" shaped spring. It is the job of the main spring to bring your hammer down when the trigger of the rifle has been pulled.

Either type of spring works well. In some competitive shoots, the more traditional "V" shaped main spring is required. Some shoot organizers will not allow a gun with a non-traditional, coil spring to be used in competition. If you think there is a real possibility that you will be using your first muzzleloading rifle in serious competition, buy a gun that employs the "V" shaped main spring system. Otherwise forget I mentioned this.

The length of pull of a rifle is determined by measuring the distance between the trigger and the edge of the butt of the rifle. The length of pull of the shooter is determined by the physical size of the shooter. The appropriate length of pull of your gun is determined by your size. If you are a tall person, your arms are likely to be long and so you need a long trigger pull. If you are a short person, the appropriate length of pull will be short. Problems arise when selecting a factory made, standard size rifle. If shirts all came in one size, some men would be walking around with shirts that fit just right while others would be walking around dressed in shirts that are either too small or too large. The same is true of guns.

Different companies mass-producing muzzleloading rifles have made different decisions regarding the length of pull of the rifles they produce. Most muzzleloading rifles mass-produced today are made to fit the average size man. If you are relatively large, you will find these guns uncomfortably small. To make a long story short here, try a few rifles on for size before making your final buying decision and buy the one that fits the other criteria we have outlined and which also fits you best. Remember this: If you are going to be using the rifle as a hunting gun, be sure to wear the kind of clothes that you will be wearing when you hunt the day you try the rifle on for size. A thick jacket will shorten the appropriate length of pull required by the shooter in question.

Finally, before making our purchase of our first muzzleloading rifle, we must ask ourselves to what extent traditional styling is important to us. Are we getting into the sport of muzzleloading because we really want to experience the feel of shooting the guns of old? If so, shouldn't we be certain that the gun we are buying is a reasonable replica of some gun of old?

Because a rifle is called a "Hawken" or a "Pennsylvania Rifle" or a "Kentucky" by the company mass producing it, does not mean that it is an exact, or even a reasonable replica of a gun of old. Some companies, knowing they are selling guns to novices, take a great deal of liberty in their design of their guns. Many of these guns are very well made firearms, but being well made does not mean that they are traditional with regard to their styling. If you find, down the road, that this hobby has become a real interest of yours, the day will come when you will probably wish that you had selected the most traditionally styled gun available.

This is not the time and this is not the place to suggest "brand names". I will warn you, however, that among the many producers of modern muzzleloading replicas offering guns for sale today, there is a great range in adherence to tradition. I would advise you to do at least a minimal degree of homework here. Take a trip to the local public rifle range where muzzleloading enthusiasts are shooting and ask the question of them as to which of the guns you have narrowed your search down to is the most traditionally styled. If the guys you find are anything like the muzzleloaders I know, they'll undoubtedly talk your head off and in the long run, you will be glad you selected a authentically styled, modern muzzleloading replica.