This is Civil War weapons related so please bear with me, read to the and and you'll see why I've posted it in this section of the forum. Also note the STICKY at the top.
Like I've said before, I shoot with the North South Skirmish Association. Last winter, a small group of us were discussing the state of black powder shooting sports, chili recipes and the 2nd Amendment and how the youth of today aren't getting much positive exposure to black powder shooting sports. We decided to see what we could do about it. We contacted the BSA since that was the youth organization we were most familiar with. We got NRA/NMLRA Muzzleloading Instructor certifications. The normal instructor ratings are fairly common, rifle pistol, shotgun. A muzzleloading certification is not common. What we found was that, of the people holding muzzleloading instructor certifications, almost NONE are active muzzleloading shooters or competitors. We got corp support from several companies, Schutzen donated powder and caps, S&S and Lodgewood gave material support for the firearms, NSSA member Pat "PJ" Kelly donated 5 Zouave muskets and NSSA member Jim Rogers has been doing speaking engagements with SCV and any honorarium or donation goes towards lead. NSSA members Jim Rogers and Dave Miller have been casting minies.
We go to a local, well known Scout camp in NC where we work one day each week. Our mornings and afternoons are spent in the Mountain Man primitive camp teaching the Rifle Shooting Merit Badge. The camp guns have their issues, so it's a good thing we brought 5 muskets complete with ammo! All 5 were dialed in prior to starting our weekly visits and the worst is about a 3moa shooter, so the muskets are all very capable. In the merit badge sessions, we get to stress positive 2nd Amendment values, black powder firearms safety and handling, and muzzleloading marksmanship, of course with Civil War muskets! When we get to the shooting part, Scouts often have had no training at all in offhand shooting. It's not unusual to take a Scout who can't hit a barn from inside the horse stall, to center punching targets with muskets in about an hour. It's just a matter of some personal, quality instruction. Then it's time for the "Cracker Challenge", targets become Ritz crackers suspended on wire at 25yds. That's an 8moa target and the Scouts take their new skills with the muskets and have a blast whacking crackers with minies. Often an inpromptu match starts between them complete with score keeping and smack talking, great fun. At that point, we're assisting and monitoring safety and keeping score for them. Our evening is spent in the main camp where we conduct an open shoot for the Scouts in the main camp giving them the opportunity to shoot a Civil War musket with live ammo at steel gongs. In those open shoots, more than one gong has been knocked off the chains by a minie ball.
The results of our work- there's about 100 Scouts this summer who've learned that a Civil War era musket (even if it's a "Zouave") can be quite accurate. There's lots more that know about the sport of black powder musket shooting competition. We've gotten to instruct in the history of firearms development during the Civil War. The kids have been extremely curious about Sharps, Smiths, Gallaghers, Henrys, and revolvers even though we are only allowed by BSA regulations to use them as visual aids. After the merit badge sessions most Scouts go "relic" hunting in the backstop and take home spent minies as souvenirs.
A couple pix-
Like I've said before, I shoot with the North South Skirmish Association. Last winter, a small group of us were discussing the state of black powder shooting sports, chili recipes and the 2nd Amendment and how the youth of today aren't getting much positive exposure to black powder shooting sports. We decided to see what we could do about it. We contacted the BSA since that was the youth organization we were most familiar with. We got NRA/NMLRA Muzzleloading Instructor certifications. The normal instructor ratings are fairly common, rifle pistol, shotgun. A muzzleloading certification is not common. What we found was that, of the people holding muzzleloading instructor certifications, almost NONE are active muzzleloading shooters or competitors. We got corp support from several companies, Schutzen donated powder and caps, S&S and Lodgewood gave material support for the firearms, NSSA member Pat "PJ" Kelly donated 5 Zouave muskets and NSSA member Jim Rogers has been doing speaking engagements with SCV and any honorarium or donation goes towards lead. NSSA members Jim Rogers and Dave Miller have been casting minies.
We go to a local, well known Scout camp in NC where we work one day each week. Our mornings and afternoons are spent in the Mountain Man primitive camp teaching the Rifle Shooting Merit Badge. The camp guns have their issues, so it's a good thing we brought 5 muskets complete with ammo! All 5 were dialed in prior to starting our weekly visits and the worst is about a 3moa shooter, so the muskets are all very capable. In the merit badge sessions, we get to stress positive 2nd Amendment values, black powder firearms safety and handling, and muzzleloading marksmanship, of course with Civil War muskets! When we get to the shooting part, Scouts often have had no training at all in offhand shooting. It's not unusual to take a Scout who can't hit a barn from inside the horse stall, to center punching targets with muskets in about an hour. It's just a matter of some personal, quality instruction. Then it's time for the "Cracker Challenge", targets become Ritz crackers suspended on wire at 25yds. That's an 8moa target and the Scouts take their new skills with the muskets and have a blast whacking crackers with minies. Often an inpromptu match starts between them complete with score keeping and smack talking, great fun. At that point, we're assisting and monitoring safety and keeping score for them. Our evening is spent in the main camp where we conduct an open shoot for the Scouts in the main camp giving them the opportunity to shoot a Civil War musket with live ammo at steel gongs. In those open shoots, more than one gong has been knocked off the chains by a minie ball.
The results of our work- there's about 100 Scouts this summer who've learned that a Civil War era musket (even if it's a "Zouave") can be quite accurate. There's lots more that know about the sport of black powder musket shooting competition. We've gotten to instruct in the history of firearms development during the Civil War. The kids have been extremely curious about Sharps, Smiths, Gallaghers, Henrys, and revolvers even though we are only allowed by BSA regulations to use them as visual aids. After the merit badge sessions most Scouts go "relic" hunting in the backstop and take home spent minies as souvenirs.
A couple pix-