A muzzle loader is a firearm that is designed to be loaded, as the name suggests, from the muzzle with loose components (propellant and projectile), as opposed to breech loaders which are loaded from the breech, usually with all components contained in a cartridge. Ignition of the charge in a muzzle loader is from a separate percussion cap or primer, which is held by the firearm near or at the breech of the firearm.
Until fairly recently there were very few muzzle loaders available in South Africa. There were a few surviving originals, often in poor condition, and even fewer imported replicas. One of the main reasons for this was that muzzle loaders were considered by the authorities to be firearms and these needed to be licenced in the same way as conventional modern fire arms. Many considered this too much schlepp to go through for what were considered to be “fun guns” with no practical applications. Thus for many years only the few dedicated shooters who took part in formal muzzle loading competition could be bothered with these guns! It might be added that, though these shooters were few in number, they were highly dedicated, with the result that South Africa is a strong competitive force in World Muzzle loader competitive shooting, winning several world championships in the past few years. The attitude to muzzle loaders in general changed several years ago, when the authorities, as part of new firearms legislation, changed their attitude towards muzzle loaders. A clause was added to the legislation which stated that any muzzle loading firearm produced before a certain date, or any replica of a muzzle loader produced before that date, did not have to be licenced. The only control was that the user had to have a permit, issued by the explosives division of the SAPS, in order to be in possession of the “black powder” used as a propellant in muzzle loaders. As an aside, the difference between modern propellants (so called nitro powders) and black powder is that nitro powders burn in a more controlled way, whereas black powder tends to explode. The sudden removal of restrictions on muzzle loaders and the difficulty of obtaining licences for modern firearms resulting from the new legislation caused a huge demand for muzzle loaders. Dealers responded by bringing in huge numbers of muzzle loaders. These, as well as being unrestricted, were in most cases, very cheap in comparison with modern firearms, which resulted in many sales. The initial flood, and the subsequent steady flow of muzzle loaders were mostly of replicas of American style muzzle loaders, ranging from the Davy Crockett style Kentucky rifles, to the more popular Hawken style rifles made popular by the Trappers and Traders who opened up the American wilds.
Image 1. Examples of Popular Muzzle Loaders (top and bottom are Hawken style, while in the centre is a Kentucky style muzzle loader).
The majority of these were the so called cap lock rifles (where ignition is by means of a percussion cap), although there were a limited number of flint locks also imported (ignition is by means of a flint striking an iron frizzen which generates sparks which ignites powder contained in a pan). All the initial imports were of the side-lock persuasion, as this was seen as meeting the “replica” restriction. At this stage the so-called “in-line muzzle loaders” were considered not to fit the restrictions placed by the legislation, although this was soon challenged.
Image 2. A Cap Lock
Image 3. A FlintlockOnce the initial euphoria of unrestricted access to firearms wore off, there was a cooling off period where many buyers found themselves unhappy with their purchases. Some found that they had very little use for the muzzle loader as it was unsuitable for formal competition (formal muzzle loading competition is a highly competitive sport requiring specialised equipment) and so could only be used for fun competitions. Some who had bought muzzle loaders for hunting found that they could not come to terms with the limitations that muzzle loaders have in terms of range and curved trajectories. Many new users found the loading process as well as the cleaning process following shooting, to be too much schlepp.
A further development that occurred was when amendments were made to the fire arms legislation fairly recently. The wording was changed to read that “any fire arm loading from the muzzle which can only fire one shot per barrel before requiring reloading would not require to be licenced”. The so called modern muzzle loaders or “in-line muzzle loaders” now became freely available! These differ from the sidelocks in that one can easily access the barrel for cleaning, making that process much easier, and the rifles tend to look more familiar to users familiar with modern firearms, as these muzzle loaders are usually built along the same lines as modern bolt action rifles, or on the lines of a modern break barrel shotgun. Image 5. Modern in-line muzzle loaders (bolt action at top and break barrel at bottom)Other amendments to the legislation made it necessary for muzzle loader users to undergo training and assessment in competency for the safe use of muzzle loaders. While this has made it slightly more difficult to obtain a muzzle loader, the training and assessment is relatively painless, and is generally seen as a positive step, except by those who have been using muzzle loaders for several years, and are often much more experienced in their use than the trainers or assessors! Since the initial flurry when muzzle loaders flooded into the country and were snapped up by all and sundry, the muzzle loading scene in South Africa has definitely matured! The formal target shooting fraternity has gone from strength to strength, with some shooters graduating from fun shooting with cheap replicas to serious formal competition with expensive imported or custom built target rifles. The South African contingent at any international competition is always highly competitive, and sure to come away with a good medal haul. Others have stayed with the initial purchases and are happy to hunt and shoot recreationally with the “American” replicas. These shooters often have large collections of these style rifles, snapped up as impulse buyers sought to “get out” of the muzzle loading game, or to “upgrade”.
A further development was that a group of South Africans began to demand muzzle loaders which were more historically correct for Africa. The Hawken and Kentucky rifles had played little or no role in the history of Africa. This has resulted in the availability of muzzle loaders with a stronger English/European influence, such as the Enfield rifles and the Brown Bess, as well as the exciting development of the recreation of the famed Bobbejaan Boud rifles favoured by the Trekkers as well as some early explorers. These rifles are both imported and produced locally by some skilled gunsmiths. Image 4. Brown Bess rifle (in carbine or shortened version)Image 5. Enfield Three Band RifleImage 6. Bobbejaan Boud (original by JP Botha)
Yet another group of muzzle loaders has embraced the modern in-line muzzle loader, both for recreational shooting as well as hunting, as they find it easier to use and clean.
All-in-all the muzzle loading scene in South Africa is currently very healthy, with a huge variety of muzzle loaders to choose from.
Until fairly recently there were very few muzzle loaders available in South Africa. There were a few surviving originals, often in poor condition, and even fewer imported replicas. One of the main reasons for this was that muzzle loaders were considered by the authorities to be firearms and these needed to be licenced in the same way as conventional modern fire arms. Many considered this too much schlepp to go through for what were considered to be “fun guns” with no practical applications. Thus for many years only the few dedicated shooters who took part in formal muzzle loading competition could be bothered with these guns! It might be added that, though these shooters were few in number, they were highly dedicated, with the result that South Africa is a strong competitive force in World Muzzle loader competitive shooting, winning several world championships in the past few years. The attitude to muzzle loaders in general changed several years ago, when the authorities, as part of new firearms legislation, changed their attitude towards muzzle loaders. A clause was added to the legislation which stated that any muzzle loading firearm produced before a certain date, or any replica of a muzzle loader produced before that date, did not have to be licenced. The only control was that the user had to have a permit, issued by the explosives division of the SAPS, in order to be in possession of the “black powder” used as a propellant in muzzle loaders. As an aside, the difference between modern propellants (so called nitro powders) and black powder is that nitro powders burn in a more controlled way, whereas black powder tends to explode. The sudden removal of restrictions on muzzle loaders and the difficulty of obtaining licences for modern firearms resulting from the new legislation caused a huge demand for muzzle loaders. Dealers responded by bringing in huge numbers of muzzle loaders. These, as well as being unrestricted, were in most cases, very cheap in comparison with modern firearms, which resulted in many sales. The initial flood, and the subsequent steady flow of muzzle loaders were mostly of replicas of American style muzzle loaders, ranging from the Davy Crockett style Kentucky rifles, to the more popular Hawken style rifles made popular by the Trappers and Traders who opened up the American wilds.
Image 1. Examples of Popular Muzzle Loaders (top and bottom are Hawken style, while in the centre is a Kentucky style muzzle loader).
The majority of these were the so called cap lock rifles (where ignition is by means of a percussion cap), although there were a limited number of flint locks also imported (ignition is by means of a flint striking an iron frizzen which generates sparks which ignites powder contained in a pan). All the initial imports were of the side-lock persuasion, as this was seen as meeting the “replica” restriction. At this stage the so-called “in-line muzzle loaders” were considered not to fit the restrictions placed by the legislation, although this was soon challenged.
Image 2. A Cap Lock
Image 3. A FlintlockOnce the initial euphoria of unrestricted access to firearms wore off, there was a cooling off period where many buyers found themselves unhappy with their purchases. Some found that they had very little use for the muzzle loader as it was unsuitable for formal competition (formal muzzle loading competition is a highly competitive sport requiring specialised equipment) and so could only be used for fun competitions. Some who had bought muzzle loaders for hunting found that they could not come to terms with the limitations that muzzle loaders have in terms of range and curved trajectories. Many new users found the loading process as well as the cleaning process following shooting, to be too much schlepp.
A further development that occurred was when amendments were made to the fire arms legislation fairly recently. The wording was changed to read that “any fire arm loading from the muzzle which can only fire one shot per barrel before requiring reloading would not require to be licenced”. The so called modern muzzle loaders or “in-line muzzle loaders” now became freely available! These differ from the sidelocks in that one can easily access the barrel for cleaning, making that process much easier, and the rifles tend to look more familiar to users familiar with modern firearms, as these muzzle loaders are usually built along the same lines as modern bolt action rifles, or on the lines of a modern break barrel shotgun. Image 5. Modern in-line muzzle loaders (bolt action at top and break barrel at bottom)Other amendments to the legislation made it necessary for muzzle loader users to undergo training and assessment in competency for the safe use of muzzle loaders. While this has made it slightly more difficult to obtain a muzzle loader, the training and assessment is relatively painless, and is generally seen as a positive step, except by those who have been using muzzle loaders for several years, and are often much more experienced in their use than the trainers or assessors! Since the initial flurry when muzzle loaders flooded into the country and were snapped up by all and sundry, the muzzle loading scene in South Africa has definitely matured! The formal target shooting fraternity has gone from strength to strength, with some shooters graduating from fun shooting with cheap replicas to serious formal competition with expensive imported or custom built target rifles. The South African contingent at any international competition is always highly competitive, and sure to come away with a good medal haul. Others have stayed with the initial purchases and are happy to hunt and shoot recreationally with the “American” replicas. These shooters often have large collections of these style rifles, snapped up as impulse buyers sought to “get out” of the muzzle loading game, or to “upgrade”.
A further development was that a group of South Africans began to demand muzzle loaders which were more historically correct for Africa. The Hawken and Kentucky rifles had played little or no role in the history of Africa. This has resulted in the availability of muzzle loaders with a stronger English/European influence, such as the Enfield rifles and the Brown Bess, as well as the exciting development of the recreation of the famed Bobbejaan Boud rifles favoured by the Trekkers as well as some early explorers. These rifles are both imported and produced locally by some skilled gunsmiths. Image 4. Brown Bess rifle (in carbine or shortened version)Image 5. Enfield Three Band RifleImage 6. Bobbejaan Boud (original by JP Botha)
Yet another group of muzzle loaders has embraced the modern in-line muzzle loader, both for recreational shooting as well as hunting, as they find it easier to use and clean.
All-in-all the muzzle loading scene in South Africa is currently very healthy, with a huge variety of muzzle loaders to choose from.
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