<SNIP> Let me just ask a question though, what is a Muzzleloader and how does it differ from other guns?
<SNIP>.
A "muzzleloader" is a modern--day term for a musket. Like Guy said, you pour in a measured amount of black powder into the barrel, take a small patch of cloth (or not), which in Revolutionary War times was greased, wrap a cast leaden ball in it, and ram it down the barrel with a ramrod. The ramrods were either made of wood or metal. The hammer is then cocked, and a small "percussion cap" placed on the nipple. When the trigger is pulled, the hammer strikes the percussion cap, which then sends a spark into the barrel where it ignites the black powder. The gasses formed by the rapidly burning powder force the ball out of the barrel at high speed. The purpose of the greased cloth is to help prevent "blowby" of the gasses, while, at the same time, lubricating the barrel.
At first, muskets had smooth bores, however, once it was learned that "rifling" (a spiraling series of lands and grooves) a barrel provided a more accurate shot, and once the rifling process was perfected for mass production, muskets were rifled --- well, some of them: The rifles. Those that were not rifled, were the "shotguns."
Shotguns, unlike rifles, are meant to fire more than one pellet. Sometimes called "scatterguns," they are designed to project the pellets in a so--called "pattern." The pattern produced by a shotgun can be modified (usually "tightened") by employing a so--called "choke" on the barrel. Sawed--off shotguns don't have chokes, and their pattern is so large that, depending on the size of the pellets fired, they are usually lethal only at short distances. Saw off the stock of a sawed--off shotgun, and you have created a so--called "hog leg." A good example of a hog leg can be seen in the western film with John Wayne where Dean Martin plays the part of a drunken sheriff ---
Rio Bravo (?)
There is no advantage to rifling a shotgun: accuracy is not increased. Sometimes a single ball will be fired from a shotgun. If I remember correctly, that is illegal in New Jersey, or it may have been 45 years ago when I bought my last license. Sometimes the shot are joined together with a waxed string or thread. It was illegal to do that back then, and I assume that it is illegal to so today...
Today's muzzleloaders are much heavier than modern shotguns or rifles. Their barrel is usually octagonal or hexagonal in cross section. Whereas a hunter firing a modern day shotgun or rifle can fire--off many rounds, in quick succession, in a minute, a skilled muzzleloader can only fire--off a few rounds per minute. Most hunters, today, do not possess the trained, routine skills needed to reload a muzzleloader several times a minute.
General von Steuben trained the Continental Army in the skills of "modern warfare" of that era. One of those skills was learning to (musket) fire on the enemy in volleys. Once a line of musketteers would fire on the enemy, it would drop to its knees and start to reload. The line immediately behind it would fire, then drop to its knees, etc. The cycle would reset, when the first line of musketteers had reloaded. It was imperative that the unit work as a well--oiled "machine"...
I am fortunate to possess both a genuine, Civil War era musket, complete with ramrod and "three--cornered" bayonet, as well as a modern day muzzleloader (about 15 years old). However, considering my disability, I shall probably never use them. The musket may be too dangerous to fire anyway...
ebsi
!!
