MUZZLE LOADING PISTOLS 

A BASIC CLUB GUIDE TO SAFETY AND USE

1. Introduction.

There are four basic types of muzzle loading pistols (MLP's) that members might come across:

• The Smooth-bore flintlock pistol (and less commonly rifled barrel flinters)
• The single shot percussion pistol
• The percussion revolver (most common type)
• The nitro powder muzzle loading pistol or revolver 

2. Safety – how do you tell if your MLP is unloaded

The simplest MLP to check is the percussion revolver. Naturally the pistol is kept pointing safely down range at all times and the first thing to do is to place the pistol in  “the half cock position” this involves pulling the hammer back to a halfway point. In this “half cock” position the pistol should not fire when the trigger is pulled but the cylinder should be free to rotate.

Having put the pistol into the half cock position examine the nipples at the back of the cylinder to ensure that all percussion caps have been removed. Then bring the pistol to the vertical position (muzzle up) and slowly rotate the cylinder looking into each chamber and ensuring that it is empty, then place the pistol back onto the firing point with its muzzle pointing downrange. This procedure is identical for a Nitro based muzzle loading revolver (type 4). You now know that your MLP is unloaded. 

With a single shot percussion pistol checking it is unloaded becomes rather harder to do as it is not possible to see into the barrel. Most shooters of this type of pistol make a testing rod out of wooden dowel or a plastic knitting needle. Before starting, knowing that the gun is unloaded, the rod is placed into the muzzle and pushed completely in as far as it will go. A mark with a felt tip pen is made on the rod where the muzzle ends. Once the gun is loaded with powder and ball, but uncapped, the rod is re-inserted and another mark is made on the rod. So, during shooting at the end of a detail, to confirm that this gun is unloaded, bring the hammer to half cock and remove any percussion cap and then use the wooden rod to check the pistol. Simply put the wooden rod into the barrel of the pistol and look at the unloaded mark on the rod.

3. Loading the single shot percussion pistol or percussion revolver

Prior to attempting to load the pistol use a clean 4x2 patch and a cleaning rod to remove all of the oil or grease that will have been left in the barrel and cylinder to prevent corrosion. Before commencing shooting it is advisable to ‘cap off’. This simply involves placing a percussion cap on each nipple and then firing them without any charge or bullet being present This clears any traces of oil or dirt in the nipple thus ensuring good positive ignition. “Capping Off” is carried out with the same care as if one was firing live shots and you must ask the range officer in advance for their permission“to cap off”.

You will need to lay out your equipment and components on the bench prior to loading and you must take care that percussion caps and powder are placed under cover each time you are going to fire the pistol. The reason behind this is to prevent a stray spark causing an accidental explosion

There are several different ways of loading a muzzle loading pistol and some involve the use of an inert filler such as semolina instead of a felt wad.

Most shooters find it preferable to load each chamber in turn, seating the ball with the rammer before powder is poured into the next chamber. To load first pull the hammer back to the half cock position to allow the cylinder to freely rotate then hold the pistol with your left hand by its barrel in a vertical position with the grip facing away from you and pour the first charge of powder into the chamber immediately to the right of the rammer. If using a powder flask put your index finger over the end of the spout and press the side leaver holding it open and then invert the flask and tap it gently against your leg then release the side lever and return the flask to an upright position. When you take your finger off the end of the spout you should see that it is full of powder ready to be poured into a chamber. Alternatively some pistols may be supplied with tubes containing pre-measured charges of powder that are poured directly into the chamber.

After the powder has been poured into the cylinder a pre lubricated felt wad is placed on top of it and finally a lead ball is placed on top of this wad. The principal purpose of the wad is to prevent cross-fire between chambers instead of the traditional method of putting grease over the loaded ball. The cylinder is then rotated on position so that that the ball is aligned underneath the rammer. Pull the rammer down firmly seating the bullet into the chamber – some force can be needed to do this and equal pressure when seating each ball is important for consistent shooting and a small ring of lead might be shaved off the ball when you do this. In addition to this care must be taken that the ball is seated below the face of the cylinder or the ball will jam the pistol when the cylinder is rotated. Then leave the rammer at the bottom of its seating stroke and fill the next chamber with powder repeating this process until all the chambers of the cylinder are loaded. Some shooters apply a layer of grease over the ball to soften the fouling in the barrel and this grease also will help to stop any cross fire between chambers.

Now point the pistol downrange and place a percussion cap on each nipple and the pistol is loaded and ready to fire. The fit of the caps on the nipples should be good and if they are loose they can fall off and jam the pistol. This can be prevented by gently squeezing the sides of the cap to give it a tighter fit.

The single shot percussion pistol is loaded in similar fashion by pouring a charge of powder down the barrel using a long necked funnel if one is available. Then a cotton patch is placed over the muzzle and a bullet is in turn put on top of that. Then using a starter rammer (this is the short rammer) force the bullet and patch into the barrel. Then use the full length rammer and complete the seating of the ball using a leather or wooden hammer if supplied. The ball needs to sit firmly on the powder without leaving an air gap. Remove the rammer, point the gun downrange and cap the nipple and the pistol is now ready to fire.

4. Nitro muzzle loading pistols

These are loaded in an identical way to the black powder revolver but use only very small charges of smokeless nitro powder. Due to the very small charges that these pistols use it could be very easy to double charge this type of pistol and that would result in the pistol blowing up in your hand on firing.

5. Shooting

There are two different ways to shoot a MLP according to what type of competition you are taking part in. The pistol can be shot being held out at arms length with a single unsupported hand or it can be shot using a two handed “freestyle” grip. Check carefully as to which is required for your given competition. As a general rule it is better to learn to shoot in an unsupported style however the novice may feel that a two handed grip offers better initial control and safety whilst learning. 

Take a firm grip of the pistol with your firing hand, this will be your right hand for right handed people and use your non firing hand to cock the pistol prior to firing. Bring the pistol down between shots to rest your arms and only cock the hammer when you are ready to fire. 

After firing the spent primer caps need to be removed and discarded prior to checking that the pistol is now empty and unloaded. A set of long nosed pliers or similar can occasionally help in doing this task.

6. Potential problems

If when firing the pistol the report or sound of the shot seems strange stop firing immediately and check the pistol carefully. N.B. All malfunctions must be reported to the Range Officer

Primers can and do fail to go off. To deal with this keep the pistol pointed in a safe direction downrange for 30 seconds in case of a hangfire (delayed ignition) then remove and replace with a fresh cap and fire again.

The primer can go off but fail to ignite the charge in the cylinder. There can be two causes of this problem. Firstly the nipple might be blocked. Remove the spent cap and clear the nipple with a pin and then recap and fire again. The second cause is that there is no powder in the cylinder – if this is the case the bullet will need to be removed from the cylinder using a worm or by removing the nipple, and powder and then using a rod through the nipple hole to drive out the ball.  Notify the Range Officer that you have a malfunction, and ask for help from a more experienced club member if you need it. An alternative to doing this is to remove the nipple and dribble powder into the chamber via the nipple hole (a very small funnel helps here) and replace the nipple, recap and fire again.

A ‘Hang Fire’ is when the powder is slow to ignite, due possibly to damp, and is liable to ignite a few seconds after the hammer falls. In this instance, as with all misfires keep the pistol pointing downrange for approx 30 seconds before attempting to deal with it.

If you cannot cock the hammer then a piece of spent primer cap has probably fallen into the mechanism. Careful working of the hammer and trigger may release the obstruction.

The cylinder might bind and stop rotating. Check for debris and spent cap fragments that could be obstructing the cylinder or that the balls have been seated deeply enough in the cylinder.

7. Cleaning

This should be done as soon as possible after shooting and it is vital with muzzle loading pistols as the residue from both Black Powder and its substitutes is very corrosive. An uncleaned gun can rust and be permanently damaged in days.

Firstly strip the pistol into its basic parts removing the cylinder from the pistol use a cleaning rod and jag to remove the initial fouling. Also remove the grips and nipples.  Put the stripped down pistol into a plastic bowl containing boiling water plus some black powder solvent or washing up liquid. Rubber gloves protect your hands from the hot water and the gun also gets hot. (This is vital as the water evaporates quickly when the gun is set aside to dry after cleaning.)

Then use a cleaning rod and jag/patches and brushes to remove all traces of fouling. Then dry the pistol thoroughly and liberally spray with WD40 prior to packing the gun away. It will take you 20 minutes to half an hour to do this job properly – so allow for this in your shooting day.