The smooth-bore flintlock musket was the general-issue infantry firearm during the Napoleonic Wars. Today, there are many different ways to shoot smooth-bore muskets. This article takes a look at some of them, and gives some advice on shooting the flintlock musket with patched roundball... Read the article

From time to time new black powder equipment surfaces which is marketed almost as revolutionary. Most often it turns out that the product does not keep to its promises. One of the products that have received much publicity in later years is called 'Lehigh Valley Patch Lubricant'. .. Read the article

Flints that have become dull and doesn't produce sparks anymore does not have to be thrown away. Here is a simple way to sharpen a dull flint. There are several methods of sharpening flints. You really don't have to use any special tools. This article shows you how to sharpen a dull flint... Read the article

If you are thinking of purchasing a black powder rifle or pistol it may be smart to decide what you are going to use the weapon for before you buy it. Do you want to shoot patched roundballs or minié balls? Or perhaps both? This article provides you with some advice on what to choose... Read the article

This article describes the making of a genuine American Southern longrifle. It was made for me by Master Steven Bookout of Toad Hall Rifleshop in 2001 with no modern tools or electricity. The rifle is made the same way as rifles were made 200 years ago... Read the article

The P-1856 Army Short Rifle was the first short rifle in the new .577 calibre family of muskets made by the Enfield factory in England for the British Army. The P-1856, also called "Sergeant's Rifle", was issued to all sergeants of Line Regiments, the Rifle Brigade and the 60th Regiment, the Cape Mounted Rifles and the Royal Canadian Rifles... Read the article

The rifle musket was a common weapon during the Crimean War and the American Civil War. If treated right, the rifle musket can be an extremely accurate weapon. One of the bullets that were used in the rifle musket was called the minié ball. Read more about the rifle musket and miné ball in this article... Read the article

Today most shooters load their smoothbore muskets with patched roundballs. The soldiers that faced each other during, for example, the Napoleonic Wars loaded their muskets with paper cartridges. The cartridges contained both powder and ball. Read more about hpw you can load a smoothbore musket with roundballs in this article... Read the article

Many black powder shooters have once in their career shot a rifle or musket loaded with a patched roundball. This article describes how you can load a muzzleloading rifle with a cloth patch and a lead roundball. The article is especially suited for beginners... Read the article

Today none of the major bullet mould makers make copies of the original Pritchett bullets. The Prtichett bullet was a hollow based projectile that was used in British rifle muskets. They did not have grease grooves and thus had to be paper patched. I once had a batch of Pritchett moulds made at Lee Precision... Read the article