I Love Muzzleloading

Today we’re talking with Mike McCoy, a muzzleloading enthusiast and competitive muzzleloader from North Carolina. Mike got his start shooting muzzleloaders at a 4H Shooting Sports event. After getting bored with shooting .22 rimfire, Mike wandered over to a shotgun area but didn’t stay long. Across the way he noticed billowing black smoke rolling through the grounds. Mike would spend the rest of his time at the event throwing lead down range with a muzzleloader.

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• ThorBullets - Visit ThorBullets.com to learn more.
• Muzzleloader Magazine - Visit MuzzleloaderMagazine.com to learn more 

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That Christmas he received his first muzzleloading rifle and the rest is history.

Like many muzzleloading enthusiasts, Mike would get away from the sport while he started his life but as an adult Mike found himself getting pulled back into his childhood sport.

After catching up with some other shooters from North Carolina on themuzzleloadingforum, Mike got hooked up with a local muzzleloading club, the Lafayette Longrifles. Now you can find Mike practicing and shooting competitively on the weekends as he pursues accuracy with his muzzleloaders.

Mike’s interest in competitive muzzleloading has opened up a whole new world of both muzzle loaders and friendships. Thanks to his mentor Buck Buchannan, Mike has recently fallen in love with competitive muzzleloading pistols, though he admits he needs more practice (as we all do). For Mike, competition muzzleloading is a personal challenge and an opportunity to learn from better shooters.

Connect with Mike and the clubs/associations Mike and I were chatting about

North Carolina Clubs and Associations

North Carolina State Muzzleloading Rifle Association:

Holds our state shoot in September

https://m.facebook.com/North-Carolina-State-Muzzleloading-Rifle-Association-104371348917885/

[email protected]

Lafayette Longrifles:

Shoots every 4th Saturday of the month

@lafayette_longrifles (the Sta)

https://m.facebook.com/LafayetteLongrifles/

[email protected]

Crosse Creek Rifle and Pistol Club:

Shoots every 2nd Saturday of the month

https://crossecreekrifleandpistolclub.com/

Contact Buck Buchanan

[email protected]

French Broad Rifles

Shoots every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month.

http://frenchbroadrifles.com/

[email protected]

Y'all can reach me at:

@rickeymac76 (the Sta)

RM Mac (FB)

[email protected]

919-285-1731 (call, text, or leave a message)

Mike is an NMLRA Field rep for NC and the new secretary of the state association.

I'm the guy in a banana shirt shooting a flintlock.

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Hey everyone, this is a "feed drop" of sorts to share that I was a guest on the T Rex Talk podcast from T Rex Arms. T Rex Arms is an American company that started just a few years ago, but they have grown a ton and have a strong mission to not only make and sell practical, useable products, but they also want to educate and train Americans with practical skills and history. 

You can listen to the full conversation at this link HERE , look for "Flintlocks & Old-school Skills w/ Ethan Yazel"

Isaac and I talk alot more about a wide variety of topics related to muzzleloading, I hope it's a fun listen for anyone interested in muzzleloading or firearms in general.

Thanks to a good friend, Jordan Goodwin, my name came up when T Rex Arms needed some historic arms for their video "Why everyone needs an AR 15". I was able to advise a bit on the history of firearms in the United States and got to visit the T Rex Facility during the production of the video. 

Watch the video HERE. The video, while focusing on modern firearms ownership and our right to do so, discusses the importance of civilian firearms ownership since the beginning of the United States.

Isaac Botkin was kind enough to give my wife, baby and me a tour of the facility and was a gracious host during our time in Tennessee.  

I can't thank Isaac and the rest of the T Rex Arms team enough for the opportunity to help out on the video and be a guest on their podcast. It's not often that muzzleloaders and modern firearms come together, but it's always fun when they do.

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In this episode we're chatting with Pennsylvania Federation of Blackpowder Shooters President, Jeff Warner about his interest in muzzleloading and how its changed over the years.

For Jeff, competition is serious, he practices whenever he can and dry fires his flintlock in his living room. Just before recording Jeff competed in the Pennsylvania State Championship and is now planning for a trip to Kentucky for the annual inter-state muzzleloading competition.

It's not all serious for Jeff though, shooting competitive muzzleloaders is as much about score as it is hanging out with good friends and learning along the way. Since getting more active in muzzleloading Jeff has begun building his own longrifles, his wife Sam just won the PA state Championship with a rifle he built, forging his own knives and collecting accoutrments made by his friends. 

I'd like to thank our sponsors for their support:

• ThorBullets - Visit ThorBullets.com to learn more.
• Muzzleloader Magazine - Visit MuzzleloaderMagazine.com to learn more

Get your own "I Love Muzzleloading" Hat here

Click here to SUBSCRIBE

The passion Jeff has for muzzleloading has grown as he has. As a young adult he became active in the Pennsylvania Federation of Black Powder Shooters and has been elected President now for several years. For Jeff, it's important to not only enjoy the clubs and events in his home state, he feels that it is important to give back and support muzzleloading clubs to ensure muzzleloading has a future.

The Pennsylvania Federation of Black Powder Shooters is an organization of clubs and individuals interested in activities associated with Black Powder Firearms. The association was started in 1983 as a means for the muzzleloading clubs in PA to schedule events with the best chance to include as many shooters as possible. Since then the group has grown and now organizes the PA state Muzzleloading shoot where state champions compete for first in a variety of matches and classes. 

LINKS: 

Pennsylvania Federation of Blackpowder Shooters 

Jeff on Instagram  

The Federation on Instagram  

The Federation on Facebook  

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 Today we're talking with Bill Schneider about the Contemporary Longrifle Association Show, coming August 19-20 in Lexington Kentucky. Learn more at Longrifle.com. 

I'd like to thank our sponsors for their support:

• ThorBullets - Visit ThorBullets.com to learn more.
• Muzzleloader Magazine - Visit MuzzleloaderMagazine.com to learn more

Get your own "I Love Muzzleloading" Hat here

Click here to SUBSCRIBE

In this episode we discuss Bill's first time experience at the CLA show, the history of the CLA as an organization, as well as Bill's key takeaways for the show. 

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Today we're talking with Casey Samson of Samson Historical about the roller coaster of the last two years. This conversation isn't about COVID, it's about the impact it had on the businesses and events of muzzleloading and living history. 

Casey, Abby, and the team at Samson Historical changed a lot about how their business operated to survive a total shift in how they reached their customers. With just about every event canceled for nearly two years, the Samsons were looking at inventory like a coffin instead of an asset. 

SamsonHistorical.com 

I'd like to thank our sponsors for their support:

• ThorBullets - Visit ThorBullets.com to learn more.
• Muzzleloader Magazine - Visit MuzzleloaderMagazine.com to learn more    

Get your own "I Love Muzzleloading" Hat here

Click here to SUBSCRIBE

Join the HCH to learn more about traditional horn work

Join the CLA today to learn more about longrifle artisanship

Join the TMLA to learn more about traditional muzzleloaders

Join the NMLRA today to learn more about muzzleloading 

The Samson Family went back to their roots as a small, family-owned business and began moving quickly to learn new skills and advance what they knew to keep up with the times. Selling items based on designs 200 years old doesn’t mean they are shackled to old business practices. Casey and Abby got knee deep in digital marketing, figuring out how to cash in on the e-commerce boom of 2020. They also took a big bet with their catalog. The Samson Historical Catalog releases yearly at the Kalamazoo Living History Show, but after it’s cancellation in 2020, the Samsons were left with a pallet of catalogs and no way to get them out to customers. Thinking quickly, Casey and Abby began digitally collecting addresses and mailing as many catalogs as they could. ”I remember thinking, this could literally be the last nail in our coffin”, Casey said as he remembered looking at the first shipment of catalogs going out on a USPS truck. Thankfully the bet paid off and shortly after mailing the orders began flowing in. The most popular products? Tomahawks and fire starting kits. “It seemed liked everyone needed a tomahawk and a flint and steel to get through the lockdowns” Samson shared.

I personally really enjoyed catching up with Casey and hearing about the progress they’ve made as a team at Samson Historical. Small businesses are the backbone of America and hearing a positive story like this makes me hopeful for the future of the community and the businesses it depends on. Casey and I also chat about some tips he has for other business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as some more stories for those of you looking to learn more from or about the Samson family.

Samson Historical is a top-quality provider of documented 18th century reproductions. Our passion for education and living history has carried us to partnerships with over 20 skilled artisans, allowing us to offer a wide array of period-accurate clothing, accessories, home goods, and more. Whether you are a historic interpreter, reenactor, or collector, you can find the piece of the past you have been searching for here.

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We’re talking with Artist and Historian John Dewald of Pennsylvania about traditional horn work, his muzzleloading story and the NEW Gunmakers Fair at Kempton - an event dedicated to preserve and present the art and industry of making early American muzzleloading firearms and accouterments. Bringing together artisans and crafts people that help create and support the gunmaking industry. Promote muzzleloading by giving seminars on topics such as gun making, horn making, bag making, gun collecting, match competition, hunting, historical re-enactments, and other educational based programs.

The Gunmakers Fair at Kempton: https://gunmakersfair.wixsite.com/gunfair July 29-31, 2022 Kempton, PA

I'd like to thank our sponsors for their support:

• ThorBullets - Visit ThorBullets.com to learn more.
• Muzzleloader Magazine - Visit MuzzleloaderMagazine.com to learn more

John is a native of Northeastern Pennsylvania and grew up on the other side of the Muncy Creek, outside of the historical town of Muncy, PA. He started shooting black powder 40 years ago with his father. He inspired John, at age 12, to start making simple powder horns and doing scrimshaw while working alongside him at North East Trade Company (a muzzleloading and trapping supplies store).

Ever since, John has become completely consumed by this ancient craft. He spends countless hours doing research and tinkering away in his 1863 basement workshop. John’s work is both contemporary and historical. This includes; powder horns, spice boxes, wing-bone turkey calls and other fine accouterments from horn, bone, and wood. During his personal time, John enjoys hunting, fishing, and attending various 18th century events with my family and friends. John is currently a Master Horner in good standing with the Honourable Company of Horners.

John’s Website: https://pahorner.wixsite.com/pa-horner

Learn about traditional hornwork with the Honorable Company of Horners: http://www.hornguild.org/

The Northeast Trading Company: https://www.northeasttradeco.com/online-store

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Nathan has been involved in muzzleloading since he was a young boy hunting the Pennsylvania woods with his father and grandfather, but it wasn’t until he was older that a deep connection with the land and history was made. As a young man and father, Nathan sees his now 10-year-old blog and magazine articles as a way to give back and share the knowledge he has found in books and first-hand accounts with the rest of the community. This passion to see muzzleloading continue is seen at his home as well, where a custom flintlock rests for each of his children so that they too may return to the woods.

I'd like to thank our sponsors for their support:

• ThorBullets - Visit ThorBullets.com to learn more.
• Muzzleloader Magazine - Visit MuzzleloaderMagazine.com to learn more

Nathan’s primary interest in muzzleloading started with hunting but has expanded over the years to focus on the market hunters and the equipment they used when operating out of Fort Pitt. When setting out in the woods to hunt, Nathan does his best to recreate the feelings of those men and women who set out into the unknown frontier some 200 years ago. 

Follow Nathan's Blog at https://thebuffalotrace1765.blogspot.com/ 

Check out his older articles at https://buffalotrace1765.blogspot.com/ 

Get your own "I Love Muzzleloading" Hat here

Click here to SUBSCRIBE

Join the HCH to learn more about traditional horn work

Join the CLA today to learn more about longrifle artisanship

Join the TMLA to learn more about traditional muzzleloaders

Join the NMLRA today to learn more about muzzleloading

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Today we're talking with Barry Brakebill, CVA's latest team member and dedicated competitive muzzleloading enthusiast. Barry has decades of experience with competition and muzzleloading, having previously worked with Thompson/Center and Knight Rifles, Barry is bringing his skills to team CVA in the 2022 season.

I'd like to thank our sponsors for their support:

• ThorBullets - Visit ThorBullets.com to learn more.
• Muzzleloader Magazine - Visit MuzzleloaderMagazine.com to learn more

I ask Barry about the competition, how he dealt with Friendship Indiana’s infamous wind, and what it’s like bringing a non-custom rifle to a series of matches typically dominated by $5000+ custom guns. Even if you aren’t into modern muzzleloaders, Barry discusses some of his thoughts and practices to get the most out of any muzzleloader and be as accurate as possible.

This episode isn’t sponsored, I’ve always been a fan of the competition end of muzzleloading as shooters and builders try to push the limits of loading from the muzzle. I’ve known Barry for a few years now after watching him shoot in competitions at the Walter Cline Range in Friendship, Indiana. Barry is a passionate advocate for the sport and I’m excited to see a company like CVA recognize that in giving Barry support and a platform. 

Get your own "I Love Muzzleloading" Hat here

Click here to SUBSCRIBE

Join the HCH to learn more about traditional horn work

Join the CLA today to learn more about longrifle artisanship

Join the TMLA to learn more about traditional muzzleloaders

Join the NMLRA today to learn more about muzzleloading

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Ken is an artist and illustrator whose work has an intensely historical, even biographical concept to it. It is conceived out of the place where a number of important influences come together: his life as an artist; his reverence for history; and a personal study of the lives of the naturalists who traveled Colonial America in the 18th century. 

I'd like to thank our sponsors for their support:

• ThorBullets - Visit ThorBullets.com to learn more.
• Muzzleloader Magazine - Visit MuzzleloaderMagazine.com to learn more

Ken has always been an artist, but his journey has taken him through several different jobs. From radio DJ to department store advertiser Ken's varied past guides him in his journey to connect with the past. I've always been a fan of Ken's work. Living in the same state, I could always seek out his work at living history and muzzleloading events each year. I'm so excited to share his story with you. 

As an artist, Ken sees the objects that I paint through the eyes of a 18th century limner, or traveling artist and naturalist. Ken's art helps him keep a close relationship with the past, both spiritually and physically.

Follow Ken's work on Facebook 

Follow Ken's Frontier Art Blog 

Follow Ken's Bag Art Blog 

Get your own "I Love Muzzleloading" Hat here

Click here to SUBSCRIBE

Join the HCH to learn more about traditional horn work

Join the CLA today to learn more about longrifle artisanship

Join the TMLA to learn more about traditional muzzleloaders

Join the NMLRA today to learn more about muzzleloading

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Today we're talking with David Belzer from the great state of Pennsylvania about muzzleloading, mentorship, and how the community as a whole has changed over the last 10 years. 

I'd like to thank our sponsors for their support:

• ThorBullets - Visit ThorBullets.com to learn more.
• Muzzleloader Magazine - Visit MuzzleloaderMagazine.com to learn more

David manages the "Primitive Muzzleloaders" facebook group with nearly 10,000 members. As one of the first and larger groups out there for muzzleloading enthusiasts, David has a unique perspective on the community and it's interests in 2022. We also chat about David's efforts to promote muzzleloading on youtube with his series of tutorials and informational videos. When not working, David also likes to build his own muzzleloaders. 

Thanks to some mentorship early on in his life, David's collection of muzzleloaders is largely self made. He even convinced his school to let him machine a lock as part of his curriculum. 

You can find David's Youtube channel here  

You can find David's Facebook group here 

Get your own "I Love Muzzleloading" Hat here 

Click here to SUBSCRIBE 

Join the HCH to learn more about traditional horn work 

Join the CLA today to learn more about longrifle artisanship

 Join the TMLA to learn more about traditional muzzleloaders 

Join the NMLRA today to learn more about muzzleloading 

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