I Love Muzzleloading

Learn more about the book at https://themountainmenbook.com/ 

In the summer of 2015, Jeroen came across an article in National Geographic. The article was about a group of men trekking into the wilderness with no modern equipment, no modern clothes, no modern tools, and they were doing this for fun. A native to the Netherlands, Jeroen had never seen this before and needed to learn more. 

As he researched, Jeroen found these men were involved with "The American Mountain Men", or AMM, and an idea, and once-in-a-lifetime adventure began. 

After traveling to the United States 7 times, Jeroen spent a lot of time much time with the mountain men in some of the most beautiful locations, but also and in some of the harshest conditions North America has to offer. From -25°C in the North of America, to +40°C in the sunny dry deserts in central America, Jeroen was able to experience America like it was 150 years ago. 

Jeroen Nieuwhuis is a commercial portrait photographer based in the Netherlands. Shooting professionally since the age of 17 (now 29) he continuously works for clients all across the globe and has worked with some of the largest advertising companies such as Belstaff, Desperados, Harman Kardon, Heineken, JBL, Johnnie Walker, Shimano, and many more. 

“These are men that feel more at home in the woods putting their skill to use trapping, riding, hunting, and wandering than they do in modern society”

DUANE ‘BADGER’ RICHARDSON

Information about the Preorder - https://vimeo.com/557111028 

November 2021 Project Update - https://vimeo.com/642100022?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=3676281 

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This week we're talking with Katie Petry about her recent muzzleloading black bear hunt in New Mexico. I'm really excited to have Katie on the show today to talk about her family history with muzzleloading and how that led to her recent muzzling black bear hunt. Hearing this inspiring story about Katie taking down this black bear with her grandfather's Thompson Center Cherokee is pretty energizing. 

"My name is Katie Petry and I'm just a mom from Indiana. I got into muzzleloading through my grandfather when I was a young kid I loved to follow him around, and I begged him to. Let me go hunting with him, so he was my inspiration into all things outdoors. I recently was very very blessed and able to honor his memory by taking my first black beer with a traditional cap and ball muzzleloader that he gave me about fifteen years ago.

He passed away two years ago and since then I've been hunting almost exclusively with that muzzleloader. So this was a very special hunt for me as a kid I just a scrawny little kid and I saw my grandpa taking my two older boy: cousins, hunting and I begged him, take me- and he said you know "Oh you're too little you'll get cold, you won't like it", and so finally he was like all right. "You know I'm going to have you shoot my four ten and you're not going to like it. It'll kick and you won't like it, but I'm gonna, let you do it anyway because you keep asking me", and so he let me shoot it and I shot all the cans down that he'd set up for me and he got just an absolute kick out of that yeah. I know I'll, never forget him just laughing and bragging on me and I was very, very young. I can't remember how old I was, but I was so proud of myself and just that whole experience that grandpa was so proud and that I loved it was kind of like the first thing that just got me just passionate about it.

I wasn't the only grandkid I wasn't the only girl, but we had a very special bond over anything to do with the outdoors."

Katie is an advocate for hunters everywhere using any legal method of take. As a woman in the outdoors, she's overcome some adversity to prove she can hunt just like everyone else, even with her grandfather's old muzzleloader. 

I'm looking forward to following Katie's adventures as she plans for her next hunt. 

Follow Katie on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/katie_rvt/ 

Join the NMLRA today to learn more about muzzleloading - NMLRA.org 

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In this episode we're talking with Mel Hankla, renowned historian, author, collector, artist and historic interpreter known for his devotion to all aspects of longrifle culture. We travel down memory lane with Mel, taking a retrospective on how he got his interest in history, how he became one of Hershel House's first students and later went on to collect some of the finest Kentucky Rifles, co-founding the Contemporary Longrifle Association, and most recently, published his own book, "Into the Bluegrass", to document Kentucky's rich history.

We cover a broad array of topics with Mel today if you'd like us to go into detail in another episode, let us know or reach out to Mel yourself by using his email - [email protected]

Mel Stewart Hankla was born in 1956 and grew up in the small town of Jamestown, Kentucky on the banks of Lake Cumberland. He attended Western Kentucky University earning Bachelor of Science Degrees in Agriculture, and Wildlife Management and Ecology, and a Master of Science Degree in Administration. In 2010 he completed an Educational Doctorate (Ed.D.) in Education Administration.

The founder of American Historic Services LLC, he is a noted collector, researcher, lecturer and writer of Kentucky’s heritage. He has been an active member of the Kentucky Rifle Association since 1990, is a past president and co-founder of the Contemporary Longrifle Association, and editor of American Tradition magazine. He is a builder of traditional Kentucky Longrifles and in 1984 was awarded a National Endowment of the Arts Folk Art Apprenticeship grant to study with legendary riflesmith Hershel House.

A historical actor/educator, he worked 20 years with the Kentucky Humanities Council presenting Chautauqua characters of frontiersman Simon Kenton and General George Rogers Clark. In 2012 he was cast for the leading role, in the PBS documentary, An Audacious American, the story of Kentucky abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay. More recently has been an appraiser for Kentucky Educational Televisions popular show, “Kentucky Collectibles.”

Hankla serves on the Museum Board of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and on the Advisory Board of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA.) He is a member of the Kentucky Material Culture Collectors and the prestigious American Society of Arms Collectors. Today, Hankla lives on Heavenly Hill Farm in Carter County, Kentucky with his wife Angela.

Information on the Fall Frolic available here - https://www.ilovemuzzleloading.com/blog/2021-fall-frolic-frontier-art-show-information

Into the Bluegrass https://www.intothebluegrass.net/

Follow Mel on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kyhistorian/

Southern Ohio Artisans Workshop -https://www.southernohioartisanworkshops.com/

Western Kentucky University Gunsmithing Seminar -https://www.nmlragunsmithingseminar.org/about

Kindig's Book -https://www.shumwaypublisher.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=45

Peterman's Tomahawk Book -https://www.amazon.com/American-Indian-Tomahawks-Harold-Peterson/dp/0882270311

Jimmy Drestor's Powder Horn Book - https://www.amazon.com/Engraved-Powder-Horn-Early-America/dp/0965103900

Kindig Collection -https://kindigantiques.com/kindig-rifles/

FoxFire Volume 5 -https://www.lehmans.com/product/the-foxfire-books-volume-5

Contemporary Longrifle Association -https://www.longrifle.com/

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Learn more at ILoveMuzzleloading.com  

This week we're talking with Ian Pratt, contemporary artisan, about the Art of the Longrifle. This is a pretty wide subject we're talking about this week, but Ian brings some interesting insights to the conversation. This episode isn't so much about the technical nature of Ian's work, it's more about the influences and thought processes he goes through to create contemporary art using a flintlock muzzleloader as the canvas. 

It may get a little funky for you, we go back in time pretty far, but this is definitely one of my favorite conversations from the show. Thank you again, Ian, for coming onto the show to chat with me. 

Follow Ian on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ipratt360/ 

Fossilized human footprints - https://www.nps.gov/whsa/learn/nature/fossilized-footprints.htm

Jim Chambers Flintlocks- http://flintlocks.com/

Southern Artisan Ohio Workshops -https://www.southernohioartisanworkshops.com/

Cabin Creek Muzzleloading - https://www.facebook.com/CabinCreekMuzzleloading  

Muzzleloader Magazine -https://www.muzzleloadermagazine.com/ 

SOAW Scholarship - https://www.southernohioartisanworkshops.com/youth-gunbuilding-scholarship.html

Kentucky Rifle Foundation - http://kentuckyriflefoundation.org/

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Today we're talking with Aaron Oelger, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Hodgdon Powder Company about the announcement that Hodgdon will be closing and selling GOEX Blackpowder.

Aaron is a 17 year veteran of the outdoor and shooting sports industry and has been with Hodgdon Powder Company for many years. I'd like to thank him for coming on the show and answering some of the questions muzzleloading enthusiasts have about this decision. 

Mr. Oelger is optimistic about the future of GOEX and has repeatedly stated that GOEX will only sell the brand to someone who can be a true steward of the product moving forward. As a GOEX user himself, Aaron has a passion for all forms of muzzleloading and shares the company's passion for seeing it continue.

In case you haven't heard the news:

In a press release posted Monday, September 27, 2021 Hodgdon announced they are stopping production of GOEX Blackpowder immediately. 

Hodgdon has stated that this decision is final, but they are looking to pass the brand into good hands so it can continue and muzzleloading enthusiasts can continue enjoying American-made Blackpowder for generations to come. 

As of reporting, Hogdon is in talks with several entities about the GOEX brand, they consider this a part of the "open discovery" period common with business buying and selling. 

If we want to save GOEX Powder, and possibly the sport in the US, we must be kind in our comments and writing. Each comment should highlight the importance of US made black powder to muzzleloading enthusiasts, both for black powder sports, and the preservation of US History.

On September 28 we launched the "Save GOEX" campaign to unite enthusiasts in support of the brand, hopefully showing potential buyers how many people this brand impacts. You can learn more about this here  

About Hodgdon Powder Company, Inc.

Established in 1947 by Bruce and Amy Hodgdon, today, sons J.B. and Bob have grown Hodgdon Powder Company into the largest US supplier of smokeless, blackpowder and blackpowder substitute propellants. The company distributes gunpowder under the Hodgdon®, IMR®, Ramshot®, Acccurate®, Winchester®, Pyrodex®, Triple Seven®, Blackhorn 209® and GOEX® brands.

Learn more about the brands at these websites - www.Hodgdon.com, www.IMRPowder.com, www.WinchesterPowder.com, www.Ramshot.com , www.AccuratePowder.com, or www.GoexPowder.com and connect with Hodgdon on Facebook or YouTube.

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Learn more at ilovemuzzleloading.com

Today we're answering some of the top questions from our weekly Muzzleloading Q&A session on the I Love Muzzleloading Instagram. 

Questions vary from beginner muzzleloading questions to advanced muzzleloading questions about lock replacement, timing and how to get better with your muzzleloader. 

If there's a question you'd like answered, submit it to us via email at [email protected] OR follow us on instagram and chime in during our weekly session. 

Click here to SUBSCRIBE - http://bit.ly/ILMvideo

Muzzleloading, muzzleloader, muzzle loader, mountain man, longhunter, bushcraft, living history, longrifle, flintlock, blackpowder 

#muzzleloader #muzzleloading #blackpowder

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Learn more at ILoveMuzzleloading.com 

Today we have a special guest, we're talking to Alex from the Frontier Trading Company Youtube Channel. If you have any interest in muzzleloading or living history on Youtube, I would hazard a guess that the frontier trading company youtube videos have been recommended to you here lately. 

Alex brings a fresh perspective to the Living History, community and muzzleloading by association. He's just recently built his first flintlock lock muzzleloader to go along with his interpretations and his videos. 

This was a great conversation and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

Follow Alex's work Here: 

YouTube Patreon 

This episode made possible by THOR Bullets. Learn more at ThorBullets.com

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Today we're talking with Darren Binder, the marketing coordinator at Muzzle-Loaders.com about western muzzleloading culture. Having grown up in the eastern side of the US, I'm always excited to talk to western muzzleloaders about how our hobby changes from coast to coast. 

Follow Darren's work at the links below- 

Website: https://www.muzzle-loaders.com/

Podcast- https://www.muzzle-loaders.com/muzzleloader-podcast
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@Muzzleloaders:5
Facebo ok: https://www.facebook.com/MuzzleLoader...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muzzleloade...
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 855-236-5000 

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Today we're talking with Eric van Alstine, a traditional leather worker from the state of Missouri working to recreate the golden age of leatherworking with his contemporary works.

Eric really focuses on using historical tools and oftentimes original tools from the eighteen and up to the nineteen hundreds. Eric has a lot to say about the history of leatherworking and where he gets his inspiration from. He is a real student of history when it comes to all of this, and he offers some really interesting perspectives about where he studies where he gets his resources, where he finds originals to be inspired by to make clients and customers bags.

"My only, what I call my modern tools is scissors and harness needles and pretty much everything else is old, antique tools from the Golden Age of leather work and leatherworkthat golden age when happened, were started in about 1826 and then you know it kind of you know went on up until the early nineteen hundreds, and so all my tools come from that time frame and I do have one piece- it goes back to about the late 1700s, I don't use it- it just sits on the shelf. I'm a student of history, American history and I derive a lot of stuff from there and I see a lot of guys that sit there and say: Oh, this is the way it was. This is the way it was you know, but they miss out on the harness makers and the saddle makers and how beautiful their work really was. And so I try to take what those harness makers did in the back, what I call the mountain regions and everything- and you know recreate what they would have made: with the tools that they had, and so that's what makes mine look a little different than most.

You can go out west and sit down with some of these old saddle makers and they just make beautiful works of art, and you know, 1700s hand-stitched saddles, they had to have somebody make them, and you know it's a lost and dying art of what was. I try to keep that alive by picking up old, antique leatherworking tools. I employ all those in my work and at the end of the day it looks a little bit different than most, and that's why I like to do. " 

Follow Eric's Work

Instagram - Instagram.com/ironweed_leather

Facebook - Eric Van Alstine

Email - eric.vanalstine(At)gmail.com 

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Learn more at ilovemuzzleloading.com  

Safety: Never put smokeless powder into a muzzleloader that is not rated for it. The muzzleloaders Nick is using and referencing are custom built to meet the demands of Smokeles Powder. Always follow manufacturer guidelines and safety protocol for your muzzleloader.

For Nick Parcher, muzzleloading looks a bit different than many of us are used to. Nick is focused on two things, precision, and hunting.

In the late 1990s, Savage arms released the first "mass produced" smokeless muzzleloader, the "ML" and later the "ML2". The fallout from these rifles reached far and wide, they lead to a series of injuries and muddied the water on muzzleloaders and how to use them.

But from the ashes of the Savage ML came a new breed of precision muzzleloading, one that would leave the roundball , sabot, and blackpowder behind.

Nick is an avid smokeless muzzleloader enthusiast and has been since the launch of the Savage ML. "Savage didn't really know what they were doing, in starting a whole new breed of muzzleloader", Nick says, and he was right. While the ML and ML2 are relegated to aftermarket parts for their shooters in 2021, Nick is part of a community doing what Savage couldn't, pushing muzzleloading to the limit while being as safe as possible.

Hunting for Nick has changed a lot over the years, when he was younger he hunted in a party with his buddies, all tracking and pushing deer through the woods/fields with shotguns. As his interested changed, and he moved towards hunting from a blind, he needed something with more accuracy and more range. Before switching to a muzzleloader, 190-200yds was as far as Nick had ever shot, now it's much further than that, about 492 yards. For 2021, Nick is hoping to take a deer at ~800 yards.

When it comes to the safety of modern smokless muzzleloaders, Nick is happy about the changes in technology and mentality among shooters, he's become a go to person to run simulations on pressure calculations to make sure a load is safe before it's shot.

"Now I'm not going to lie, a couple of these guys actually blow up guns or you know most barrels getting to know stuff, but it was under a more controlled scenario where they kind of saw coming right. They'd push the limit a little too far and and nobody really got hurt, but these pressure traces were all over the message boards and and people were starting to do that and then, of course, quick loads came along. Quick loads had been out for a long time, but had never really been applied to muzzle loading and that's and that's kind of where I took over I took quick loads and being an engineer and using a lot of software, I kind of worked it out and and now quick loads is actually the go to name.

So whenever somebody asks me, what is as safe to shoot right. It takes me just a minute or two to plug the numbers in and find out. I can say, here's the velocity you're going to get and here's the pressure you're going to see and based on the kind of gun, whether it's a good idea or it's a bad idea! "

As any muzzleloading enthusiast will tell you, hunting seasons are too short to be "enough" muzzleloading for the year. Nick continues to be hooked to this day, sending nearly 1000 rounds a year downrange. Competitive shooting became a way to practice for the hunt, and try new things. Nick now travels as much as he can to competitive matches, and continues to try to enter "Precision Rifle Matches" for modern center fire rifles with his muzzleloader to prove a muzzleloader can compete and expose more to the muzzleloading hobby. Reception has been cold though, but Nick is hopeful for the future.

In recent years, Nick has participated in and now runs the "Midwest Muzzleloader Classic", a long range muzzleloading match in Iowa. All muzzleloaders are welcome, but you'll shoot the same course of fire if you have a break action or a long range bolt action inline muzzleloader, so come prepared!

Course of Fire is

3 rounds at 200 yards, one at each plate 12", 6", and 4"

3 rounds at 300 yards, one at each plate 12", 6", and 4"

3 rounds at 400 yards, one at each plate 12", 6", and 4"

3 rounds at 500 yards, one at each plate 12", 6", and 4"

3 shot group at 100 yards will be the tie breaker.

The prizes this year are

Medford Knives donated two knives $600 each

Tactile Turn Titanium bolt action pen $100

Defiance Machine 50% off an action $755 value

Nightforce Optics 25 hats and loads of other swag

Berger Bullets 100 bullet your choice

Vihtavuori powder 1lb of powder and lots of reloading manuals

Hankins Rifles Smooth Form Die

Fury Bullets TBD

Leupold TBD

Arrowhead Rifles TBD

For more information on this match, check out the flyer at ILoveMuzzleloading.com or visit the facebook event here.

Nick also hosts a series of "Cold Bore Matches" that, as the title states, rely on the barrel of your rifle being cold, forcing the shooter to know their gun and how it behaves with unknown yardages. These "cold Bore" matches are open to center fire shooters, but Nick has been converting them to muzzleloaders for some time now.

It's hard to sell a production gun to a custom muzzleloader shooter, Nick is well past anything offered by the "Big 3", but he respects their place in the community. If you ask Nick how to get started in muzzleloading, he's going to recommend the best of the best, something that does what he likes and it'll run nearly $4,000. "Most people can't and won't spend that kind of money on a muzzleloader, and I get that. There's a need for those $300-$500 guns out there, they bring people into the sport."

I often hear people complain that inline/modern muzzleloaders only shoot muzzleloaders for 2 weeks out of the year, that they don't care about the muzzleloading community. Nick is the opposite of that. I don't know that I've met someone that shoots as much and cares as much about seeing muzzleloading of all types preserved and passed on to future generations.

He cares about the sport, the people, and the businesses that make it all possible. 

Follow Nick on Instagram- instagram.com/mista_paacha/ 

Join "Hank's Message Board" to chat with Nick and his friends - https://hanksmessageboard.freeforums.net/

Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. 

Always follow manufacturer guidelines and safety protocol. I Love Muzzleloading, the writer and the guest are not liable for any injury or harm. Our content isstrictly for documentary, educational, and entertainment purposes only. All shooting is performed on state-approved firing ranges under the supervision of trained professionals. Imitation or the use of any acts depicted in these videos is solely AT YOUR OWN RISK. All work on firearms should be carried out by a licensed individual and all state and federal rules apply to such. We (including YouTube) will not be held liable for any injury to yourself or damage to your firearms resulting from attempting anything shown in any of our videos. We do not endorse any specific product and this video is not an attempt to sell you a good or service. We are not a gun store and DO NOT sell or deal in firearms. Such a practice is heavily regulated and subject to applicable laws. We DO NOT sell parts, magazines, or firearms. We are not instructing our viewers on how to modify firearms, accessories, or otherwise to change their basic legal function. By viewing or flagging this content you are acknowledging the above. 

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