Black Powder Hunting
 |
|
|
|
|
Short Introduction:
Black Powder was originally discovered in China around the 9th century by Taoist monks or alchemists in the search of the "elixir of immortality". The Chinese applied gunpowder in warfare very shortly after, producing weapons such as flamethrowers, rockets, bombs, and mines, before inventing firearms.
Around the late 14th century, European powdermakers began adding liquid to the gunpodwer mixture to reduce dust and ultimately risk of explosion. Following this, the resulting paste(mill cake) would be shaped into "corns" or granules, to dry. This mixture soon enough was standardized forcing mill cake through sieves instead of corning podwer by hand.
Gunpowder or also known originally as Black Powder, classifies as a low explosive due to its slow decomposition rate and as well low brisance. The term black powder was chosen in the late 19th century to distinguish the new smokless and semi-smokless powders from the original gunpowder.
Advantages:
Black powder allows loading by volumetric measure, while smokeless powder requires measurements of the charge by weight to prevent damage due to overloading to be very precise. Damage by overloading is still possible in black powder, but overall is still easier to control. Black powder is also well suited for blank rounds, burst charges, flares, and fireworks.
Disadvantages:
Due to black powders’ low energy density in comparison to smokeless powders, it is much less effective for long range. Black podwer produces a thick smoke that can impair aiming and reveal a shooter’s position. When hunting by blackpowder, firearms must be well cleaned both inside and outside to remevoe residue (soot) that builds up inside the barrel after every shot due to combustion of black powder converts less than half of the mass of powder to gas. In addition to being a nuisance, the residue from the burnt powder attracts moisture very well and is very corrosive.
|
|
Keep it Clean!
Whether you plan to purchase a cartridge black powder gun or a muzzle-loader, these types of guns require very much attention. This type of firearm is one you cannot slack around with EVER!. Remember that the residue from black powder and other substitues such as Triple Seven, or Pyrodex, are extremely corrosive, and will usually cause rust to form within hours, even if it’s stainless, black powder guns will rust! With this in mind, muzzle loaders should be completely disassembled for every cleaning.
Blackpowder Styles:
The choices are many, such as muzzle load rifles, flint lock muskets, pistols, cartridge feed, and muzzle load shotguns. You will most likely want to go with either a modern day muzzle-loaded black powder rifle, or shotgun. Choosing a non-replica one is always a choice and quite often a dream for many enthusiasts, but these tend to get quite expensive or very hard to find. Thus your safest and most economical choice for black powder guns, is either a modern muzzle-load rifle or shotgun, which can get pricey, but are easier to acquire and maintain. Below are two examples of muzzle-load guns.
|
A muzzle-load Blackpowder rifle: Cap Lock 5024 (Courtesy Thompson/Centre)
|
 |
|
A muzzle-load Blackpowder Shotgun: Pursuit Pro Break-open (Courtesy Traditions Performance firearms)
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|