How to Shoot the Blackpowder Rifle

EDITOR'S NOTE: Dave Meredith, the PR Director at Connecticut Valley Arms (CVA) in Norcross, Georgia, has hunted for more than 52 years, beginning at 8 years of age. Meredith enjoys hunting many species with black powder, particularly the white-tailed deer. He likes hunting with black powder because of the challenge of the sport, being in the woods with few other hunters and participating in a historical way to hunt like his grandparents and great-grandparents did.

Question: O.K., Dave, let's say I know what an inline rifle is, and I have all the parts to load and shoot it. Exactly how do I load it?
Answer: First, always take the ramrod, and put it in the gun before you put anything in the barrel. Mark the ramrod even with the top of the barrel. Put your powder charge in, and remember that the amount of powder you use depends on what you're doing and how much you want to take on a recoil. With a .50 caliber inline, you can shoot anywhere from 50-150 grains of powder, if you use the pellets. Once you put your powder charge in, put your ramrod back in, and mark the ramrod again even with the top of the barrel. Take the bullet you'll use as a projectile, put the nose of it against that last mark, and mark the ramrod again at the bottom of the bullet, which enables you to put the ramrod in the gun at any point of time and know exactly where you stand in your loading procedure. Once you've done that, pre-lube the barrel; you'll have a small brass-cleaning jack for pre-lubing. Take a cleaning patch, put natural lubricant on it, and run it down the barrel of the gun. Before capping the gun, run a couple of dry patches one at a time down the barrel to even it out. Next, put your powder charge in after you've measured it, or take out your pellets if you're using pellets (I recommend pellets for beginners). Put your pellets in with the dark end down. Take your projectile, and put it in the muzzle using your starter. Push it down. Use your ramrod to push it all the way down onto the powder charge. Remember that last mark should be even with the top of the barrel that's on your ramrod, which tells you it's firmly seated. Once you do that, you'll have to put in a primer. When you put the primer in, the gun will be cocked, so you need to put on the safety. Pick out your target, check behind and beyond your target, take the safety off, get your sight pattern, put your finger on the trigger, and squeeze. Once you get those three components down the barrel, and the primer done, it's just like a regular bullet. You shoot the gun the same way you do any other gun.

Question: Why and how do I use a ball starter?
Answer: You use a ball starter to start the bullet. A ball starter has two small pegs on it; one is a short peg and the other is a little longer. The short peg is used to get the bullet seated into the barrel, and the longer peg is used to push the bullet down a little farther. Once you've done that, take the ramrod, and push it down onto the bullet. Keep grabbing the ramrod and pushing it down, about 6 inches each time, until the bullet is all the way down in the barrel. If you grab the ramrod at the top, it will have a tendency to bend, and it may break and go through your hand. If you grab the ramrod 6 inches above the barrel, you won't have that problem.

Question: How hard do I have to push down on the ramrod to properly load the gun?
Answer: Properly loading the gun should be relatively easy once the bullet is started. You don't want to use excessive force because if you do you will deform the bullet.

Question: How do I know that the bullet is seated properly, and what does that mean?
Answer: A seated bullet is one that's sitting on top of the powder charge; there won't be a space between the bullet and the powder when the bullet is properly seated. Once you have the bullet seated properly, mark your ramrod. Then each time you reload, you'll know exactly when the bullet is seated correctly because the mark on the ramrod should be right close to the top of the barrel.

Question: O.K., Dave, now I've got the gun loaded, give me the 1-2-3's of shooting it correctly.
Answer: Put the primer cap on the nipple, close the breech, aim, and shoot the black-powder rifle just like you will a centerfire gun. The difference is that a centerfire rifle generally will shoot longer distances, but your sighting pattern is basically the same with a black-powder rifle and a centerfire rifle. To sight in your gun, get your front bead on the target, and then put the front bead between the notch in the rear sight. You can sight in your black-powder gun in several different ways. I typically take the smallest part of the top of the front bead and put it as low in the rear notch as possible on the target. Once you do that, put your finger on the trigger, and gently squeeze it. I've always been taught to take a breath, let it halfway out and just squeeze the trigger as if I'm squeezing a baby's hand.

Question: Do I need a riflescope to sight with, or can I use open sights?
Answer: The sight that comes on the gun is just a regular open sight. Many people will put scopes on their black-powder rifles and shoot them just as they will if the scopes are on centerfire rifles. Too, the sights you'll be able to use depend on the hunting laws of the state in which you're hunting.

Question: What are open sights?
Answer: Open sights have a front blade, and the rear sight is a notched sight; it doesn't have any optics to it that will magnify. It doesn't have a tube or a scope to it -- it's just all open area.

Question: What size riflescope do you recommend for a black-powder gun?
Answer: Even if you use a scope, you won't be shooting great distances with a black-powder rifle. So, the primary function of the scope will be to clarify your target, which means you won't need more than a 4X scope.

Question: How do I attach the scope to my black-powder rifle?
Answer: You use a scope mount, which mounts into the drilled and tapped holes on the back of the rifle. You'll also need rings to attach to the base to hold the scope in place. Once you get that set, you want to zero it in just like you will if you're using open sights.

Question: Let's say I've taken one shot and want to get off a second shot. Do I have to clean the gun or pour any oil down the barrel before I reload?
Answer: No. You want to wait at least one minute because there's still fire within the barrel. You don't want to drop powder down there until you have the chance to know it's all extinguished, and one minute's time should be sufficient. At this point, your preloader comes in handy because you've already got it premeasured. Put your pellets down the barrel, and restart the bullet with the bullet starter. Reseat it again just like you do the first shot. Generally, you can do four shots without having to put anything else down the barrel.

For more information on CVA's quality black-powder guns, call (770) 449-4687; email info@cva.com; or, see the catalogue online at www.cva.com.

TOMORROW: Cleaning the Blackpowder Rifle