All posts by Wil

For enthusiasts of historical firearms and traditional shooting sports, using a black powder muzzleloader provides a unique experience and a connection to the past. Loading and firing these classic firearms requires a certain level of knowledge and skill to ensure safety and accuracy. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned shooter, this guide will walk you through the essential steps to properly load a black powder muzzleloader and enjoy a rewarding shooting experience.

Step 1 – Safety First:

Before we delve into the loading process, safety should be the primary concern. Always treat any firearm with the utmost respect, and adhere to strict safety practices. Keep your muzzleloader pointed in a safe direction, and only load it when you’re ready to shoot.

Step 2 – Gather Your Supplies:

To properly load a black powder muzzleloader, you’ll need a few essential items:

Black powder: Select the appropriate grade of black powder recommended for your specific muzzleloader.

Projectile: Choose the appropriate size round ball for your firearm.

Patching material: Usually made of cotton or synthetic materials, the patch wraps around the projectile to ensure a proper seal and better accuracy.

Lubricant: Lubricate the patch to reduce friction during loading and improve consistency.

Powder measure: Use a powder measure to achieve consistent powder charges for better accuracy. Do not exceed the maximum load per your firearms manual.

Ramrod: The ramrod is used to seat the bullet and powder in the barrel.

Capper (optional): For cap-lock muzzleloaders, a capper can make it easier to place percussion caps on the nipple.

Brass Priming Flask: For flintlock muzzleloaders, a priming flask dispenses priming powder from the spring-activated spout into the pan.

Step 3 – Clear the Muzzleloader:

Ensure your muzzleloader is not loaded before beginning the loading process. Point the firearm in a safe direction making sure there isn’t any percussion cap installed and run a cleaning patch through the barrel to ensure it’s clear of any obstructions or residue.

Step 4 – Measure the Black Powder Charge:

Using a powder measure, carefully measure the desired amount of black powder according to your firearm’s recommended load.

It is crucial to avoid overloading, as it can result in dangerous pressures and potential damage to the muzzleloader.

Step 5 – Load the Projectile:

Wrap the lubricated patch around the bullet or ball.

Place the patched projectile on the muzzle of the firearm, making sure it sits squarely.

Using a ball starter, gently push the projectile into the barrel.

Cut off the top of the patch using a patch knife.

Using the long end of the ball starter, push the round down a few inches.

Next, using a ramrod, push the round down the barrel until it seats firmly on top of the powder charge.

Step 6 – Seat the Projectile:

With the projectile in place, use the ramrod to apply gentle, consistent pressure to seat the projectile firmly against the powder charge. Ensure it is seated properly but avoid using excessive force, as this could deform the bullet or ball and affect accuracy.

Step 7 – Cap the Nipple/ Prime the Pan:

For cap-lock muzzleloaders, place a percussion cap on the nipple.

If using a capper, carefully seat the cap onto the nipple to avoid any accidental ignition.

For flintlock muzzleloaders, prime the pan by opening the frizzen and filling the pan approximately half full with your priming powder (typically 4F).

Step 8 – Take Aim and Fire:

With the muzzleloader fully loaded and capped, assume a proper shooting stance, cock the hammer, align the sights, and carefully take aim at your target. When ready, squeeze the trigger to fire the shot.

Loading a black powder muzzleloader is an engaging process that requires precision, care, and adherence to safety protocols. By following this comprehensive guide, you can ensure a safe and enjoyable shooting experience with your muzzleloader. Always remember to clean your firearm thoroughly after shooting to maintain its performance and longevity. Embrace the art of loading a black powder muzzleloader, and you’ll be rewarded with a deeper appreciation for historical firearms and traditional shooting sports.

Happy shooting!

By Fred Eichler

Ever since my job as a young man working in the pro shop and museum at Bear Archery, I have felt a closeness to the company that still bears the founder’s name. His presence is still felt at the factory and Bear Archery still uses Fred in their promotions, which to me is a great form of respect for their founder. It shows me they haven’t forgotten who made them what they are. When I left Bear Archery it was for a job managing an archery shop in Fort Collins, Colorado, and before I left Frank Scott gifted me a Fred Bear takedown recurve.

Since that time I have been fortunate to hunt some of the places Fred did and hunt some of the animals Fred spoke and wrote so eloquently about. My passion for bowhunting and promoting the sport I care so much about has been a major part of my life. As I get older, protecting our hunting heritage as well as learning more about our archery and bowhunting history means even more to me now than it did as a young man.

In 2022, I got an amazing opportunity to work on a new Bear recurve riser with the General Manager of Bear Archery, Jonathan Lene, and Timmy Langley, one of the engineers at Bear Archery. Their vast experience with both bows and bow design eclipsed mine, but I was able to make some of the changes I really wanted. One of the changes I wanted was a bow that was super light and designed to shoot better off the shelf with more feather clearance than other models.

I kept the small handle design because most recurves make it hard for me to put the riser in the exact location in my hand every time for every shot. I also wanted to change Fred’s original shelf. There was a lot of arrow contact on the shelf on the older designs and I had trouble getting perfect arrow flight.

I also wanted to change up the side plate. The original design had one set screw for adjusting the plate and I wanted two set screws. Just the opportunity to make some improvements on Fred’s original take down with the unique latch system Fred designed was inspiring to say the least.

To say I was excited would be an understatement. Bear Archery is where my archery career started and Fred Bear was my bowhunting mentor even though he didn’t really know me or the impact he had on me.

One of the most exciting parts of this project was the testing of prototypes that we kept tweaking. I understood that things like curved designs and taking out material in the riser and adding another set screw all adds more costs in machining, but I had an image of what I wanted and we did it.

To have a hand in helping design a bow that has my name next to Fred’s is by far my proudest archery moment. This past year having the opportunity to test the bow took me back to a time when men like Fred Bear as well as others were literally designing the equipment that many of us use today. My humble suggestions weren’t that ground breaking and certainly aren’t going to change the sport like so many other people have done. However, I like to think Mr. Bear is somewhere shooting his bow and appreciating that there are many of us that are thankful for the work, sacrifice, testing, and promoting they did. I don’t know if he is on hunts with me or not, but sometimes I feel like he is standing right beside me.

Side bar: For those interested here are the stats on the Bear Riser

Fred Eichler/Bear Riser

• 17″ riser with Fred Bear’s original latch system
• Lengths of bow options with different limbs: 58″, 60″, or 62″. Poundage options 30-70 lbs @ 28″.
• Will accommodate older bear limbs.
• Color options: Fred Bear camo, hunter green, or buckskin.
• Interchangeable shelf heights: low, medium, or high.
• Adjustable strike plate.

Name: Duff Jorgenson
Country Harvested: United States
State/Province: Montana
Year: 2022
Type of Game: Whitetail Deer
Equipment Used:

I use the Beaman ICS Bowhunter carbon arrows. I use a 2-blade Stinger 125 grain broadhead. My arrows are protected from my cat quiver backpack that I absolutely love. I use a Martin glove from 3Rivers. I wear my short brimmed hat from 3Rivers that never touches my string. I love it.

Additional Info:

I recently harvested this doe with my Bears paw Reflex Deflex longbow made locally. I have been fortunate enough to have multiple deer kills with his bow from a tree stand. I was able to get most of this kill on video as well. I respect all traditional archers who harvest animals because I know how much work and dedication it takes. I just wanted to share this picture 3Rivers Archery. Thank you for supplying the highest quality of equipment!

Photo:

Name: Jake Mecham
Country Harvested: United States
State/Province: Utah
Year: 2022
Type of Game: Black Bear
Equipment Used:

Bear Grizzly bow
3Rivers Hunter Broadhead
Cedar Wood Arrow
Old Fred Bear T shirt

Additional Info:

I took him from a ground blind at ten yards. Broadhead passed clear through the body. It was a fantastic time. My three sons helped with the stand.
Thanks 3Rivers I will always be a customer.

Photo:

Name: Ron Kulas
Country Harvested: United States
State/Province: Wisconsin
Year: 2019
Type of Game: Trophy Room, Whitetail Deer
Equipment Used:

woodsman Broadhead

Additional Info:

Heart shot and the buck only ran 50 yards.

Photo:

Name: Rob Kulas
Country Harvested: United States
State/Province: Indiana
Year: 2018
Type of Game: Trophy Room, Whitetail Deer
Equipment Used:

Woodsman Broadhead

Additional Info:

The buck ran only 20 yards after the shot

Photo:

Name: Jeff Wheeler
Country Harvested: United States
State/Province: Iowa
Year: 2018
Type of Game: Trophy Room, Whitetail Deer
Equipment Used:

54” homemade R/D “longbow”…60#@28”. GT traditional classics with 125gn stinger two blade.

Additional Info:
Photo:

A clicker, or draw check, makes an audible noise (click) when an archer hits his desired draw length. They are used by almost all Olympic archery shooters to achieve the precision accuracy needed to succeed in that field. They work great as a signal, or trigger, to release the arrow.

I recently decided to use a clicker as a training aid. I needed to get back to the basics of anchoring on every shot instead of short drawing and trying to “sneak up” on it; as my coach Rod Jenkins informed me I was doing. I set a commitment goal of using a clicker religiously for three months. Part of that three month period included spring turkey season though. Which I most certainly was not going to miss.

Clickers are available in several different styles. For hunting, the type that attaches to the string as well as the bow works best with all arrow points including broadheads and blunts. What I used here is the Crick-it Draw Check Clicker. While the light string and adjustable ball chain that comes with clickers works fine on the target range, I felt concern over its longevity in the field and the noise of the click when trying to take a super quiet, close hunting shot.

I consulted with Jason Wesbrock who has successfully used a clicker for years. Jason is an amazing bowhunter, world champion archer, and star of Masters of the Barebow Vol. 5. I took some tips from Jason and incorporated them into my own experiments and came up with a system that worked well for me on the hunt.

Steps for Setting up a Clicker for Hunting

Step 1: Remove the clicker blade, the piece of metal that makes the noise, from the clicker. For the Crick-it clicker mine required a Phillips screwdriver.

Step 2: You want to remove the chain grommet from the clicker blade. It may require a small amount of force, but be gentle.

Step 3:  Slide nylon cord through the hole where the ball chain was. As not all nylon cord is the same diameter, it may require drilling the hole to pull the cord through. You want it to be a tight fit though. 

Step 4: Using a hand lighter, singe the end of the nylon cord and extinguish it by pushing it straight down into a couple drops of water on a flat, non-combustible surface. This should leave a hard, flat collar on one end of the cord. You can test to see if the end will hold by pulling on the cord to get the blade to make the click sound.

Step 5:  To silence your clicker blade you can apply heavy duty outdoor tape to the center of the blade. The more layers you apply, the quieter it will get. It is up to you how much this will be.

Step 6: Reassemble your clicker by screwing the blade back onto the plate in proper position. It is now ready to be installed on your hunting bow.

Step 7: Clean your top bow limb with denatured alcohol and a clean rag several inches below where the string separates from the bow limb. You want the clicker on the top limb so the least amount of nylon cord is used, and it stays out of the brush when moving.

Step 8: Remove the sticky backing from the clicker and press onto the center of the top bow limb with the string positioned down.

Step 9: Mark the bow string where you would like the clicker nylon string to be located so it resembles the photo.

Step 10: Unstring your bow, divide the bow string strands at the mark and insert the end of the cord through about a half inch.

Step 11: String your bow, and double check brace height and position of the cord. Sometimes the string will twist. If the cord is twisted unstring and remove the cord and insert again from the other side.

Step 12: Once the cord is straight you can adjust the length by pulling it to the correct length to click at the desired draw length. I cut off the extra leaving about ¾” of cord and burn the end (be careful here). On a Flemish twist string the cord will stay in position. On an endless loop type string you may need to serve above and below the cord to maintain position.

For silencing the clicker, I tried a number of different suggestions and ideas and have settled on what I believe is the perfect solution. A piece of Scotch brand outdoor mounting tape stuck to the face of the blade silences the click consistently; the bigger the piece the quieter the click. You can even make it silent if you want and still feel the clicker break in your string hand. I ended up preferring a piece of scotch tape approximately ¼” by ¾”.

My turkey hunting was very slow that year. When a jake came into my hen calls I decided to take the shot. I hit anchor and pulled while aiming until the muffled click went off and my arrow disappeared in the sweet spot.

I have shot larger toms, but I’ve never been more pumped about making a great shot under pressure and staying on the road to shooting success.

By Denny Sturgis, Jr.

National Thank You Month video When we learned that January is “National Thank You Month” we knew we had to send a special greeting to our friends and customers. Here’s a video we put together with a special message from the 3Rivers Archery staff. THANK YOU! Bloopers Reel Here at 3Rivers Archery we pride ourselves on being “The Longbow & Recurve Experts.” But even we have an off day now and then. Here’s a blooper reel showing some of our mistakes while filming the “Thank You” video.

What is the Astra Shot Trainer, and What Will it do for me? For those of us serious about shooting their bows, the shot trainer is for you. The Shot Trainer helps with building ‘shot muscle’ in order to improve your accuracy down range or chasing big game. The Shot Trainer delivers excellent warm-up before hitting the hunt and can keep seasoned hunters working smoothly on the range and in the tree stand. The Astra Shot Trainer looks a little different than standard bowhunter kit, and might even draw some curious looks from salty old hunters when you’re pulling it out of the gear bag at the range, but it represents huge value in what it can offer when worked into a normal practice routine. Using the device is kind of like Babe Ruth putting a few weights on the end of his bat and swinging it around before taking them off and stepping up to the plate to slam a home run. How The Shot Trainer Works The Shot Trainer wakes up the body by reinforcing what needs to happen in the shot – supercharging the muscle fibers and brain response – as demonstrated by the body’s response to the first shot after removing the connecting strap. When you release the bow string, the kinetic energy of the bow is transferred to your elbow, forcing you to maintain back tension strength and direction through the shot sequence. The first shot is the most dramatic, but you can see the benefit after the first 10 minutes of use, and with long-term and regular use the results will radically improve your shot confidence, stability, and accuracy. How to Set up and Adjust the Astra Shot Trainer Wearing, adjusting, and using the Shot Trainer is a pretty simple affair. Slip the sleeve over the arm (offered in two sizes) and adjust the slack while the draw fingers are curled, similar to full draw but not holding the string – about 1” slack is a good starting point. When adjusted too short, the string won’t move when released, too long and the slack in the material can cause a whip action on the arm or neck, which stings a little. To avoid the ‘Kiss of the Shot Trainer’, it is better to sneak up on the right adjustment by starting too short and gradually increasing the length. Always refer to the owner’s manual and understand all warnings. Full instructions for usage and adjustment can be found at the 3Rivers Archery web site. The Shot Trainer guides and strengthens the large, archery-specific, lower trapezius shooting muscles in the back by harnessing the draw weight that would normally disappear from the archer’s draw-hand/arm/shoulder as the arrow is released. The feeling of being tethered to the bow string is unique and you have to be ready for it, so be ready to hold technique while catching the draw weight of the bow. After putting the sleeve on and adjusting to the proper range, start slowly and get used to drawing and holding at full draw for a comfortable beat before letting the bow down gently. This a great way to start out and use the training aid as a safety catch or dry-fire preventative in case the string grip slips while drawing and letting down the bow during warm-up. The Shot Trainer can handle any bow weight but standard recommendation for archers is to start with a bow in the teens to twenty pound range for draw weight, or even a stretch band. This is simply to avoid injuries and help an archer understand the proper adjustments and feel before moving onto that custom 75# longbow or other potent shaft launcher and being painfully humbled by the heavier draw weight. Compound shooters will also get all of the same benefits as any other archer, but remember to never use the Shot Trainer on a compound bow. If you’re a compound shooter that wants to use the Shot Trainer but doesn’t have a non-compound bow to practice on, there are a great deal of tutorials online for how to make a hardware store PVC tube bow for a few dollars. This solution will work the same as any other non-compound bow with the Shot Trainer. When adjusted in the proper range, the device might tug a little for some archers as they’re raising the arms and hands to draw the bow. Once the draw is started, the tugging is usually gone for most archers; this depends on the adjustments of the device, body size and shooting style. Conclusion The first shot after taking the Shot Trainer off is a profound experience and just a few minutes of use is capable of providing this remarkable effect. The archer will feel a well controlled, powerful release that’s as clean and precise as a match trigger. This can be witnessed, but to truly be appreciated, must be felt. The Shot Trainer is all handmade in the USA and built with durable and comfortable materials. The whole rig barely weighs anything and takes up a tiny piece of real estate, so it’s easy to throw in the truck, bag, or box for a few warm-up shots before hitting the trail or doing some range work. Some of us barely warm-up or stretch at all prior to shooting and adding another step may be outside of habits or preferences, but with a tool that offers so much with minimal investment in time and money – the Shot Trainer is right on target. By Tyler Domenech and Astra Archery (modified by 3Rivers for use) Learn more from Astra Archery Astra Archery Facebook page or at their Astra Archery web site