How changes have improved the muzzle-loading-rifles and discover how this gun influenced the wild westFacts about muzzle-loading-rifles. The word muzzleloader is a term for how you load a one shot long rifle.
There have been many changes to the rifles over the centuries and changes to this gun continue even today.
In 1610 the Smooth-bore flintlock rifles was invented. This rifle was an improvement on the matchlock musket which needed a match and wick for ignition. This old ignition system was plagued with miss firings. The improved Flintlock musket ignition system featured a hammer that held a piece of flint. When the trigger was pulled the hammer fell and scraped the flint against a rough piece of metal know as the frizzen pan cover. The spark of muzzle-loading-rifle's hammer against the frizzen pan produced sparks and ignited the loose powder sitting in the frizzen pan which in turn, ignited the main powder charge in the barrel, behind the projectile. The flintlock became a dominant weapon for a long period of time because it was so easy to load and fire but the Smooth-bore flintlock wasn't very accurate beyond 40 yards.
The photo above is a Venerable Kentucky flintlock rifle. This rifle was favored by frontiersman and by sharpshooters in the old west, because of it extreme accuracy at long ranges. The long gun barrel could be as much as four feet in length. One problem with the Kentucky flintlock rifle was how difficult and slow it was to load. The ammunition had to be forced down onto the the long muzzle tightly in offer to fit in the spiral rifling grooves. As the firearm was repeatedly used the burnt powder would fill the grooves making it increasingly harder to load.
In 1841 Smooth-bare muzzle-loading-rifles with percussion ignition system were created and built and old flintlock were converted to percussion firearm. This percussion system uses a percussion cap that is a small cylinder of copper or brass with one closed end. Inside the closed end is a small amount of a shock-sensitive explosive material such as fulminate of mercury. The percussion cap is placed over a hollow metal "nipple" at the end of the barrel. Pulling the trigger releases a hammer which strikes the percussion cap, and ignites the explosive primer. The flame travels through the hollow nipple to ignite the main powder change in the gun. This percussion system made the gun more reliable but the long range accuracy was still a problem and it was here that the miny bullet entered the scene.
The Hawken percussion muzzle-loading-rifles used a 50cal round bullet. This rifle was not mass produced, each gun was hand made and designed to be dependable and accurate. These attributes made it one of the most popular rifles in the frontier. This Hawken rifle is one of the most copied rifles in the history of firearms and is still being reproduced today. 
In 1874 the Remington company came out with the percussion Sharps long rifle. The Sharps long rifle chambered quickly and was very accurate long range gun. In 1872 This rifle proved its worth when it hit a target at 1,000-yards. The Sharp's bullets,were ballistically superior long slender ammo. The .40-50, .40-70, and .40.90 were optimal for use on the plains, so the Sharps long rifle became known as the king of the buffalo rifles.
The photo above shows a modern percussion muzzle-loading-rifles. The stock is made from light weight durable stainless steel and plastic making the rifle lighter but you can still order the stock in real-tree hardwood.
Discover how the muzzle-loading-rifles influenced the wild west and how changes have improved this guntop of page
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