A
fter watching muzzle-loading with the use of
black powder for shooting game, I was still
very curious about its use in today’s wider
shooting circles and disciplines, which appears to
be seeing a steady increase. So, I was delighted
to be invited by the Anglian Muzzle Loaders for a
black-powder clay shooting day. I will be the first
to confess that a morning shooting clay has
always been a social thing for me; yes, there is a
degree of competition, but to be honest, I havealways regarded it as a time to be enjoyed in the
company of like-minded friends.
The Anglian Muzzle Loaders group dates back
over a decade, starting when a small group of
black powder enthusiasts came together. Today,
the club membership continues to grow and a
clay day can attract over 20 people. The club
ethos, then as now, is one of sharing their
knowledge and helping anyone with an interest in
muzzle-loading and shooting black powder,
delivered in a very social and friendly environment.
Soon after arriving at the clay ground, I sat for a
hearty breakfast and met up with club regular
Mike Whiting. By his own admission, Mike was
late coming into shooting, not picking a gun up
until his late twenties, at that time preferring to
shoot game and pigeons, which was with nitro. It
was after standing on a peg and watching other
Guns shooting black powder with their antique
guns that he started to take an interest, and soon
after he took part in a have-a-go day at a local
country fair. Although Mike’s interest became
greater as the years went by, he didn’t finally takethe plunge into the ‘dark side’ until just over four
years ago. Then, after attending a workshop
covering loading, shooting and cleaning
muzzle-loaders, he became totally hooked. Since
then, Mike has shot most of his game days with a
muzzle-loader, and has taken up clay shooting on
a regular basis. He now admits he cannot see
himself returning to nitro!
With breakfast out of the way, it was a short
walk to the first of our four stands. The layout was
a typical Sporting clay range, the first stand being
a high-crossing pair set on a bank, a challenging
left-and-right for any gun. But as we walked out to
the stand, it was noticeable the amount of
equipment everyone carried – not just a cartridge
bag over your shoulder, but cases to carry the
black powder, shot and wads.
Since starting muzzle-loading shooting, Mike
has built an impressive collection of original guns,
which vary from a 14-bore made by Thomas
Jackson in 1840 to a massive 8-bore single-barrel
manufactured by Cogswell and Harrison in around
1865, both being used on clay and game. The gunBACK TO BLACK
With an increasing interest in muzzle-loading and black powder, Matt Limb attends
a clay shoot with a group of muzzle-loaders to find out what all the fuss is about
PICTURES:
MATT LIMB OBE
MUZZLE-LOADING // WITH MATT LIMB
A clay day with The Anglian Muzzle
Loaders can attract over 20 peopleYou’ll need more than a cartridge bag
to carry muzzle-loading kit