Welcome to the TMA - the Traditional Muzzleloading Association

The TMA is always free to access: totally non-profit and therefore no nagging for your money, no sponsors means no endless array of ads to wade through, and no "membership fees" ever required. Brought to you by traditional muzzleloaders with decades of wisdom in weaponry, accoutrements, and along with 18th and 19th century history knowledge of those times during the birth our nation, the United States of America.

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Recent Posts

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91
Making the Holy Black Powder / Re: Making 18th and 19th Century Gun Powder
« Last post by RobD on January 25, 2026, 01:35:18 PM »
a quick question. How well does your homemade powder work with smaller calibers? .32, .36, .40?

I don't know, I've only used it with .54 and .62 bore sizes, rifle and smoothbore. 
92
Making the Holy Black Powder / Re: Making 18th and 19th Century Gun Powder
« Last post by Nessmuk on January 25, 2026, 01:17:02 PM »
a quick question. How well does your homemade powder work with smaller calibers? .32, .36, .40?
93
Making the Holy Black Powder / Re: Making 18th and 19th Century Gun Powder
« Last post by Nessmuk on January 25, 2026, 01:12:09 PM »
when I get down to 20lbs left, I will. should be in a couple year.
94
General Interest / Re: What muzzleloader stuff did you do today?
« Last post by dmarsh on January 25, 2026, 12:22:43 PM »
Went into the shop.  Freezing cold so I looked at a couple of muzzleloading projects really quick and then back into the heat. :bigsmile: :lol sign
95
Traditional Muzzleloaders for Reenactors / Re: Pedersoli 2nd Land Pattern Brown Bess Kit
« Last post by RobD on January 25, 2026, 12:20:20 PM »
it's good to know that such a tool is available although I hope that I never need to remove my breech plug.
Thanks

There is no pressing need to pull a breech plug on any trad ML.  I do it because I can and it allows me to check how the touch hole liner was set into the bbl chamber interior and to anti-seize grease the plug threads for easy removal years from now or ... well ... who knows if it'll ever need pulling.  There'll never be a need to remove the plug on a Good and Proper built bbl, but these offshore trad ML bbls are a totally different story because most will have partially drilled breech plug faces and that resulting little channel can bugger up a good ignition unless it's opened up a bit.  In the last near dozen offshore ML guns I've worked on only ONE had a perfect flat face breech plug (1777 Saint musket), the rest all had their plug faces buggered.

I probably have a 1 in 12 chance that this forthcoming Pede Bess kit bbl will have a good breech plug ... but if not, I can fix it.
96
Traditional Muzzleloaders for Reenactors / Re: Pedersoli 2nd Land Pattern Brown Bess Kit
« Last post by Salty on January 25, 2026, 11:50:33 AM »
it's good to know that such a tool is available although I hope that I never need to remove my breech plug.
Thanks
97
Traditional Muzzleloaders for Reenactors / Re: Pedersoli 2nd Land Pattern Brown Bess Kit
« Last post by RobD on January 25, 2026, 11:28:16 AM »
That?s a beauty.
What is that tool you?re using?

That's a Rice barrel wrench for pulling out breech plugs.  Then end of the wrench gets fitted into a 3ft or so length of black pipe for leverage.

I also use a set of Rice octagonal vise clamps to best secure the bbl while working the plug wrench.

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Those two tools get lotsa use.
98
Traditional Muzzleloaders for Reenactors / Re: Pedersoli 2nd Land Pattern Brown Bess Kit
« Last post by Salty on January 25, 2026, 11:19:41 AM »
That?s a beauty.
What is that tool you?re using?
99
General Interest / Re: Blowing down barrel
« Last post by RobD on January 25, 2026, 11:12:09 AM »
We're all big boys and most have decades of trad ML experiences notched on our gun stocks and brains.

Blowing has its risk when dementia strikes and ya forget that yer blowing down a loaded bbl - this CAN happen, cause look at how we've all dry balled!!

Not blowing has its risk that the explosive powder yer pouring down the tube will contact some manner of heat left in the bbl or chamber and then Ka-bloo-eee!!

To blow or not to blow is a personal decision and whatever decision we make will be a good one for each of us and that's a good thing  :bl th up

HOWEVER, using a blow tube eliminates both of the above possible catastrophic issues, and thus no longer a bad safety issue but an excellent good safety issue.

100
General Interest / Re: What muzzleloader stuff did you do today?
« Last post by No Powder on January 25, 2026, 11:08:18 AM »
If you makes you feel any better Salty, all of us in the Golden Years mode are experiencing the same issues.
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