Muskets Smoking and Sparking in the NRA Basement

These are the calls you love to get at the NRA.

Folks from the National Firearms Museum called up this morning to say that they’ll be tied up all day. Sorry, can’t be helped, but we’re shooting guns for American Rifleman all day. Really? Can I come along?

Thanks to Senior Curator Phil Schreier, I was able to gain access during the American Rifleman shoot. While there were a lot of guns on tap, I was waiting for the Brown Bess … the British musket put to great use by our forefathers during the American Revolution.

First goes in the powder, then a wad and finally the ball.

All of this was being filmed for future episodes of American Rifleman‘s television show on the Outdoor Channel. While I can’t giveaway much by way of details, I can say that it’s part one of a four part series.

So with a few video cameras all rolling at once, Schreier takes aim … ready for the firing command.

The trigger is pulled, the hammer goes down and the flint creates a spark. That spark ignites the blackpowder, the powder fires and hurtles the ball down range.

“You guys have to see this,” the camera man said with a laugh.

Taking us to the high-speed slow-motion video camera, we all gathered round to witness the results.

Hopefully these stills will provide a portion of the thrill the super slow-mo gave us on the range.

American Rifleman TV airs Wednesday nights at 10pm Eastern on the Outdoor Channel. Do yourself a favor and tune in.

NRAblog

NRAblog covers the 178 programs of the National Rifle Association. Whether it's the Youth Hunter Education Challenge, Women On Target, Hunters Rights, our National Competitions or a look at one of the thousands of guns in the National Firearms Museum, NRAblog is there to provide you an inside look to how it all happens at the NRA.