This week we hear about a group preserving a bit of Canadian pioneer history in a way. It is loud, it is smoky, but it is lots of fun too.
For over 50 years now the Saskatoon Muzzle Loaders Club, in the western prairie province of Saskatchewan, has been preserving an aspect of Canadian history and pioneer life. The members of the club hunt and practice their shooting skills with antique style muzzle-loading black powder guns.
Jake Peters is among those Canadians who enjoy collecting, building, hunting, and target shooting with an antique type of firearm. He is past president and a current committee member with the SMLC.
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In addition to their use in wars and conflicts in this country, notably for example in turning back an American invasion in 1812, these antique type weapons were critical for explorers and pioneers who opened up this country.
In terms of hunting, you had to be an excellent stalker in order to get close enough to the game you were hunting, as the range and accuracy diminish rapidly the greater the distance.
You also had to be a very good shot as you usually only got one chance due to the time it takes to reload:, miss, and the animal was gone, disappeared into the woods or into the air, along with your chance for food.
That one chance might have meant the difference between eating and starvation.
Plus of course lead shot, and powder might be very hard to come by and you simply couldn’t afford to miss very often.
And now all these years later, there are groups of Canadians, such as the Saskatoon Muzzle Loaders, who enjoy collecting and shooting these antique, and antique replica firearms, both for their aesthetics, and for the individual and sometimes quirky nature of each individual handmade gun.
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