Black powder shooters compete at Fort Assinniboine

Black powder rifle and pistol shooters competed in many different shooting competitions at the 37th annual Black Powder Shoot event Saturday, Sunday and Monday on the Fort Assinniboine grounds.

The area was lined with campers and trucks as 79 shooters - men, women and children - from Montana and Canada came to have fun and compete against one another with the traditional firearms.

Black powder firearms are old-style rifles and pistols that were used prior to the wide adoption of smokeless powder firearms most common today.

Although there are three types of black powder firearms - flintlock, caplock and cartridge - they all require black powder as the propellant and two of the three, flintlock and caplock, are muzzleloaders; they are loaded through the barrel with a ramrod. Most firearms at the Black Powder Shoot were muzzle-loading rifles.

President of Bullhook Bottoms Black Powder Club in Havre, Errol Niedert kept his muzzleloaders in a baby stroller he had customized so the rifles sat, secure and propped against a wooden rail with dividers, the barrels facing up.

When compared to modern day smokeless firearms, there is no advantage, Niedert said. It is "absolutely more challenging." The challenge, however, is part of the appeal, he said.

Muzzleloaders take longer to load. There is a three-step process that includes pouring the powder, putting a separating cloth, a patch, around the bullet and the process of pushing it all down the barrel with a ramrod. The muzzleloaders' range is usually shorter and the bullets travel slower than those of smokeless rifles. And although the long-range shooting competitions stretch out as far as 580 yards, there are no scopes on any of the rifles - aiming is more difficult too.

Another part of the challenge, Niedert added, is "it's a one-shot deal." He was referring to how vital accuracy is when hunting with a muzzleloader. With black powder firearms, the shooter gets one shot and then has to reload again.

Scott Somerville, who came from Sweetgrass for the weekend, was loading one of his muzzleloaders. He said another reason people like shooting black powder firearms is tradition.

"Our forefathers started with these guns. It's a tradition we like to continue," he said.

Some of the competitions included "Cut the Ball." The aim was to hit the sharp side of an axe through the middle, causing the ball-shaped bullet to split in half. "Frogs on a Log" was about shooting 10 golf balls that had been painted green and set on short tees on a log. And the point of "Thread the Needle" was to shoot a taut piece of twine. Several other contests concentrated on distance shooting.

Tom Brown, who works as a nurse at Northern Montana Hospital, was wearing a traditional mountaineer ensemble. His pants were authentic buckskin he had stitched himself. His loose buttoned shirt was made by his mother, he said. And he also made the wide, brown leather belt with a large ring buckle that he was wearing.

Brown said the event was about more than just shooting old rifles. It was a family event and a good excuse to have camaraderie with others.