Every sport has its own lexicon, a vocabulary unique – or nearly so – to that specific endeavor. Hunting is no exception, with some terms or phrases applying more generally and others being reserved for a particular faction of hunters.

Deer hunters may use terms that are less familiar to waterfowl or upland bird hunters, and vice-versa. Those who hunt deer with muzzleloaders have a particularly peculiar vocabulary that includes terms even the mainstream deer hunter might find foreign. The muzzleloader season for deer continues through Saturday in most parts of western, central and southern Maine.

The firearms they use are generally, collectively referred to as muzzleloaders for the obvious reason that powder, patch and bullet are loaded through the muzzle (the front of the barrel) rather than the breech. Smokepole is another sobriquet sometimes ascribed for the cloud of sulfurous smoke produced by firing the gun.

Modern muzzleloaders very much mimic modern breech-loading firearms but not so very long ago, retro hunters toted guns not so different from those used several centuries before. Some folks refer to them collectively as muskets, which is not entirely accurate. A musket has a smooth bore (the inside of the barrel) while a rifle has rifling – spiral lands and grooves that make the bullet spin and thus, fly straighter.

These hammer guns, so called because they have an exposed hammer, utilize one of two ignition systems. The newer style is the caplock. Pulling the trigger allows the hammer to fall on a cap, sending a spark down through a narrow channel known as a nipple, hopefully igniting the powder and propelling the ball or bullet. Failure to fire calls for cleaning, which requires a tool with the cringe-worthy name, nipple wrench.

Older model muzzleloaders used flintlock ignitions. Rather than striking a cap or primer, the hammer holds a small piece of flint, which strikes a metal tab called a frizzen, simultaneously (and again, hopefully) creating a spark and pushing the frizzen forward to expose a shallow depression, called a pan, which contains a few grains of priming powder. If and when ignited, this flame then travels down a narrow channel to ignite more powder in the breech. The most common type of misfire occurs when the spark ignites powder in the pan only, but not the bore, and is referred to as a flash in the pan.

Muskets typically fire a round lead ball, which is seated on or in a patch of cloth wadding. This creates a tight seal but also makes loading a tad more difficult, which calls for a ball starter. Once the ball is firmly seated inside the bore, it is driven home by a ramrod. I’m somewhat surprised this term was never attributed to designated drivers, who have to drive home people who are a little too tight.

Muzzleloading rifles fire conical bullets. One of the earliest was designed by Claude-Étienne Minié. It was in most common use during the Civil War and often referred to as minnie ball, despite not being round. With flanges on the bullet fitting tightly into the lands and grooves of the rifling, patches were no longer needed but lubrication to make the ball slide more easily was, and shooters used whatever was available including bear grease and spit.

That worked for a while until someone discovered the task could be made easier by seating the bullet in a soft cup or sabot – pronounced “say-bow” – which is a reference to wooden shoes worn by French peasants. In addition to facilitating easier loading, sabots provided a tight seal between projectile and barrel and allowed for the use of smaller bullets – same powder charge, smaller, lighter bullet: flatter trajectory.

All the hunter’s truck (balls or bullets, powder, caps, ball starter and nipple wrench) go into a possibles bag, a term popularized by the mountain men. Then they head afield and hope for the best. One must always remember to pull the hammer all the way back – two clicks – because it won’t go off half-cocked. Also one must hold steady through the shot because occasionally there’s a slight delay or hang-fire before the cap or pan powder ignite the main charge. The rest is fate.

Bob Humphrey is a freelance writer, registered Maine guide and certified wildlife biologist who lives in Pownal. He can be reached at:
bhhunt@maine.rr.com

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