#Muzzleloaders

Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. is a publicly traded company listed on the USA’s second-largest stock exchange, the Nasdaq, under the ticker symbol SWBI. After they announced their split from American Outdoor Brands in 2020, and following the massive uptick in firearms sales over the last year or so, the company appears to be doing well. They employ more than 2000 people, and last reports put their revenue at $678.39MM. At the time of this writing, shares of SWBI are up a staggering amount from one year ago – over 160%! In addition to the storied Smith & Wesson firearms brand, the company owns a number of subsidiary entities. One of these, since Smith & Wesson’s purchase of them in 2007, has been Thompson/Center Arms.

As hunting season approaches Hawke Optics has unveiled its latest offering to the Straight-Wall, Slug, and Muzzleloader gun optics scene. The Hawke Vantage IR scope is a 3-9x40IR scope which is said to bring more accuracy to your muzzleloaders and other hunting guns.

Last month SilencerCo unveiled their latest innovative product, a suppressed firearm that is completely legal in all 50 US states. The Maxim 50 ingeniously sidesteps the NFA’s suppressor restrictions, although some individual states including New Jersey, Massachusetts and California are challenging this.

A day after a dramatic product release that included “firearms” toting shooters carrying silencers moderators across the border into California, SilencerCo has announced that they are suspending sales to some states in the face of pending legal challenges. If you haven’t heard, the Maxim 50 is a muzzleloading rifle that includes a permanently attached silencer which theoretically should not fall under federal firearms laws. The company took to social media today to announce the news to customers:

When it comes to muzzleloading, it seems like Mother Nature is always uncooperative. Regardless of the game you may be pursuing the elements are working against your success with these primitive tools.

One cannot suppress a certain sense of nostalgia at the thought of being forced to hand over one’s Air Jordan’s by a gallant gentleman of the favela wielding one of these contraptions, many of the examples below being whittled from wood and held together with hose ties.

When it comes to muzzleloading, we are all looking for ways to make this primitive means of hunting more modern and convenient. One great convenience muzzleloaders use is pre-formed powder pellets. As opposed to pouring traditional powder, pre-formed charges are easier to carry into the field and are less bulky for the hunt. Alliant Powder is looking to get into this portion of the market with their new “Blue MZ” pellets.

If you’re looking for a way to lengthen your hunting seasons or just interested in expanding your firearms repertoire, muzzleloaders are a good way to go. Lately they’ve been gaining ground, seeing more use overall, with new models and ammo being produced as well. Now Thompson/Center Arms, which is a subsidiary of the Smith and Wesson Holding Corporation, is coming out with a new muzzleloader, the T/C Strike.