WRPC supports the art of traditional black powder and modern muzzle loading.

The moment of firing a revolver

Black Powder shooting is very dramatic with smoke and balls of fire. However they do need to be cleaned right after shooting to avoid rust.

There have been for many years now modern variations on the old black powder firearms but converted to use modern smokeless powder – they don’t have to be cleaned as often and aren’t prone to rusting.

In fact the club has just such a gun for members to use, a reproduction 1858 New Model Army .44 caliber revolver converted professionally by Anvil Conversions to use smokeless powder – that’s the revolver shown at the top of this page. Very popular with our members as it can be loaded in under a minute from pre-prepared kits of charges then it’s a normal .44 calibre revolver to shoot.

The 1858 Remington during the loading process – .44 calibre lead ball loaded in the first cylinder and the loading ram pressing the next ball into the next cylinder. Easy when you know how!

Spot the difference – modern smokeless converted Remington 1858 at the top, traditional black powder version a the bottom.

Also popular with members are the modern revolvers by Alan Westlake typically in .357 calibre. Whilst still being a modern revolver these are permanently converted to be a muzzle loader using smokeless powder. Very accurate and easy to load.

They’re accurate too;

Prefer the original black smokey stuff? Excellent – you’re in good company!

Black Powder can be shot at any time but traditionally the serious BP shooters congregate on a Thursday evening. The club is proud to have some very highly experienced BP shooters who are ready to pass on their knowledge and train members in the art of muzzle loading.

Revolvers, single shot match pistols, cannons … yes, cannons. OK small ones but they’re still cannons!

BOOM! Shooting a .50cal lead ball, no sights on a cannon, just squint down the barrel to aim. Great fun!

Of course if you want to take it seriously, how about a single shot Le Page percussion target pistol.  One handed shooting with a hair trigger. Still goes BOOM!

Whatever type of muzzle loading you’re wanting to try WRPC will be able to let you experience shooting them and our members can train you up to match standard.