Most muzzle loading pistols use black powder. In UK, since the handgun ban, muzzle loaders are the only normal pistols gun club members have. Why have most of the pistol shooters of the 90's moved to shooting carbines?

Not everyone enjoys cleaning black powder pistols (cleaning is still needed even after using modern black powder substitutes e.g. Pyrodex and Triple 7), and so converting them to shoot smokeless nitrocellulose non-corrosive powder may be seen as a distinct advantage. Another advantage is that they can be shot on indoor ranges on cold dark winter evenings. Yet another advantage of converting to nitro (for some) is that black powder possession and transport requires extra licences which are not needed for smokeless powder. This paperwork puts many shooters off, as does the extra burden of secure storage (the infamous wooden box) requiring another visit and inspection by the Police Firearms Team! One disadvantage is that nitro powders are not permitted in MLAGB or MLAIC competitions.

Purists may say "Why use nitro in a gun it wasn't designed for? It is against the spirit of things."

The Patriot is a muzzle loader specially designed to use nitro, designed to allow shooters in UK the chance of shooting UIT/ISSF with .32 cal wadcutters. It complies exactly with the law. There are competitions at Bisley during the Phoenix meeting which allow smokeless powder to be used in guns proved to use it. I'll leave you to make your own mind up. I use both nitro and black powder, and I didn't find getting the BP paperwork a chore. I find they both have their place in my shooting.

I hope you find this site useful. It was created because I found so little information available about these pistols before I purchased mine, and I would like to share what I have gathered.

If you haven't started shooting yet, the following pages may help. Click the link "Starting Shooting".

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Site created 5-May-2006. Page last updated 26-Feb-2008 9:52 AM

Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt.

When catapults are outlawed, only outlaws will have catapults.

Have we learnt that confiscating legally licensed guns does not reduce gun crime? Have we learnt that depriving the innocent and law-abiding does not punish the guilty nor prevent them from re-offending? If we have learnt these things then now would be a good time to say "We are sorry! We got it wrong." Let's make an improved future for target shooting by amending the Firearms Act and permitting the use of handguns for target shooting. Let's do it now.