Muzzleloader

A firearm loaded by inserting its propellant and projectile through the open end of the barrel, called the muzzle. Muzzleloaders include flintlock, percussion-cap, and modern inline designs.

Muzzle-loading: The process of loading a firearm through the open end of its barrel. The defining loading direction determines the muzzleloader’s operating sequence.
Matchlock: An early firearm ignition system that lowered a smoldering match onto priming powder. Matchlocks were among the earliest practical muzzleloading firearms.
Muzzleloader hunting: Hunting with firearms loaded through the muzzle rather than the breech. Some jurisdictions provide dedicated seasons or rules for this method.
Breechloader: A firearm loaded through an opening at the rear of its barrel. Its rear-loading design contrasts directly with muzzle-loading.
Black powder: A low explosive mixture of charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate used as a propellant. Traditional muzzleloaders use it to propel the projectile down the barrel.
Wheellock: A firearm ignition mechanism that makes sparks by spinning a steel wheel against pyrite. It offered an alternative to the slow-burning match in early muzzleloaders.
Target shooting: The practice of firing firearms at targets to develop or assess accuracy. Muzzleloaders are used in recreational and competitive target shooting.
Cartridge firearm: A firearm that uses self-contained ammunition combining projectile, propellant, and primer in a cartridge. Cartridges simplify loading compared with separately loading a muzzleloader.
Flintlock mechanism: A firearm ignition system that uses flint striking steel to ignite priming powder. It is one historic way muzzleloaders ignite their main propellant charge.
Flintlock: A firearm mechanism that produces ignition sparks when flint strikes a steel frizzen. Flintlocks became the best-known muzzleloading ignition system of the eighteenth century.

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