Yesterday, a good friend and I had the opportunity to introduce a 13 year old to the world of shooting, and what better way to start him off than with a muzzleloader? I think it's a perfect way to start someone, because they can see how everything works, much more so than to just load a cartridge into a chamber. Thirty grains of powder and a round ball stuffed into a .32 was just the ticket for a beginner, and with a healthy dose of saftey lessons and precautions from us, he was soon loading and shooting like an old pro, having the time of his life. So much, in fact, that in no time at all, he had firmly seated a patch and ball, minus the powder charge! I knew then that he had joined our ranks and was going to make a genuine smokepole shooter! I'm still not sure which one of us had the most fun!