Here is another book on muzzle-loading， and the Some have even established special primitive hunting<br > question "why?" arises immediately. Sure， there seasons wherein muzzle-loading guns may be used.<br > are other books on the same subject， including one of Interest in the history of our country and our forefa-<br > my own， first published in 1969. thers and the tools and implements they lived by has<br > But a，lot hashappened in the last decade or so in the never been higher. The firearms they used to open up<br >muzzleqoading field， and growth has been remark- this continent are among the more visible and fas-<br >able，~espeeially in the past five or six years. What was cinatiug things they used. It is only natural， then， that<br >0a~e a sinai! importing business in the early 1960s， guns rank well up on the scale encompassing spinning<br >h~ hur， ge， oned into a twenty-million-dollar annual wheels， ox yokes， smithy tools and the like from the<br >business directly affecting thousands of people and past which so intrigue us today.<br >theirlive[ihood. Genuine antique muzzle-loaders are becoming ex-<br > The，handful of eager enthusiasts who welcomed the ceedingly scarce and valuable. At the same time， they<br >first r~，produetion guns in the late 1950s has grown to and their modern counterparts possess high use appeal<br >many. hundreds of thousands of shooters and in leisure-time and recreational activities. While other<br >e01[~lors， Where once the modern reproduction was antiquities or copies thereof can be used today also，<br >anathema to gun collectors， it has now become an ac- many find they offer less than the combination of ac-<br >~pted and vital part of the American arms scene， tion and accomplishment， and useful skill develop-<br >Whore once one had to look long and hard to find a ment associated with firearms. The ability to shoot<br >match or club meeting devoted to modern muzzle- quickly and accurately is a useful， enjoyable recrea-<br >loaders， you can now find them all around， tional skill. The fact that it encourages healthful out-<br > ln reeent years many have turned to muzzle-loading door activity as well separates it from the more<br >hunting as a means of further enjoying the outdoors prosaic historical activities such as churning butter or<br >and participating in game management and conserva- weaving pieces of linsey-woolsey.<br >Iion activities. State governments have recognized this Whatever the obscure reasons， today s climate<br >growing interest， for now over three-fifths of them has spurred tremendous interest in the past. By coilac!-<br >allow muzzle-loading hunting in one form or another， dence， the firearms of the past possess more atavtstlc<br >