During that shoot there were some rumors going around about the NMLRA and money. The recent price increases seem to fuel that. I know there was a price increase on just about everything from membership to camping fees. Many are upset by it, but I’m not sure if everyone understands why prices went up. I also know that we haven’t kept our prices up with inflation. Along with that, Covid was hard on us; we missed two shoots in 2020, and the revenue they would have generated. During Covid the price of everything went up, but they didn’t come back down after Covid. Just one example is the cost of paper for printing. It went up out of sight. I know, I’m a publisher; the cost of paper almost put my little company of business. The cost of paper to print our beloved Muzzle Blasts magazine went up too, but we didn’t charge anymore for it, until now. Everything costs us more now, targets, gas to mow the range, everything. Unfortunately, now it’s time to balance the scales.

I’ve heard the rumors about money and the NMLRA, we all have. Many of those rumors have been going around for decades, but I don’t put much stock in them. Managing the finances of an association the size of the NMLRA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit is a huge job. To help with that task we opted for a new financial system. The new system has already shown us where we need to improve. There were also some financial leaks in the boat, but we’ve got them plugged and we’re bailing water. It’s also shown us that we need more revenue. What all this means is, we are working hard to improve the financial condition of the NMLRA, but we do need to increase our prices.

What I do know is, the NMLRA stands for American freedom, American liberty, it stands for the respect of America and its history. The NMLRA stands for what I believe in. I’ll bet it stands for what you believe in too. So, if the NMLRA needs me, I’m going to stand up and support it. A price increase is a bummer, but it is worth it to support the American institution, our American institution, that is the NMLRA.

I do have some good news, and a way to help support the NMLRA. We are starting a new giveaway this fall. This is a great opportunity for you to win an incredible prize package, and benefit the NMLRA. This one is really special; we received a rifle as a gift from the estate of a long time NMLRA member. We were told to use the muzzleloader to support the NMLRA, and that is what its previous owner would have wanted. He loved the NMLRA to his dying days, and wanted to see it prosper. So, to honor the estate of this fine gentleman, and to follow his last wishes, we are starting a giveaway based on the rifle that he left us. I feel really honored to help do this for an NMLRA member that has passed.

The rifle he left us is a nice little Hawken style half stock, brass mounted with a beautiful curly maple stock. It has a percussion lock with a drum and nipple. The barrel is a .40 caliber, and 34 inches long. The under rib is soldered to the barrel, and the ramrod pipes are soldered to the under rib. It shows the work of an experienced gunmaker, it is very well made, but unfortunately the maker didn’t sign their work. There is no gunmaker’s name on the barrel, but there is the barrel maker’s name. That name is quite interesting. It is the mark of the highest quality barrel you could obtain at the time this gun was made, a Bill Large match grade barrel.

On the left side flat of the barrel, near the breech, is stamped; “W. M. LARGE” in and arc. Under the arc “J.J.J.J.” is stamped, and below that is an “L”. This is the marking of master barrel maker Bill Large. By putting his stamp in this location on the barrel, he guaranteed that his name and mark would be visible when the gun was finished, and that made the gun more valuable.

The “W. M. LARGE” is obvious. The “J.J.J.J.” are the first initials of his four daughters, and the “L” is for their last name of Large. Bill must have been a proud daughter-daddy like me and Tippy Curtis. He was so proud he put their initials on his barrels. I’ve been told their names were Jeanie, Joanne, Janette and Janice Large.

Bill Large was an interesting character. He got his start in the NMLRA as its youngest founding charter member in 1933. At the fifty-year anniversary of the NMLRA Bill Large fired the first shot. At that time, he was the only surviving founding charter member of the NMLRA. Bill died in 1985.

A few years ago, I wrote this in Muzzle Blasts; “We all love accurate muzzle loaders. At the heart of that accuracy is the barrel. In times past barrels were hand forged from skelps of iron and welded into a tube. Today barrels are drilled from bar stock made of high-quality alloy steel.  When I think of great barrel makers of the modern era, men who can turn a bar of steel into a barrel capable of tack driving, minute of angle accuracy, a few that come to mind include Bill Large, John Braxton, Don Getz, Howard Kelly, Wally Hart, Jason Schneider and John Kleihege.”

Notice that Bill Large is first on the list of barrel makers. He was one of the pioneers of modern muzzleloader barrel making. He started with reworking old barrels in the 1930’s and 40’s. While working at the Springfield Armory during World War Two, he learned how to make barrels from steel bar stock. This required drilling a hole equal to the caliber of the barrel, through the length of the solid bar stock, sometimes to a depth of four feet! Bill became a master of boring barrels. He also became a master of rifling them. For many years, a Bill Large barrel was the one to beat. Today we have a number of barrel manufactures to choose from. Long before those barrels were available, Bill Large was making some of the most accurate match barrels that money could buy. I’ll be talking more about Bill Large, and his history with the NMLRA, in the next article of this series.

This is a neat little gun that we have for the Bill Large Giveaway. It is really a piece of NMLRA history. I’ll bet it will be a good shooter too. I think the .40 caliber is an inherently accurate size of bore for a muzzleloading rifle. Over the years I’ve heard a lot shooters swear by the accuracy of .40 caliber barrels. That coupled with the fact that this this is a Bill Large match barrel, leads me, Terry Snyder, and Rocky to think this rifle will be a tack driver.

That’s not all though. I’ve asked a few friends to help me with the Bill Large Giveaway. Jeff Luke, master leather worker and period craftsman, has joined in to make a Bill Large themed bag to go with the gun. Henry Bowman, Honourable Company of Horners Master Horner is making a Bill Large inspired horn to go along with the gun. Peter Wygant, who is a master wood worker, has made an awesome shooting box for the giveaway. Nancy Thelen of Michigan has donated one of her fine hand-made quilts. There is also a beautiful rifle sleeve that Bill Large would be proud of, made by Gary Nebel of Gary’s Gunsmith Shop.

Tickets for this drawing are $20. Twenty bucks isn’t really that much for a chance to win this handcrafted rifle and all the gear that comes with it. I threw down twenty dollars at McDonalds on the drive to the last shoot I attended. I should have spent that money on a ticket to support the NMLRA. For an even better deal, you can get 6 tickets for $100. All these donations go to support the NMLRA, and in doing so, honor the wishes of a member that has passed.

Dave Ehrig, Muzzle Blasts editor and avid Pennsylvania hunter, bought the first ticket. I think it’s time we all follow Dave’s lead and buy some tickets for this giveaway.

Tickets are $20 each, or 6 tickets for $100. You can purchase tickets at the Gunmaker’s Hall Booth during the national shoots, in the magazine, and on the NMLRA website nmlra.org. You may copy tickets printed from the magazine and the web, but please make sure the size stays the same. When you cut out the tickets, please trim them to size. When you put your contact information on the ticket, please put your NMLRA member number on there too. Tickets will be printed the month this article appears and each month until the September 2025 issue when we will have the giveaway. Send your tickets and money to the NMLRA, PO Box 67, Friendship, IN 47021. You could win this fine rifle, shooting box, the pouch, horn, rifle sleeve, and the quilt. On top of that you could win a piece of NMLRA history. We would appreciate your support! This drawing is not valid where prohibited by law.

If you, your company, or someone you know would like to contribute an appropriate prize item for this drawing, make a donation, or simply know something about Bill Large and want to share it, please contact me at gunmakershall@nmlra.org Donations are greatly appreciated by the Gunmaker’s Hall Committee, the NMLRA and me,.

Thank you for your support, and I’ll see you at the Hall
Benjaman Quearry, NMLRA Gunmaker’s Hall Chairman
gunmakershall@nmlra.org

This article is from the November 2024 Muzzle Blasts. Below is the December article with another piece of history in the knife that will be part of the giveway.

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