The NMLRA

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What happened to the sport of Muzzleloading during WWII? An interview with Joe Barnes and Mark Barnhill

We're back with NMLRA member Joseph Barnes as he shares his memories from the 1940s and how it impacted Muzzleloading. Joe’s first NMLRA event was in 1937 when the shoots were held in Dillsboro, Indiana. Joe returned the following year, 1938, to help organize and then win the first-ever NMLRA junior match with a score of 44 out of 50.

He is the only surviving member from our historic panoramic photograph from the range in 1938. You can hear Joe tell more stories of the early muzzleloading days here.

It was wonderful to get Joe into the Rand House Museum at NMLRA headquarters during the “Pole Cat Porter” Exhibit at the 2019 National Championships. While Joe didn’t know Pole Cat personally, he was able to share some stories he heard at the time and share some first-hand accounts of early muzzleloading in the 1900s.


This video is the second of two shot in the Pole Cat Porter Exhibit at the 2019 NMLRA National Championships. Catch the first one