Very cool piece, indeed. I have to make a correction: Every firearm is always loaded, always.
In my experience, over 25% of older muzzle loaders are loaded. The last one I had, was an English SXS 10 gauge. Both barrels contained a wad of Spanish moss, homemade birdshot, another wad of moss, and lastly, homemade gunpowder. The powder was very weak, and had what looked like cornmeal as an extender.
The one before that, was a Japanese matchlock. The powder had been removed via the breechplug, but it still had some silk wadding, and a 6.5MM Arisaka shell casing as a projectile.
|