"The Muzzle Loading Revival is On!"

[Tsalagidave]

Resurgence in the American Historical Hobbies

Main Topic, Recruitment:

It is more than just my observation that our hobby has entered a decline in membership numbers.  Is there a chance of recovery?  Yes, or I wouldn't waste anyone's time with idle complaints.  That being said, we need to act and we need to act fast. The 150th anniversary of the American Civil War events did not see the high participation numbers that the 125th anniversary events did.  The "young guys" in many reenactment groups are still the youngest members...twenty five years later.  There is even a cowboy action shooting category with people using walkers.  This is a great hobby that allows its members both young and old to celebrate this Nation's great legacy.  The goal now is to continue bringing in the younger generations so that the American spirit will live on.
Our older members hold the majority on knowledge and experience.  However, none of our earthly bodies shall live forever and it is important to perpetuate this valuable element of the American culture.  There is enough material to write a book on this subject but here is the summary.

There are 3 problems and they all have solutions

1.   We as a club and as individuals need an attitude check.

•   Personal egos divide us when we should remember that we are all in this together.  As one of the (often hated) "Hardcore" authentics, even I firmly believe that our levels of authenticity may vary but being better at playing "dress-up" does not make one a better man.    Likewise, those who are more interested in costume-themed camping and shooting, need to accept those who want to take it to the next level without feeling so threatened by them.

•   Personal humility is required regardless of age.  An old dog can learn new tricks from one of the young-guys but the youngsters need to check any youthful arrogance they may have at the door as well.  We are all adults here. I believe in respect for elders but I also believe in respecting knowledge and experience from any member, young or old.

•   Authenticity: Not everyone has the bank account for a museum quality impression and on the flip side, no impression is 100% flawlessly authentic.  I feel that authenticity should be a lifelong pursuit that each individual holds himself accountable for regarding how far they want to take it.  That being said, there is no excuse for tossing all attempts at authenticity out the window.  Although members of our hobby can agree to disagree on where to draw the line on authenticity, there is no room for belligerent attitude coming from either end of the spectrum.

2.   There needs to be an emphasis on bringing in new participants.

•   Credibility needs to be built in order to attract members. It's up to each individual to be more than just a costumed cliché from a Jeff Foxworthy sketch. It is important to demonstrate a reasonable degree of academic knowledge.

•   There needs to be more of a mainstream affiliation between the various black powder clubs and today's shooters and other outdoor organizations.

o   This means the creation of meet up groups through social media to start showing up at local shooting ranges for muzzle loading activities or at local parks for demonstrations of various primitive outdoor skills.
o    Coordinating events with local NRA & NMLRA members a various live fire locations.
o   Introduce yourself to various scouting groups and offer to help them with the primitive camping and primitive marksmanship elements of their curriculum.  I have met with many scout leaders over the past years and few of them even knew who D.C. Beard was (you know, the co-founder of the BSA who wrote their outdoor survival guides.)
o   Get involved with various groups of personal interest such as an off-campus school group, church men's group, etc.
o   Leave flyers on the counter of your local store for outdoor and/or shooting supplies. This includes places like gun shops, surplus store, REI, Turner's Outdoorsman, Bass Pro Shop, & etc.

3.   What kind of Curriculum Can I Teach?  If you want someone to join this hobby, give them something to do.

The biggest mistake any club can make is complacency.  Stop looking at your members as if they are forever obligated to fall in with your outfit as long as they are in the hobby.  If you don't keep it interesting, they'll find another group.  Campcraft and woodcraft are every bit as important as sharpening your rifle skills.

•   There are very few people out there teaching the muzzle loading skill anymore. It is a good place for someone with years of experience to create some literature and teach some classes.

•   Firemaking, this is a personal favorite in this hobby and I recommend knowing how to make it by flint & steel, piston, glass, and friction sticks (various methods).  Not only is this an essential but it is the holy grail of man skills.

•   Campcraft, there is a lot to know regarding good fire lays, shelter building, cooking, foraging water and food or even digging a privy. You could literally spend the rest of your life on this aspect alone and never master it all.

•   Woodcraft, learn the various plants, trees and their useful applications. The same can be said about the various animals.  Volumes have been written on these topics.  When I was a kid, I took to the trails with a Boy Scout manual and various forestry department brochures on plant identification. I benefited greatly from various experts from hunting buddies to search and rescue people. From the oldest man to the youngest pup, I have always learned something new going out there with a group of friends.

•   General First Aid and emergency management.  It's fun to study yesterdays treatments of  the same illnesses and injuries we still encounter today.  I was at first surprised with how much our pioneer forbears got right; but they were also mistaken on a lot of things.  I believe it is a good idea to get certified at least as a first aid responder and teach only the treatments you have solid knowledge on. Modern first aid is the one thing that I encourage that is not 100% historically accurate but you will eventually need it for the emergencies that you absolutely will encounter in time.

Gentlemen, and the Ladies also present in this group, I have spent the past 9-months going over the situation with this hobby the same way that I would for a faltering business.   What I discovered in talking with a broad cross-section of people both in and out of the living history hobby is that a strong interest still remains, but the outlets are fewer and fewer. I have given up on cultivating one person here or there to be a full time devotee.  Rather, I am reaching out and catering to the interest alone. Maybe one in ten will be interested in the living history, but the other 90% have been touched with a deep sense of respect for our primitive past.

-DR

[Oregon Bill]

Dave, a very thoughtful post, as we have come to expect from you of course. I've been a bit scarce here, but that doesn't mean I have lost interest. I tend to be more interested in the history itself, and less so in the "living" of it.
I think very few of us who enjoy 19th century technology are as dedicated to authentically recreating the 19th-century material culture as you are; I mean this in a totally admirable way.
In some ways, the times have left 19th century re-enacting behind, the wood and bushcraft of Nessmuk, Earnest Thompson Seton and Dan Beard -- cutting trees, lashing up signal towers, cutting boughs for beds -- would likely get a fellow cited on national forest land today.
That's no reason not to know how to do it, but it makes it almost impossible to practice.
Attitude is important, and I have always admired yours -- always helpful, curious, never arrogant, just wanting to know and do more.
And your ability to focus is a special gift not shared by many in our world today --especially when it requires focusing on something other than pixels and e-mails.
I think one of the things that is hardest to inculcate in others is an appreciation of the nature of the satisfaction that comes with achieving an accurate impression. This is something I have trouble with myself. I'll get most of the way into a basic mid-18th century outfit, slip on my straight-lasted buckle shoes, pick up my Marshfield flint fowler and then about all I can do with this is sit on the patio and daydream. I don't know anyone in my city who cares to do the same thing.
Returning to focus once again, this is a huge challenge for me.  One minute I am wondering about the lives of my Pilgrim ancestors and wondering what Mike Brooks would charge for a wheellock build, and the next i am thinking of my great-grandmother, born in 1859 and who grew up on the Texas frontier -- and about whom my grandmother warned me as a small boy never to ask her about Comanches.
Then there are the family Civil War diaries, and my father's World War II diaries. I can't settle down. It is a blessing that you can.
Sorry I haven't answers to your searching questions; they deserve them. But I sense that many re-enacting communities are struggling to retain current members and especially to attract new and younger ones.
I don't know how living historians can ultimately compete with the distractions of the 21st century.

[Niederlander]

I'm trying to judge interest in getting a Plainsmen shoot going using some of the same techniques we've been using in the GAF (along with some GAF members).  What we've seen there is once we can get someone to come and shoot with us, they generally want to know more about doing a more accurate impression.  Hopefully it will work for the Plainsmen as well.

[pony express]

I'm somewhat in the same boat as Oregon Bill, interested in way too many things to really focus on one. My GAF persona are somewhat well dressed, at least for a "10 foot" level. But, there's too many hobbies/interests and not ever enough time or money. About the only common theme in them is-it's all about "old". Like to tinker with old cars, trucks, tractors etc, but won't hardly lift the hood on a new one. My "new" motorcycle is 26 years old, and I don't want one any newer. Same with my guns, not really interested in anything new-unless it's a reproduction of something old.

I'd like to try out the Plainsman/muzzle loader scene too, if the budget will allow, but I'll probably never get into as much detail as Tsaligidave. I'll probably just do the basic thing, and admire the efforts of others that can really focus on just one thing.

[Tsalagidave]

Bill, truly, thank you for the kind words.   Pony Express, thank you as well.  I don't know if it deserve them but I am inspired to live up to them. All your points are valid.  I grew up on DC Beard as well and although there is little you can do on a national park, the best place for this kind of outlet is typically on BLM for light structures and projects and private property for more permanent structures like cabins and  watch towers (the latter, I have never made but would like to).  Generally, I recommend people stick to learning fire lays, cooking setups, survival shelters and stockaded tents as they are relatively quick and easy to build with a light amount of resources.

To everyone out there, some of us really geek out on the small details but that is just one element of celebrating this Nation's heritage.  There was a time when I sneered at the 10-ft rule, then I grew up and came to appreciate the efforts of everyone interested in keeping this hobby alive.  Now, I would rather see someone with an "okay" kit  at 10-feet and a head full of knowledge than a pompous elitist who thinks his pocket trinkets and intricate small details make him the better man.

If you live in an area where there is not much for reenacting, then show people what you know on times gone by in a setting they can relate to.  Light a pipe with your steel once in a while, make a kitchen set and proper fire lay the next time you take the fam and friends camping; or take your muzzle loader to the range and don't be afraid to answer questions.  The last time I went shooting, I had a couple of off duty SWAT guys geek out on my long rifles and after hammering out a few shots each, they beamed ear to ear like the kid in them just woke up Christmas morning.

Gentlemen, it is my privilege to have such good company as the likes of you on this site to share ideas with, debate history and learn something new. I don't know if this hobby will ever be a mainstream thing but I am proud to stand with you in the ranks of a unique lineage where the past remains vibrant  so that our present lives may be fuller and more meaningful. We are the life blood of this Nations Living Heritage. You are all truly salt of the earth.

-Dave

[Niederlander]

Dave, thanks for what you do to keep this stuff alive.  I'm with Pony, I like pretty much everything old (drove a '69 Dodge Coronet 440 to work every day when I lived in California), but I don't have the time or the resources to feed all my interests.  I can put together a couple of pretty good impressions, but they're never going to be museum quality by any means.  Several of us involved in GAF have discussed it a lot, and decided years ago we'd by far rather have people come play in "okay" uniforms, than demand perfect uniforms and everyone stays home.  I would be one who couldn't play at that level.  Civil War re-enacting has driven a lot of people off, and the General Miles Marching and Chowder Society doesn't even exist any more largely because of "stitch Nazis".  We have guys in GAF with your level of expertise and impressions, and what impresses me about all of you is that instead of looking down on anyone, you're always ready to share your knowledge with anyone who wants to learn.  For my part, I LOVE seeing people with your level of dedication and knowledge participate.  It gives me the opportunity to observe and learn.  I also love to have the guys like myself, with "okay" kit, be able to participate with and compete with guys with many of the same interests I have.  Finally, we always tell people that show interest to come out and shoot, even if they don't have anything but cowboy stuff.  Once they've seen it, they usually start researching and trying to put together a military impression.  We've got to get them in the door first, and I think you're dead on sharing what you do with people at the range, camping, etc.

[Tsalagidave]

Niederlander, thanks for that and you are absolutely right about everything in your reply.  As great as it is to attempt authenticity down to the minute details, there has been an elitist attitude that has poisoned and destroyed a large swath of the reenacting community, especially in Civil War.  When I started this hobby, I had an interest but knew little more about it than the Ken Burns series brand new on PBS.  Had somebody shoved a shopping list for $3500 of crap I knew nothing about in my face saying "get this first or don't fall in with us", I never would have moved on to another hobby.  That is what's happening today.

Authenticity should be a process driven by an individual level of interest. As long as a person is willing to at least wear an authentic pattern and material (even if its machine sewn pre 1850s), that should not be grounds for chastisement or ridicule.  We need to grow good impressions and encourage participants.  When a large swath of our hobby stopped doing that, many new potential recruits moved on.

Now I am deliberately trying to avoid talking about muscle cars because its off topic but man!  You have a nice ride amigo.  If you lived close, I'd say we should hit up some saturday car shows from time to time.

-Dave

[ChuckBurrows]

With all do respect to the gent who has every right to experiment but:
1) Some of the stuff he has posted such as leather is "ruined" above 160° F is incorrect (it changes the leather on the molecular level to "cuir bouilli" which is a very usable leather product) as are several other points
2) He's basically trying to re-invent the wheel with minimal at best scientific understanding - the fact is all of that research has been done and written up in the trade journals (many of which can be found on line), plus companies such as Fiebings and Lexol have large labs with highly trained professionals improving their products. Lexol for instance uses their research into skin conditioners for burn victims where keeping the tissue conditioned is of primary performance. That science which helps keep the conditioners from evaporating too fast is now applied to the leather trade.

Anyway - interesting but I would take most of what he ends up with a grain or two of salt.

[Tsalagidave]

Chuck, I feel like I was dropped into the middle of a fascinating discussion but I think it landed on the wrong thread.
Your post has already schooled me on something I didn't know about leather work and I really would like to know more but I'd also like to make sure your post ends up where it was intended to go.

Where did you mean it to be, friend?

-Dave