Editing Muzzleloader (section)

{{Short description|Class of gun which is loaded from the muzzle}}
[[File:British Military Short Land Pattern Musket.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|A "[[Brown Bess]]" muzzle-loading musket, used by the [[British Army]] from 1722 to 1838]]
A '''muzzleloader''' is any [[firearm]] in which the user loads the  [[bullet|projectile]] and the [[propellant]] charge into the [[Muzzle (firearms)|muzzle]] end of the [[gun]] (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of [[Breechloader|breech-loading]] firearms, in which user loads the ammunition into the [[Chamber (firearms)|breech]] end of the [[gun barrel|barrel]]. The term "muzzleloader" applies to both rifled and smoothbore type muzzleloaders, and may also refer to the marksman who specializes in the shooting of such firearms. The firing methods, paraphernalia and mechanism further divide both categories as do caliber (from [[cannon]]s to small-caliber [[palm gun]]s).

Modern muzzleloading firearms range from reproductions of sidelock, [[flintlock]] and [[percussion cap|percussion]] long guns, to in-line rifles that use modern inventions such as a closed breech, sealed [[percussion cap|primer]] and fast rifling to allow for considerable accuracy at long ranges.

Modern [[Mortar (weapon)|mortars]] use a shell with the propelling charge and primer attached at the base.  Unlike older muzzleloading mortars, which were loaded the same way as muzzleloading cannon, the modern mortar is fired by dropping the shell down the barrel where a pin fires the primer, igniting the main propelling charge.  Both the modern mortar and the older mortar were used for high angle fire.  However, the fact that the mortar is not loaded in separate steps may make its definition as a muzzleloader a matter of opinion.

Muzzleloading can apply to anything from [[cannon]]s to [[pistol]]s but in modern parlance the term most commonly applies to [[black powder]] [[small arms]]. It usually, but not always, involves the use of a loose propellant (i.e., [[gunpowder]]) and projectile, as well as a separate method of ignition or priming.