CFSC / PAL: Muzzleloaders and black powder

All 13 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

1. You find an old original muzzleloader in a relative's attic. What should happen before anyone fires it?

   1. Use smokeless powder for a cleaner burn
   2. A qualified gunsmith should inspect it
   3. Fire a light charge to test it first
   4. Clean it and fire it with a full charge

2. Which position should you never put your body in while loading a muzzleloader?

   1. Leaning over or standing in front of the muzzle
   2. Holding the barrel with the muzzle pointed up
   3. Standing beside the firearm with the butt down
   4. Kneeling to the side to seat the ball

3. Under the safe-storage rules, when is a black-powder firearm considered loaded?

   1. Only when a cap is placed on the nipple
   2. Only when the hammer is pulled to full cock
   3. Only when the pan holds priming powder
   4. When powder or a ball is in the barrel

4. Why must a black-powder firearm be cleaned after every firing session?

   1. The residue slowly turns into smokeless powder
   2. The residue makes the next ball too loose
   3. Barrels with black-powder residue are illegal to transport
   4. The residue is corrosive and can leave a glowing ember

5. Which kind of powder may be used in a muzzleloader?

   1. Black powder or an approved black-powder substitute
   2. Any powder, as long as the charge is small
   3. Smokeless shotgun powder mixed with black powder
   4. Smokeless powder from modern rifle cartridges

6. Why must black powder be handled with extreme care?

   1. It is an explosive that heat, friction or static can ignite
   2. It can only be stored in metal containers by law
   3. It turns into smokeless powder when it gets wet
   4. It loses all of its power after a single day in the open air

7. Your muzzleloader misfires. How long should you keep it pointed in a safe direction?

   1. Until you count to 10
   2. At least 60 seconds
   3. No wait is needed
   4. About 5 seconds

8. Subject to provincial rules, how may a loaded muzzleloader be moved between hunting sites?

   1. With the barrel pointed down at the floor
   2. With the hammer resting on a capped nipple
   3. With the percussion cap or flint removed
   4. With the ramrod left inside the barrel

9. Before loading one barrel of a double-barrel percussion shotgun, what must you do?

   1. Fill both barrels with powder at the same time
   2. Remove the cap from the nipple of the other barrel
   3. Fire the other barrel to make sure it is empty
   4. Put the hammer of the other barrel at full cock

10. Why should you never pour powder straight from a powder horn into the muzzle?

    1. A spark could ignite the whole horn
    2. The horn measures too little powder
    3. Horns are not legal at shooting ranges
    4. The powder will clump in the barrel

11. How can you tell whether a muzzleloader barrel already holds a charge?

    1. Look into the muzzle with a flashlight
    2. Listen for powder moving when you tilt it
    3. Use a ramrod marked at the empty-bore depth
    4. Weigh the firearm and compare it to empty

12. Which step helps confirm that a percussion muzzleloader is not primed to fire?

    1. Tap the stock on the ground to settle the charge
    2. Pull the trigger with the hammer at full cock to see if it fires
    3. Check that no cap is on the nipple and remove any you find
    4. Pour water down the barrel to dampen any powder

13. What is FFFFg black powder used for?

    1. The main charge in large muskets
    2. Priming the pan of a flintlock only
    3. The main charge in cap-and-ball revolvers
    4. Loading modern centre-fire cartridges