Instagram limits visibility of “#muzzleloader” in historic move against muzzleloading enthusiasts

This evening I was catching up with the muzzleloading community on Instagram when I was left aghast at a post shared by Muzzle-Loaders.com.

I don’t want to be an alarmist, but this is another thing muzzleloading enthusiasts NEED to be aware of.

Instagram and it’s parent company Facebook are actively preventing people from seeing posts made by muzzleloading enthusiasts and sharing their love of hunting, history, and traditional craft, all of which are still legal things in America in 2021.

This follows a startling trend for the hobby, which has gained traction on Instagram over the last 5 years. The platform has been a mainstay for young enthusiasts to connect and learn from veterans of the muzzleloading hobby.

Just last month we saw Bill Raby receive a temporary ban on Youtube for sharing muzzleloading build videos, it seems Instagram is moving in a similar direction, and I expect Facebook to make the same moves in the coming weeks if not sooner.

At this time I Love Muzzleloading is recommending muzzleloading enthusiasts connect outside of social media platforms as much as possible to ensure we can hold this community together.

We will update with more information as we can. Until then, consider joining https://www.americanlongrifles.org/forum/, https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com, https://hanksmessageboard.freeforums.net, or https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com. All of these forums have been around for years, well before social media and traffic or engagement has not been disrupted.

I Love Muzzleloading also has an email list you can sign up for in the footer of the website, we will be using it to share muzzleloading news in the coming weeks. If you’d like to register, please do so. Your information will never be sold or traded.

As of reporting 7/26/21, popular muzzleloading hashtags such as “Longrifle”, “Muzzleloading”, “front suffer”, Smokepole”, and “Blackpowder are still visible.