On Sunday, August 6, AmericanRifleman.com released an article that may be of interest to muzzleloading enthusiasts concerned about the future of the sport.

“Muzzleloading Renaissance: A Post-Pandemic Trend In The Making?” highlights the latest information available about the broader “muzzleloading market” in the United States.

The number of muzzleloaders imported into the United States in March 2023 increased by 137.7 percent compared to figures from March 2022, according to a recent National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) analysis of U.S. International Trade Commission figures. The uptick isn’t confined to one month’s figures either. NSSF found that the volume brought in during the first three months of the year was up 57 percent compared to the same reporting period in 2022 (41,539 compared to 26,458, respectively).

To put March’s figure in perspective, it was the highest number of muzzleloaders imported into the United States since 2003, when 25,528 were brought ashore that month for consumer sales.

Unfortunately, the numbers don’t provide any detail on the brand or model’s being purchased by American Muzzleloading enthusiasts. Still, in our conversations here at I Love Muzzleloading with manufacturers and distributors of all kinds, it seems like no one can keep up with demand. These numbers are a nice “data-point” to confirm that sentiment.

In April 2023 we spoke with Traditions about the demand they are seeing for muzzleloaders and while their marketing continues to push the “Nitro-Fire” modern muzzleloader, they spoke at length with the incredible demand for traditional sidelock muzzleloaders and their own difficulty in keeping up with that demand. Pedersoli, Muzzle-loaders.com, Kibler’s Longrifles and Chambers Muzzleloading Kits have all reported incredible demand over the past 3 years.

While optimistic about these numbers, it’s important to take note that they come nowhere close to the largest year on record. In 2002 the NSSF reported 380,499 muzzleloaders had been imported.

I’m sure it will be while before we approach 400,000 again, but I’m so happy to see some data on the market that trends in a positive direction at least for the future of muzzleloading. Availability of supplies continues to be an issue.

Since the increase of interest in muzzleloading starting in 2020 with strained domestic food supply lines, over 150,000 muzzleloaders were imported, 20,000 more than in 2019. Many enthusiasts were convinced this increase was a passing fad and muzzleloading would once again take a back seat and return to its slow decline.

It’s impossible to definitely state who or what is really driving the trend. It is, however, interesting that immediately after personal-defense firearm sales slowed from their record-setting pace, interest in 'front-stuffers' continues to rise.

We may not know for certain what is driving this trend, but by spending some time talking with these new muzzleloading enthusiasts and understanding what brought them to the sport, the community will know soon enough and welcome these enthusiasts into the fold of America’s oldest shooting sport.

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