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●	Ramrod with cleaning jag in appropriate calibre,

●	Cleaning patches.

●	Projectiles (and cloth patches if using round balls).

●	Lubricant for bullets and/or for patches.

●	Blackpowder.

●	Powder measure designed for blackpowder.

●	Bullet starter.

●	Percussion caps.

●	Nipple wrench.

●	Make sure the bore is clean of fouling and oil. Run a dry patch down the bore to wipe it clean of oil. Then pop a couple of caps to burn off any remaining oil from the nipple and flash hole.

●	Put the hammer at half cock then stand the rifle upright, with the muzzle up, keeping the muzzle pointed away from you and others at all times. Prop it in a safe place where it's stable and won't fall over.

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Set your powder measure for the desired powder charge and pour powder into the measure. Pour the powder from the measure (never directly from a horn or flask) into the muzzle of the rifle. To help settle the powder, tap the rifle's butt against the ground or rap the heel of your hand against the barrel.

●	To load a patched round ball, place a lubricated cloth patch onto the end of the barrel, centred over the muzzle. Centre the round ball on the patch, and if your ball has a sprue mark, it should be centred facing up.

●	To load a conical bullet, first make sure you have lubricated it, but be sure the base of the bullet is clean and dry. Place the bullet on the muzzle and start it by hand, as much as the bullet will allow.

●	Start the bullet using your bullet starter. If possible, use a flat portion to push the projectile down flush with the bore, and then push it slightly into the bore using the short portion of your starter. Next, if you have a longer section on your starter, push the bullet into the bore.

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Using your ramrod, ram the projectile down the bore until it contacts the powder charge. Seat it firmly but don't pound on it. Seat each bullet with as close to the same pressure as you can manage. You may want to mark your ramrod and use the mark to ensure that each load is seated to the same depth. Do not fire unless the projectile is seated against the charge!

●	If you have any doubt about your bullet's tight fit in the bore, turn over the loaded but unprimed rifle and tap the muzzle - hard - a few times on a block of wood. Then insert the ramrod and check with your reference mark to see if the bullet has moved. If it has not, you have a good tight load.

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To ready the rifle for firing, take up a shooting position and place a cap on the nipple. When you are about to fire, fully cock the hammer (keeping your fingers away from the trigger) until it clicks into the full-cock position. Your rifle should not be cocked until it is pointed downrange at a target with a safe backstop.