In connection with the publication of the book From Musket to Metallic Cartridge, the website blackpowderbook.com has been released. While the estimated date of publication for the book is approximately November 2013, the website will be frequently updated with information about the project – so make sure to check it every now and again!

Norwegian mountain man Jo Tjøstolsson Kleppe (1794–1884), also known as Jo Gjende, was a legendary reindeer hunter and a crack shot. A hermit for the better part of his life, he lived a lonely life in his cabin at Gjendeosen in Jotunheimen (The Home of the Giants) – a mountainous area in southern Norway. He had the reputation of being a crack shot, and the practiced every day by taking a shot or two with one or more of his guns.

The web is full of informative and interesting videos on black powder shooting, firearms and accessories. This article has collected a few slow motion videos from YouTube that you might find interesting, such as a paper patched bullet exiting the muzzle of a Gibbs rifle.

The MLAIC 2012 World Championships is held next week in Pforzheim, Germany. 399 shooters from 23 nations are participating, and about 25,000 shots will be fired from muzzleloading rifles, muskets, pistols, revolvers and shotguns. Click the link below to find out how to follow the championships.

A new book on black powder shooting and historical firearms with the working title From Musket to Metallic Cartridge: A Practical History of Black Powder Firearms will be published by The Crowood Press in England in late 2013. Written for the gun enthusiast, the book will present the practical history of black powder firearms from the late medieval ages to about 1900, with focus on American, English, Scandinavian, German and French firearms.

From time to time you stumble across things you can't manage without. One such thing is Jeff Tanners powder dispenser. It's simple, cheap, and best of all: it's incredibly time-saving. I've used mine for a couple of years now, and my old Lyman No. 55 is used less and less

A new article on paper patched bullets is now published. The article discusses bullets loaded in black powder cartridges, but such bullets can be used in muzzleloaders as well. You learn how to make a paper template, how to patch, loading and how to achieve acceptable accuracy with paper patched bullets and black powder. Note that some of the pictures are hidden. To show them, click on a picture and use the arrows to navigate back and forth in the picture gallery.

The 2010 Nordic Black Powder Championships were held this weekend in Orivesi, Finland, just outside Tampere about 200 km north of Helsinki. Click the link below for pictures and a report from the championships where Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway competed in muzzleloading and black powder cartridge competitions.

A svartkrutt.net Facebook page is now created. By following svartkrutt.net on Facebook you are allowed to read all the latest news, discuss with other users, and post messages. Click "Read more..." below to become a fan of svartkrutt.net on one of the world's largest social sites!

The user databases of the English and the Norwegian forums are now merged. This means that you can log on to both forums with the same user name and password. The Norwegian forum is currently closed for the public, but now international users are allowed see what is going on there. There are some interesting gunbuilding threads there right now with a lot of pictures. Good luck!