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Show add 11/ rode off." In western states the sport has become so popular that wildlife officials set aside special areas and times for muzzle-loading hunts. Normally the hunt is held before the regular season, so the buckskinners don't have to compete with high-powered rifle hunters. "You can't just pop a bullet in the gun and fire. It takes skill and accuracy. The animals must be stalked and shots fired usually at less than 70 yards. That's a lot more difficult than people think. "If you're really good, you might get off two shots and that's it. That's the challenge. It makes the difference between the real sportsman and the guy out for a little weekend fun," Roscoe "Silvertip" Amick, Castle Rock, Colo, explained. "It might look simple and fun. But skill is required. You've got to tap in the powder into the barrel, pop in a lead ball, put the cap in place and fire. The goal is to be able to do this, shoot and reload again within 15 seconds. And to do that takes practice," Pokiee, who is a Utah Wildlife gun safety expert, explained. A gun may sell from $60 to $300. Then there are lead balls, cotton patches, black powder and a horn to hold it before a mountainman is ready to shoot. While all these may be purchased, really involved mountainmen make everything themselves. "It just goes along with the entire concept of mountain-manning. We're trying to preserve traditions. What better way to learn them than to do them yourself," Dave Scadden, one of |