AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2015 • NEBRASKAland 31
dormant for years while he filled his free time with other
outdoor activities, such as hunting and fishing. So when
Miller found out that his neighbor picked up a muzzleloader,
so did he. Miller soon discovered the existence of
muzzleloader clubs across the state as well as on the national
level.
When Vance Willets, now of Grand Island, placed an ad in
the Norfolk Daily News in 1983 to gauge interest in forming
a local club, Miller and wife Barb knew it was time to quit
thinking about it and join. So did others from throughout the
area, and the North Fork Frontiersmen was born.
The club reached nearly 40 members in its first year.
Officers were chosen and the club met once a month, at
the shooting range if weather permitted. By 1984, the club
had located a few acres of pastureland near Norfolk for the
club's first competitive shoot.
"It's difficult to find places to hold the shoots," Miller
said. "Neighbors may complain, plus there are the questions
of liability and responsibility. It's not necessarily easy."
Miller's interest in muzzleloading is fed by serving as field
representative and regional coordinator for the High Plains
area of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association, a
position that requires him to promote the organization and
the sport in general.
For some, black powder and lead is the club's main draw.
Take Tom and Lola Brockman, for example, who have been
North Fork members since 1989 and enjoy the camaraderie
found at meetings, but originally, black powder was their
primary attraction. Tom's interest in black powder firearms
began when he came into possession of his grandfather's
1865 musket; Norwich Arms was originally commissioned
to manufacture the muskets for use in the Civil War, and
A member tidies her camp at the North Fork Frontiersmen rendezvous at Yellow Banks Wildlife Management Area.
Some knives and tools Frank Novotny has accumulated for his
mountain man re-enactments.
