Patent ID: 7065913

Claim:
A muzzle-loading firearm comprising: a barrel; a breach plug situated in a rear end of the barrel and adapted to receive a percussion cap; a pivoting block mounted for pivotal motion relative to the barrel and having a firing mechanism mounted thereto, the firing mechanism including a striker for striking the percussion cap, a hammer for driving the striker, and a trigger for tripping the hammer, the pivoting block being pivotal between a blocked position for firing and an unblocked position for providing access to the breech plug for removing a spent percussion cap and replacing it with a fresh percussion cap; and a trigger guard pivotally mounted to the pivoting block for movement between three positions: a locked position locking the pivoting block in its blocked position; an unlocked, blocked position in which the pivoting block is still in its blocked position, but the pivoting block is ready to be moved therefrom; and an unlocked, unblocked position in which the pivoting block has been unblocked, providing access to the breech plug, and wherein rotation of the trigger guard from the unlocked, blocked position to the unlocked, unblocked position causes the pivoting block to move from its blocked position to its unblocked position.