Wow... an excellent post by Capt. Chee with which I totally agree. I find that often, "progress" is
more in one's mind than an
actuality-of-life !!!
While both of my sons use .50 caliber "in-lines" for deer hunting, you will never see an "in-line" in my gun-safe or anywhere else in the house.
I limit my shots to 80 yards or less (preferably "less") with my older, caplock .50 caliber CVA Hawken... more due to my old eyes rather than any inability of my Hawken (1:48 twist) to hit deer further away.
Thus my "deer-hunting-load" for the patched Hornady swagged .490" round ball is a relatively small load consisting of 70 grains of Swiss FFFg black powder. However, THAT load gets-the-job-done and will shoot through
both sides of a big whitetail buck's "kill-zone".
That is as good-as-it-gets in my "book" and puts venison in the freezer every year. I never "fix" something that
ain't broke.
Strength & Honor...
Ron T.
