Hello,
I was wanting to post a poll with this, but don't see a way to do so, so I'm just asking outright: Why do you muzzleload?
Some do it just to extend deer season. Others really get into the old designs, and even reenacting.
Myself, I got the trading itch last summer, and after some swapping around, ended up with a CVA Bobcat (sidelock with a black synthetic stock), caps, ball, and powder.
I ended up with two more sidelocks in short order, first a Kentucky Rifle replica and then a T/C New Englander.
I then taught a kid I know to shoot muzzleloaders, and he now has the Bobcat.
Got to making my own patches, made my own powder horn, and started casting my own balls.
In short order, I was quite addicted to the sidelocks shooting patched round balls, and on my best day I can plunk two of three balls through the same hole at 50 yards with open sights. The third ball only slightly elongates the hole.
Additionally, I very much appreciate the power of the round ball. Its aerodynamics suck, and for this reason it's one of the better projectiles for terminal ballistics.
Though the round ball has killed at over 500 yards in war time (especially in the hands of rifle units and sharpshooters -- I believe the record was 800 yards), for hunting, I believe 100 to 150 yards is the limit for the round ball from a rifle one knows well.
I grew up shooting slug guns, so I do not perceive this as any sort of handicap. I'm used to what rifle shooters would refer to as "close range."
On the other hand, many of my beloved, affordable sidelocks are disappearing in deference to inlines. While I have nothing against inline shooters, those rifles do not appeal to me. The proliferation of these rifles, too, tells me that more folks are buying the for hunting than for general shooting.
So, do you prefer modern muzzleloader designs, or sidelocks? Why?
Thanks,
Josh
