Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Do you find traditional front stuffers funner than in-lines?

Its all good!Frankly, anything that goes " BANG" is fun.Had alot of fun poppin' Yankees with my P-53 Enfield .577 and it works even better on yankee deer!My Omega Z5 is a peach of a rifle as well.Use both, love both.This year I'm bound and determined to master the sparkchucker and to that end have procured a T/C Hawken and installed a Green Mountain ball barrel and now that Pa. allows aperture sights I'm in high clover!

I've used both, and for pure fun, nothing beats a traditional. I've been lucky enough to take a deer the hard way in Pennsylvania's primitive weapons seaon. The flinters are just a blast to shoot. You learn a lot about your self and how you work in tandem with your gun when you hunt with a flinter. I totally agree with the others-if the gun doesn't go off, it's pilot error, not the gun's fault. There's a definite sense of accomplishment that comes with working up a flinter with a consistent shooting load and going out and taking a deer with it.
In-lines are just plain easy to use. I like the convenience they offer, and they are very efficient. I think they make a great first muzzleloader to start with, and I think many guys will find an urge to switch off to the traditional guns down the road. As for all this bickering between the two groups, we really need to put this petty crap behind us and stay united for the good of the shooting sports, and our rich hunting tradition. This is the same thing that comes up between traditional archers and those who use compounds, or crossbows. It's kind of like the old saying, United we stand, divided we fall.

For me personally muzzle loaders break down to a few things.

1) if I'm seriesouly after a monster I will be using a rifle.

2) if I'm going to try a muzzle loader it will be to experience the authenticity of it. And when I did swap from in-line to traditional I got more out of it.

Spot

I love the entire experience of blackpowder weapons. When I hunt with my longrifles I wear buckskins, moccasins, 18th century style shirt and tri-corner hat.

My imagination is very good, but I just would have a hard time accepting the image of a scope-sighted, bolt-action, smokeless powder loaded and inline primed rifle in my hands......as I slip through the woods in 1750. Something just seems wrong with that picture.

For me....the reliving of the history and doing things the way they were done 200-250 years ago (and accepting the limitations and equiptment used) is as much a part of blackpowder as the actual opportunity to take an animal. The kill just isn't as important to me as the experience.

Thoroughly enjoy hunting with my .50 cal T-C sidelock. It's a percussion, sigh... But it sure is fun! Generally use a 385 gr Hornady Great Plains bullet & 80 or 90 grains of either black or Pyrodex. Have only taken two mulies with it, but those were darned good hunts!

Never have used, or wanted, a modern, in-line muzzle loader. They seem too much like my modern centerfire rifles.

Traditional for me.

I sure was surprised how well I could group with Iron sites and a roundball.

Cloverleaf at 50 yards, and the 54 cal Lyman Great Plains rifle flattens out deer big time.

Spot

I agree with Mr. Sturgeon. I totally respect the traditionalists,
I've hunted with flintlockers. It is all you fellows say it is.
But I am, for lack of time and access hunting state land. Unfortunately with a bit more hunting pressure than I would like to see. If I have to keep my smoke pole under my coat, and check the prime every hour, all that noise and movement will telegraph my position to every deer in the county. When I step into the woods with my inline with a 209 primer, I can sit like a statue for hours. In my situation, thats a big factor.

Never shot an inline and don't really care to use them, I like the old way. Kind of a connection with the past thing.

I like the fact it't almost reloading and shooting in one

T/C Renegade hunters in .50 & .54 cal.

Mike

Traditional flinter fan here.

Don't understand all the talk about noise and motion...been refreshing 4F prime every hour for years and it's never kept me from filling tags...there's no noise, and with the Flintlock laying across my lap where my hands are resting, I simply slide a pan primer out of a shirt pocket, quietly ease the frizzen open, dump the prime with a simple flick of the wrist, reprime, quietly close the frizzen and slide the pan primer back into a shirt pocket...takes every bit of 15 seconds, zero noise, and practically no movement.

I always keep the lock area under my jacket in damp/rainy weather, only bringing it out when a deer is actually sighted and coming towards me in range for a shot...less than 40-50yds in the woods I hunt...out from under the jacket to my shoulder is one easy slow motion and hasn't bothered a deer yet.

My favorite thing is the range.

My Lyman Great Plains rifle (54 cal cap model) sounds just like what you hear on TV in the old Davey Crocket movies.

First day I took it to the range I burned a half pound of powder out of it. Just too much fun!

I guess it's because I tried non-pelletized Muzzleloading because I wanted too vs. trying my knight disc rifle because I had too one year if I wanted to hunt (my seasons overlapped).

The other component here is that I build my GPR from a kit under the guidance of an traditional hunter and the dang thing groups pretty tight. I also make my own roundballs - all of it adds up to something pretty interesting.

I do admitt there's a bit more intregue waiting for the smoke to clear to see if I flattened that deer or not... and MAN does a 54 cal round ball flatten a deer!

Spot

Yes, I like traditional muzzle-loaders better.

But I won't quarrel with others who prefer in-lines. To each his or her own.

I like to shoot traditional guns best but when it comes to chasing Whitetails Ill grab my inline every time............547.

i prefer traditional rifles over inlines big time. I love flintlocks. I seem to have better luck getting my flintlocks to go off on the first shot than with my percussion Theres just no beauty or style in an inline these days. You get a nice flexy piece of plastic that they call a stock. Dont even really care much for new cars due to the same reasons.

Traditional here too. I love my 50 flinter. In-lines are for people who want to hunt with modern rifles during black powder season, IMO. They miss out on the whole spirit of the thing

That being said, I have nothing against people who like modern BP. There's no special season for BP in Montana, although there are restricted shooting areas.

My second day with a flinter, first on the 50 yard line, offhand. 50 gr. Goex fffg and a .440 ball. It'll do for deers and such.

Inlines?
Absoloutely no use for them in my hands,but YOU HUNT WITH WHAT YOU WANT,that's your right....

I prefer the flintlocks for almost all my shooting and hunting. I can't explain why but I just do. I went thru a handgun hunting spell and now it's flintlocks. I doubt rifles and scopes will see much use until my eyes get so bad that I need the scope to shoot well. I still enjoy the handguns though; hip hostered and open sighted.

I would like to get a flintlock and use it but realize I don't have the time right now to commit to learning and becoming proficient with another technology. In the meantime, the inline .50/209 barrel on my Encore gives me a little more deer hunting opportunity.