How come?

[Doc]

So why did you guys decide to get into muzzle loaders?

Doc

[BIGHUNTER2700537]

Before we went to rife I thought that I could get a lot more disant with a muzzleloader during  shotgun season.

[Doc]

Before we went to rifle I thought that I could get a lot more disant with a muzzleloader during  shotgun season.

Yes in areas that are shotgun only, I can see where a nice scoped in-line would be far superior to any shotgun in terms of range and accuracy. That makes a lot of sense. Every year, the bullets and powders and muzzleloaders get to be better and better.

Where I am, it looks like we should be going to centerfire rifles this year If Paterson gets the bill signed in time), so I guess I will be skipping the whole muzzleloading thing entirely.

But I was just curious what the attraction was for people. I would imagine for those that like the more primitive versions, there may be a certain amount of historical appeal and linkage. I can dig that too.

Doc

[fasteddie]

I went to a muzzle loader (in-line) for more distance plus it's fun to shoot . I use my shotgun opening day of gun season and then the muzzle loader from then on .

[burmjohn]

I'm still deciding what gun to get, but I want to hunt it so I have one more weekend to get out there!

[Daveboone]

I wanted to simplify and return to the real hunt. I also love the slow process of preparing each shot. I may use my NEF inline for hunting, but my heart and pride is with my Lyman Great Plains rifle.

[bubba]

I was into muzzleloadng long before it was the in thing to do.  I got my first muzzleloader when I was 17. My father bought me a t/c hawken 50 cal sidelock.  His reasoning was I was going to learn to harvest with one shot.  At that time it was 16 to hunt big game.  Long story short, that was 34 years ago. I have harvested more deer with that rifle than anything I own or have ever owned.  I like the idea of the connection to our ancestors and forefathers.  Plus it has made me  a better hunter and marksman.  Knowing I only had that one shot, i needed ot get it where it needed to go, and iffy shots were out of the question.  I have learned to take much better care of my firearms due to the meticulous detail needed to take care of a muzzleloader. I hunted exclusively with that muzzleloader for three years.  From there I got a sidelock muzzleloading shotgun 12 gauge t/c new englander.  I hunt small game with it to include turkeys.  I now own a flintlock and two inlines.  I use the flintlock for the early and late primitive muzzleloader seasons.  In regular seaon, I use my encore inline. I like the work it takes to work up a load for a muzzleloader and the work it takes to make a flintlock work consistently.  Unlike a bow it sucks when you pull up when you get a deer in range and it goes fizz and does not fire.  It is tough to say why I like it,other than the reasons I stated. All I can say is try it, and you will most likely be hooked.  It is like why do some guys like fords and some chevys.  some cars some trucks. Some like a 20 gauge, some 12 etc etc.  I do not use the old hawken any longer.  It sits in the cabinet next to the savage model 99 in 300 I inherited from my dad when he passed. Bth remins me of the times I had withmy dad in the woods.  I still see the grin on his face when I took a deer with that muzzleloader.  From that minute I was hooked.  I mold my own round balls and I mold a 44 ccal pistol bullet I shot in my inlines.  i guess that is my speel.

[Muzzy]

well for  most people in shotgun only area, they can shot like a rifle with a muzzle loader  ..

[skyzmine]

for me it was the accuracy

smoother shot and ease of distance

makes you think before you shoot, take less unmakeable shots

one shot one kill

i love my cva's

but thats just my take on it.

[Ford]

I bought one to add another "season," and to get away from crowds...And it is a real blast.

I never thought they would be this much fun. As Bubba said, It is a great time working up loads, and finding what works. (you would think that would be a pain like shotguns, but not so.)

I never posted much at Greybeards, but I recognize bubba from there. (Hello)

He knows what he is talking about in regards to Muzzy's..

[bubba]

Hello Ford,

Sorry I do not recognize the name.  They sure are fun to mess with no doubt. 

[rock]

at first it made it so i could hunt an extra season then after a season with one its all i gun hunt with it makes me take my time you only get one shot so you have to make it count

[fasteddie]

Ka-booooooom ! And then a big cloud of smoke . They are enjoyable to shoot !

[sbuff]

" I Hatchet Jack,being of sound mind and broken legs,do leaveth my rifle to the next thing who finds it..... It is a good rifle,and kilt the bear that kilt me.Anyway I am dead,Sincerely Hatchet Jack."

That says it all...........

Sidelocks,flints or in-line's , one shot one kill.

Steve

[Doewhacker]

We started because of the extra time in the woods, each of us use's a side hammer ml, no scopes and regular old Black powder. Once I got into it I realized how much fun they are to shoot and find it to be closer to archery hunting then gun hunting, except I can shoot 100yards.

[wooly]

Cheaper than ciggarettes 

[ny hunter]

I got the ML to get another week in the woods. Turns outthe in line is a lot of fun to shoot.

[Fitzy]

I got a .54 T/C Renegade. It's a lot like bow hunt'n 'cause of all the dodads and wickets ya need to make it work! Plus the fact that it might not go "BOOOM",keeps the fun in the hunt.

[Bernie P.]

In my area the buck/doe ratio is way out of whack.I see lots of does but the bucks are much harder to come by.ML pretty much guarantees I'll have some venison in the freezer plus it's nice to have one in the bag to take the pressure off some.

[Mr VJP]

When I started about 30 years ago, it was to be able to hunt deer in a special ML season that ran after the firearms season.  Just wanted to hunt deer longer than the 1 week NJ offered at the time.

Same reason I got into bowhunting.  Wanted to hunt deer for a month prior to the NJ firearm season.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Since I hunt North and South I get 2 extra weeks.. I really pushed my purcahse of the tag up for two reasons...axtra tag that can be used in either bow or muzzleloader and I wanted to get a stamp b4 they required another course....and damn....since i had a stamp and tag.....I had to buy the gun...lol. the North muzzle loader season is great.....very early but you need to take meat care to a whole nother level in the high temps

[ny hunter]

I never thought about that still pretty warm?

[bubba]

early muzzle starts here in mid october about three weeks after early bow starts. it canbe warm yes but so can bow swason be. No more need to process the meat any quicker ust because it was shot with a muzzleloader

[erussell]

well for  most people in shotgun only area, they can shot like a rifle with a muzzle loader  ..

With todays shotguns and sabots you can shoot like a rifle to. I have killed several deer at 100 with open sights and sabots out of a shotgun. Only diff between a shotgun and a muzzleloader is you better hit them with the 1st shot because you don't have 4 more to back it up. Muzzleloader is much more of a challenge, though I would like to get a nice sidelock to make it even more of a challenge.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I realize that bubba...but warm is warm and was just a thought for any going muzzleloader that might not hunt early bow up north. I have never bow hunted up north so it was a little of a shock to mehow warm it could get compared to when I normally hunted rifle up north