number of inlines and side locks out their?

[johnson1942]

my qusestion is does anyone have the approx. number of inlines and sidelocks that are owned by americans. i have no idea what the numbers of each is. if some one has this info it could be useful in an article ive been asked to write for a powder co. thanks.

[oldracer]

I have one of yours......and several others that I made. A better question would be how many are actually shot? I was at the range today and two of the ROs said they had muzzle loaders but had never shot them as they were afraid of what they might do wrong. I have heard that before so I plan to meet them next week to help them get over their "fears"!

[mooman76]

I don't think there is any way of knowing since they are not bought like regular guns and rarely registered. Are you talking BP revolvers too? If so I have 12. Start adding them up.

[johnson1942]

i suppose their is no way of knowing. im mainly interested in the ratio of side locks to inlines or visa versa. does any one know if their are more sidelocks than inline or is it the other way around? all so your right as a lot of guns are never shot.

[Sergeant Earthworm]

maybe creating a post with a survey would shed some light on this. it wouldn't be scientific but it seems reasonable to assume that the ratio would be fairly representative.

[Lonegun1894]

I have several sidelocks, and no inlines, if that helps any. And yes, I use them all.

[mooman76]

A lot of your new BP hunters get your inlines and CVA quit making sidelocks for the inlines. They of coarse or at least the majority are not BP enthusiasts of coarse and probably like allot of your modern day hunters don't handle their guns until hunting season or just before. Just an educated guess (more guess than educated)but I'd say it's about 50/50 at this point and growing more and more toward the inlines. I own 2 inlines out of about 12 and never shoot one of them. The other I will shoot more but that's because it's not like a regular inline. It's an older one, a T/C Scout.

[waksupi]

I would say the traditionals still far outweigh the inlines. Lots more competitions for traditional. Come to think of it, I have never heard of an inline specific competition.
I'm pretty sure I own more traditionals, than any inline shooter will ever collect. Lots of people like me around. There is just nothing collectable about an inline that would influence anyone to own more than one or two. Counting the number of individual traditional builders around the country would be staggering.
I think the old time side locks are more than holding their own. Inlines are the new kid on the block, and any thinking real shooter figures out that that kid rides on the short bus.
I don't know a single person in this area that owns an inline.

[starmac]

I am like Mooman, I have traditionals, but have a scout inline, bought from a forum member. The scouts don't look like the typical inline.

[10 ga]

I would say the traditionals still far outweigh the inlines. Lots more competitions for traditional. Come to think of it, I have never heard of an inline specific competition.
I'm pretty sure I own more traditionals, than any inline shooter will ever collect. Lots of people like me around. There is just nothing collectable about an inline that would influence anyone to own more than one or two. Counting the number of individual traditional builders around the country would be staggering.
I think the old time side locks are more than holding their own. Inlines are the new kid on the block, and any thinking real shooter figures out that that kid rides on the short bus.
I don't know a single person in this area that owns an inline.

johnson1942,
I'll give my perspective from here in VA.
There is a strong contingent of guys that reenact, sidelock shooters all. There is specific competition for inlines, even in Friendship. I personally have 4 sidehammer guns, one of them is an original from 1842. I have 5 inline of the "slamfire" design. Then on to the real new kid on the block. I have 3 Savage MLIIs, 2 Remmington 700MLs customized and a custom Encore and these 6 guns are all for smokeless ML shooting. That is 15 ML guns and only 4 are sidehammer. I would also point out that there are a lot of smiths/builders now making custom inline MLs, lots. If you want to see what high end commercial inlines are like just check out Bad Bull, Swinglock and NULA (New Ultra Light Arms). The custom inlines are even fancier and more costly. As for the number of shooters that have inlines vs. sidehammer guns... I know 6 guys that reenact and 1 hunter that use only hammerguns. Everyone else uses inlines, that is no less than 10 people in just my immediate family. I also am a member of a hunt club here, and our membership is 35. Virtually all of them use inline ML. The LGS and big box sporting goods stores all sell more inlines than sidehammer guns and I'd guess from the racks and floor stock it's about 50-1 inlines over sidehammer. I'll not disparage anybody on their choice of gun. It is a personal decision and the guns have very different points of value to different individuals for different reasons. And as for collecting inline ML well.... I know of people who collect : White Rifles, Knight Rifles, Remmy 700MLs and another TC inlines. The collector guys usually have a couple of favorites for the firing line/hunting but there is an amazing number of different guns in each type, and they are all inline ML. If you want more info and specifics send me a PM. As for more "traditional or more inlines" out there, well when VA required "traditional" guns for hunting, ML season was a sport limited to only a few, now with inlines, scopes, and even smokeless ML it's a big deal, lots of hunters. And you almost never see traditional guns afield.

Best, 10 ga

[gon2shoot]

I have several BP guns, wont own an inline.

[451whitworth]

i can't imagine it's even close. the number of inlines sold in the late '90's through about 2010 was in the millions. For many years T/C couldn't make their Omega model fast enough. The only old school ML's i see anymore are the ones in my hands.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Own only side locks myself , same with the rest of the family and have shot alongside the inlines and they did not impress me much , when I want to shoot smokeless I use a cartridge ,so no idea on a ratio of one to the other . good luck on your research.

[Lead Fred]

Got One, made it myself

73553

Inlines arent, flatlanders just think they are

[hornady308]

I travel a lot for work and regularly visit shops in several cities. I see lots of inlines, but very few sidelocks. Flintlocks are truly rare finds. I have 7 traditional and only one inline (a White rifle...one of two thousand made). The last two sidelocks I saw were both CVA Bobcats with synthetic stocks, so not inlines, but not very traditional either.