Is Traditional Muzzleloading fading away?

[P.K.]

The up side to this is that we can buy traditional guns for very reasonable prices.

Most who are interested in traditional shooting, would never attend a formal match.

I picked a Hunter-19 up in Rupp Arena and thought I was going to get pinched on my way out the door. "Reasonable" isn't the word I would use to describe what ammounted to a gift. If folks are willing to get rid of their "old fasioned" firearms for what ammonts to be pennies on a dollar, I'll happily give each and every one I can a good home.

[garbear]

I think that if Hollywierd made a movie like Jermiah Johnson or like it. I believe there would be a resurgence. I will be hunting any bull elk this year with my T/C Omega inline. The reason I want the reliablity factor becasue if it is a legal spike I am going to take it. This year is about meat and meat ony. chalk it up to one of teh toughest years we have ever had. Next year if things are better it will be tradtional ML all teh way
Garbear

[Fly]

I really don't hunt large game anymore, just rabbits & squrrels.But back when I did
I only used a traditional muzzle loader.I remember at our deer camp the guy's
calling me Jermiah Johnson.

To me hunting is nothing but sport.I never saw much sport in modern firearm in the
way of deer hunting.

Now thats just me, & I hsve no problem with the ones who hunt with modern gun &
never did.

But I agree with the old muzzle loading shows helping promote this sport.I also
love the ole westerns & Civil War movies & I guess thats were my love for the
ole tradtional stuff came from.

None of us ever lived it, but you must wounder what it must have been like
to depend on that front stuffer to keep you alive.

Thats just me guy's
Fly

[P.K.]

I really don't hunt large game anymore, just rabbits & squrrels.But back when I did
I only used a traditional muzzle loader.I remember at our deer camp the guy's
calling me Jermiah Johnson.

To me hunting is nothing but sport.I never saw much sport in modern firearm in the
way of deer hunting.

Now thats just me, & I hsve no problem with the ones who hunt with modern gun &
never did.

But I agree with the old muzzle loading shows helping promote this sport.I also
love the ole westerns & Civil War movies & I guess thats were my love for the
ole tradtional stuff came from.

None of us ever lived it, but you must wounder what it must have been like
to depend on that front stuffer to keep you alive.

Thats just me guy's
Fly

Nope, but if I did I wouldn't be the well fed Irishman I am, I'd be a good 40lbs lighter and a heak of alot more cynical.

[Fly]

That's funny fat boy(wink)
Fly

[missionary5155]

Greetings
I own more muzzleloaders than my dad.. But he was not into hunting either. I think another overlooked thought is there are far fewer hunters out there now than before. Plus there are more bow hunters. With them cam twirlers many more fellers are sitting in trees for the 3 months + Illinois offers and have given up the measley few gun days offered. If it was not for shooting crows & coyotees & groundhogs on the side I would grow real bored with just sitting about shooting holes in paper. But due to the excess of varmin in east central Illinois I think I will continue to get sooty for many years to come when I am up north there.
Mike in Peru

[slamminsammy]

I think them bow hunters got it made in my area! They also get to start the season early and have a lot more days to hunt. I have always said we need a real "primitive" season. Let the real primitive long bow wooden arrow hunters and real primitive flintlock and ball shooters get out in the woods first! I bet you would see a lot more interest in it!

[Boz330]

I think them bow hunters got it made in my area! They also get to start the season early and have a lot more days to hunt. I have always said we need a real "primitive" season. Let the real primitive long bow wooden arrow hunters and real primitive flintlock and ball shooters get out in the woods first! I bet you would see a lot more interest in it!

Maybe maybe not. A lot of hunters have a limited time to hunt and want to make the most of it and fill the freezer.
I don't bow hunt but I do hunt ML and BPCR during the modern rifle season. Taking a deer with a HP Scoped rifle got pretty mundane for me about 20 years ago, that is when I switched to BPCR and iron sights for deer hunting. The first year 91' produced an outstanding 8 point that took the local Buck Pot. A 90yd moving shot (fast walk) that I was extremely proud of at the time.
Back when the gun season was 3 days the ML season gave extra time in the field and I'm sure that helped spur interest. When the inlines and scopes came along the guys that were just looking to fill their freezer went that route. Which is a good thing from the point of view that most of them don't practice enough to be good with TRUE primitive weapons. I would say that the guys that frequent this forum are better than average shots because they actually shoot.
When I was a guide it appalled me how bad of a shot the average hunter really was. I had guys run out of ammo on sight in check because they were so bad. And this was from a bench. Most of the hunters that I had get a shot missed.

Bob

[white eagle]

people tend to like it EASY
tradition m/l is not as easy as dropping in a
couple of powder balls and shoving a sabot down the barrel
and lighting it with a rifle primer
kinda like the compound bow is to archery
traditional shooters are fast becoming the minority

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

We're not fading away, we're like the guys who were riding Harleys forty years ago. We buy gorgeous flinters from people like Matt & Tony at TVM and we hunt and rondyvou with them to this day.

Rich

[Lonegun1894]

In my case at least, I love the old guns. Currently have 5 flinters, 2 cap guns, and refuse to ever buy an inline. I know they have their uses, and dont hold it against anyone who uses one as you have to start somewhere, but personally, if I am going to use something weather-proof and scoped, I will go out with my .308 or .30-06 instead. I am also working on learning to knap my own flints, so that gives y'all an idea of how I see this side of the shooting obsession. Modern has it's place, but traditional muzzle loaders are just more fun to hunt with for me and provide more of a challenge. And yes, all my MLs have fixed open (traditional) sights. Scoping one would be as bad as scoping a lever-action. Some things you just dont do and still respect yourself afterward, such as scoping a traditional muzzleloader or lever-action, or voting for Obama.

And for those of you who care due to the comments about the younger generations not using these, I'm a crusty old geezer at 31 years old.

PS:
Idaho Sharpshooter,
Matt does do great work, doesn't he? I have one he built, and will have another someday.

[Boz330]

And for those of you who care due to the comments about the younger generations not using these, I'm a crusty old geezer at 31 years old.

PS:
Idaho Sharpshooter,
Matt does do great work, doesn't he? I have one he built, and will have another someday.

When I made that comment I didn't mean that all of the younger generation was that way but many are. My Godson who is your age now took his first deer at 11 with a CVA Hawken he worked all summer to pay for. And took his next 2 after that with the same gun. He now has a wife and 2 kids of his own and his time afield is limited by that and a career.
Now days he usually hunts with something that is quick and easy and can reach out. He is in the picture on the right with a real nice buck he took at 242yds on opening day a couple years ago. He had 2 days to hunt and has to make the most of them. BTW the gun in the picture is one that I built the year he was born. I sold it and then bought it back to give to him for Christmas when he was 12.
There was no offense meant towards anyone, but the number of hunters in general are declining and from what I've seen at Friendship since the 70s has been a steady decline every year.

Bob

[Fly]

Guy's that's why I started this thread in asking you if you see what I see.I first
got into BP in the 1970's & it was dang sure bigger than today.There was alot
more factory made guns to select from then.

To day,yes there is the over $1000 customs out there,but that market is so small
compaired to the over the counter guns.You must consider also how many more
people there is now then in the 70's.

Times have changed, yes but I hope down the line we see a up serge in the muzzle
loader industry.

Fly

[slamminsammy]

I am with Lonegun! Scopes on muzzleloaders and lever guns YUCK! I took a trade on a Win.94 44mag last week, it was scoped so as soon as i got home i popped that thing off and away to the junk pile it went!

[idahoron]

Here in Idaho we have a rule that the cap must be exposed to the weather. As we all know there are plenty of Idaho friendly inlines. For a while we were sidelock only. When the F&G went to that side lock rule I knew I had to design a rifle that would cover me for about any hunting rule for a ML. I picked up a Green Mountain Stainless Steel 1" barrel. Then I found a donor TC Renegade. I added a Lyman 57 SML peep and a Lyman 17 AML globe front sight with Lee Shavers BPCR inserts.
The way the Lyman 57 SML works on my rifles is I use the range finder and get the distance. I set the sight for that distance. If the shot is 125, I set it for 125 and hold dead on. If the shot is 175 yards I set it for 175 and hold dead on.
I got a couple of great muledeer with this rifle







My next rifle I built was another TC Renegade. This one was a .458 with a 1-18 twist 32" long barrel. I put a Lyman 57 pep on it, and a Lee Shavers globe with a level. This is another rifle that is amazing. I have not had a chance to use it on game yet.



I got a great deal on another Stainless 50 cal Green Mountain barrel. I built this rifle for my son. I have shot this rifle a bunch and have killed a great muledeer and a fantastic antelope with it.





My last rifle I built was another deal I could not pass up. This barrel was a 15/16 Green Mountain .451 with a 1-28 twist. It has a Lyman 57 SML peep that is lifted to give more range. It has a Lyman globe with a Lee Shavers BPCR insert.




I would say that yes to a large degree traditional ML is fading away. There are a lot of guys that consider rifle like mine to be the last nail in the coffin. Some guys look at me and call me Daniel Boon. I built these rifles to be legal about anywhere a ML hunt is open. I use Paper patched bullets in them and I can shoot just as far as the inlines. If rifle companies would have designed rifles like these inlines would not be seeing quite as big of following. Lyman came close with it's Lyman Great Plains Hunter Rifle with the 1-32 twist. I have never tested one or know anyone that has one.
I still think that if a fast twist, accurate rifle with GREAT sights were offered guys would buy them. I know over the last several years I have built many guns for friends and acquaintances. Green Mountain made a fast twist 50 but it could only be bought with a scope on it, and it was VERY expensive. Hopefully some day a manufacture will see this and maybe try it again. Ron

[mooman76]

I don't think it's fading away but it is fading some. It almost faded away completely allot of years ago but made a comeback for awhile. It's also nice to here that even though allot of the younger generation are too impatient to use the old fashion MLs, there are some out there still willing to take them up and learn to use them for what they are.

[docone31]

I have found, there are two schools here. Hardcore, and ultra modern.
The Hardcores, show folks how to do it, ultra modern, we see them show up, fire a few, then go home, ne'er to be seen again.
Myself, I like the smell, feel, the cut, and the overall participation. Not a lot share that anymore.
All they want to do, is blast away. Not the hardcores, but the moderns.
I kinda regard it as an art form. A rifle is never done.

[roverboy]

Idahoron, I love the first Renegade. I've got a New Englander that needs a fast twist barrel and Lyman peep sights bad.

[Ajax]

Maybe I am a little off base here. When i think of traditional muzzleloading I think of flintlock and caplock shooting patched roundballs.


Andy

[Maven]

Although I think the allure of traditional ML (flint- or caplock, patched RB as per Ajax) varies greatly by region, I think Fly's point is essentially true. In my area, it's pretty difficult to find traditional rifles or pistols, new or used. To Fly's premise, my club will hold a ML shoot tomorrow, but we've had to open it to all ML rifles and all bullet types as long as they're Pb. Other area clubs haven't quite done that for their shoots. Also, I posted the Shoot date on a local sportsman's forum and got only 19 views as of last night. Contrast that with that no. in our Get-Togethers subforum. In sum, I do think traditional ML-ing has lost a bit of its lustre over the years.