When it comes to black powder muzzleoading firearms, whether longarm or pistol, flintlock or percussion, do you prefer a rifled bore or a smoothbore? Feel free to explain why.
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Preference poll: smoothbore or rifled?
- Thread starter wiscoaster
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I do prefer a flintlock smoothbore trade gun for many reason ...their history, their versatility , their balance and weight ...just love em . I do prefer the smoothbore BUT ! Get one smoothbore and one rifle and MAN ! You got everything type of critter at all ranges covered !! LOL ! 
I love em both equally.
Comes down to the end game that is being played. I have both. Use both. How well will a smoothbore with no rear sight work at a 500+ yard target match? How does a rifled bore work on passing waterfowl or at skeet? If goal is to blow a hole sky, guess either would work. Now if intention is to hit a specific target…..
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longcruise
70 Cal.
Not much smoothbore experience. Almost none. But not hard to say rifle. No special reason. It's been perfectly satisfactory so far.
Never shot a smooth bore but I guess I needed to put something down, so rifled it is.
ronaldrothb49
45 Cal.
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Have never really been interested in a smooth bore. Have always been interested in match shooting just never really felt like I would shoot a smooth bore much.
Mousegunguy
40 Cal
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Smoothies all the way!!
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Both, Rifles and Smoothies, each has a place in my shooting stable. They are all fun to shoot.
Rifle, have 1 Smoothbore, rest are all rifle and I only hunt Turkey with the smoothie, everything else I use the rifle.
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Well I own one ML smoothie and everything else is a rifle. Turkeys smoothie while I would shot a prb in it for deer, I'd rather use the rifles since I have many available. Squirrels I am not starving for food so 32-40 cal. Deer 45-54 (62cal if I decide too). My logic is I am far more accurate over all with rifled barrels than the smoothie. The game deserves the respect of using the most accurate method I have to harvest them. Now many places I have I have no doubt I could take a deer or bear with the smoothie under 50 yards. I go with rifle but smoothie is much lighter.
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I shoot both in N-SSA competition. Different animals entirely. But smoothbore is my favorite thing to shoot. Big holes and shorter ranges mean I can see how I'm doing on target without a scope!
Rifled..but im itchin for a smoothie....
I went with "rifled" but only because I haven't had any experience with a smooth bore. I think a smooth bore would be a lot of fun hunting rabbits and birds.
A curiosity maybe, but if I have been keeping up on my smooth bore shooting, I usually average two more hits than my rifle score, shooting the same woods walk targets with the fowler.
I voted Smooth bore and I don't even have one, YET! But my eyes are not great with open sights, so shooting much past 50 yards doesn't happen very often. And, I am a hunter, I can get within 50 yards of deer in my area no problem. If I couldn't I would quit hunting. So shooting a deer with a smooth bore range wise won't be an issue for me, I'm always going to have rifles as well.
I don’t even own a rifle anymore. Smoothies are way too fun.
All my guns are rifled, but I intend to get a smoothbore very soon. My old 2 - band .58 Parker Hale Enfield in fact, which currently resides at my friend's house in England and has done for 30 years, ever since I quit re-enacting with the (UK) American Civil War Society. It was de-rifled (if that's the word) before it came into my posession. The hold up now is finding a way to get it to France without going through the belly-ache of getting a British gun permit.
satwel
40 Cal.
As long as they've got a flint lock, I love 'em both.
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