anybody shooting .50 cal pa pellet

[plumberroy]

This is not directed towards anybody in particular,but if some are offended then they might wonder why they were offended. Not all potential hunters or shooters of BP have a grand or so at hand to embark on this adventure. Some of these guns are a good way to break into the sport. Flint ignition, load from the muzzle, and even have a ramrod hangin underneath the barrel. Now I'll be the first to admit , they are not my idea of traditional, but they are a muzzleloader. I think we need to come down off our collective high horse and quit looking down our noses and offer sound advice to newbies that are contemplating joining our ranks. And just a thought to kick aroud , How much difference is there between a patch and a sabot ? Both seal the bore, protect the ball from hot gasses, engage the rifleing. How about we give up our patches and just bare ball it from now on. Now that said, I shoot a PRB in .50 with round bottom rifleing in a Penn. long rifle, shoot from the pouch, and wear a frock when I hunt, but I still have enough flexibility to share the woods with someone who is starting down this path. With gentle suggestions and explanations one is more apt to listen and learn, the old 2x4 along side the head tends to slow down the learning process. This response is not my usual but of late the forum has alrmed me, alot of bickering, I hope it is just cabin fever.

AMEN

I've seen this on several different forums A inexperianced or young person want to get into hunting or shooting,gets on the net for advice asks a question [on many different forums] and gets That not traditional or that not a super mag that will shoot two miles or you are going to need 44 follow up shots and that thing only has 18
basicly if you don't have $1000 gun and the much in extras you might as well stay on the couch :cursing: we need to stop looking down our nose at beginners because a gun is not traditional enough help them out if they get interested they will likely move to a more traditional rifle one gun is never enough

to answer the question I don't have that gun I tried loose pyrodex once liked to never got it to fire so I'm sticking to real black powder ,I don't shoot sabots so I can't help you there
Roy

 

[d slocum]

We mite just haft to suck it up. new shooters like bentfork aren't going to walk in to any store known to regular folk and find a beautiful custom pennsylvania longrifle or even a sidelock. It's places like this that will bring a person into a shooting sport that is more fun than he has ever experienced with a firearm but they have to start somewhere . I've never herd of a pa pellet but it starts the fire with a rock and thats a better start than most.I'm not defending sinlines and dont like that they are aloud to used here in ml season. bentfork I cant be much help to you I'm just now switching everything to rocklock but good luck with your new shooter.

 

[plumberroy]

If a stainless steel camo stocked removable breech plug flint lock get another shooter out in the woods and started in shooting smokepoles I'm all for it
Roy

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you read this forum, there are many used Traditional sidelock guns for sale out there, and those are the guns people can buy to get into this sport. I don't buy the " I had to buy the zip gun because it was all the store had" line at all.

If people really want to get into this sport, they FIRST need to find a BP gunclub, and hang out there. That is where they can get their education, about guns, powder, prices. They will even find someone who has an older gun, in good repair, they just don't shoot anymore because they moved on up to a nicer, semi-custom, or custom gun, and who will not only sell them the gun, but teach them how to load it, give them components to use, and show them how to clean the guns.

There are NMLRA charter clubs all over the USA, and more clubs that are not affiliated with the organization. If instead of buying junk guns, they would ask around the sporting goods store for any one who knows someone who shoots black powder, or ask if there is a local gun club in the area, they would get off on the right foot.

Instead, people want to be taken in by slick salesmen, and buy junk, because they think its a " shortcut " to be able to hunt for deer a little longer each Fall. And that it is.

That is also why Traditional ML shooters don't generally want to have much to do with such folks. YOu may meet the state's minimum requirements to participate in the ML season, but your idea about ML shooting is far different from those of us who lobbied for and got that ML season in the first place. Yes, we feel betrayed, and robbed of an idea where people could have a short season to hunt the old way, with the older style guns. Wouldn't you?

 

[plumberroy]

:cursing: :cursing: :cursing:
Attitudes like some of folks who pipe in answers on this thread are why 90% of people are using inlines. All though I know most of you are not, you come across as self rightous snobs, not every one lives near a muzzleloading club or has the time and money to drive a couple hour to get to one. reread some of your post there are post on this thread that if you cut through the sidetalk that say since you don't have as nice of a rifle as me so you don't belong here :bull: :bull: :bull: no wonder shooting sports are dying fine custom or semi custom guns are something to be proud of but doesn't make you superior to some one who doesn't know about them or can't afford them
all shooting/hunting sports are under attack we need all the new blood in the sport we can get
I won't own an inline but if some one comes to me who has never shot a muzzleloader for some help with shooting an inline I'm going to help him.Chances are if we are shooting regularly I can get them interested in a traditional gun. if he is setting on the couch because I said come back when you get a real gun there is a good chance some peta liberal type will covince him the only people that hunt/shoot are "them self rightous redneck types"
Roy

 

[paulvallandigham]

You know, In all the comments I have read here, including my own, I have yet to read where anyone would refuse to help someone with his zip gun, or teach him about the sport.

My personal experience is that if there are snobs, its the guys shooting the stainless steel, plastic stocked zip guns, and not the traditional sidelock MLers. Getting those guys to even acknowledge I am on the same planet with them at public ranges is a serious step. They are not interested in anything I do, or the gun I shoot. Oh, they watch, but the looks I get are ones of pity. Somehow they seem to think they should pity me because I am loading my gun carefully with patch and round ball, instead of a plastic-surrounded, copper-jacketed pistol bullet. OH, and when they see that Flintlock, the pity looks turns to horror. HOW could anyone be shooting one of those old things!!!

I do want new blood in the sport. I have fought for that for 35 years as a shooter, and have fought battles with some " skinners " in my own club to keep the membership open to anyone who is willing to pay the dues and abide by the rules. Even zip guns are allowed. What the new guys find out quickly is that the new zip guns don't give them an advantage in accuracy, nor in speed of loading, although we don't put on many speed loading matches, for safety reasons.

When I was new to the sport, almost everyone owned either a T/C or CVA hawken style rifle. Very few longrifles, and very few flintlocks. Then one day, one of the guys brought a .32 caliber rifle he had built out of a kit for his daughter, and used it to shoot the monthly match. He won. All the guys with the .50, and .54 caliber guns that were insisting on shooting hunting loads were scratching their heads because he was not normally one of the top place finishers. He won the match the next month with the gun, again. The 3rd month, he brought his own buffalo gun, and placed about 5th, his more usual performance. From then on, he shot the .32. We all learned a lot about target shooting from that.

Now, the club did not have enough ground to lay out a 100 yard range for shooting. If it had, he might have been disadvantaged in shooting the little .32 in the matches. But we shot at 25 and 50 yard targets at those days-- perfect ranges for his .32. As I said, we all learned a lot about shooting that day.

So, if someone with a zip gun wants to shoot with us, and just watches, I suspect he will learn a lot about shooting from us, too. The real problem seems to be to get them out to shoot with us, and to watch what we do. Personally, I ALWAYS introduce myself to new folks, and I always offer them an opportunity to check out my gun, and to shoot it. I shoot my black powder percussion shotgun at a modern gun club. Most of the men have never seen a black powder shotgun fired. I always offer them the opportunity to fire the gun at some clay targets, at my expense. MOST turn me down! How about telling me what that is all about?

 

[Kentuckywindage]

And to think that i sold both of my ugly inlines to switch over to 100% traditional. And now this is the :bull: i have to read on here?

I dont give manure if the guy next to me is shooting a plastic stock, SS barrel, removeable breech plug flintlock. Hes still getting the same enjoyment but has the settle for a rifle he can afford. When you first get into muzzleloading, i know i didnt go out and buy the most expensive and best muzzleloader out there. I started off with a cheapie and learned the art of shooting a muzzleloader and since then, have moved up greatly to a GPR flintlock that i'll never part with. I'd rather have those plastic stock flinters next to me than a scoped plastic **line.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

If a stainless steel camo stocked removable breech plug flint lock get another shooter out in the woods and started in shooting smokepoles I'm all for it
Roy

Well said, but this is a traditional forum. Most of the folks here aren't into sabot rounds and pellet loads and couldn't offer helpful hints in these areas if their lives depended on it. It is true that people need to start somewhere and not everyone can afford a fine custom built firelock. But asking traditional muzzleloader users to assist people using weapons that they aren't familiar with isn't reasonable. It has nothing to do with elitism or snobbery and everything to do with asking questions in the wrong place.

 

[wildeagle]

Dan, Very well said, alot of truth in that statement. I hope readers will take it to heart. :thumbsup:

 

[plumberroy]

If a stainless steel camo stocked removable breech plug flint lock get another shooter out in the woods and started in shooting smokepoles I'm all for it
Roy

Well said, but this is a traditional forum. Most of the folks here aren't into sabot rounds and pellet loads and couldn't offer helpful hints in these areas if their lives depended on it. It is true that people need to start somewhere and not everyone can afford a fine custom built firelock. But asking traditional muzzleloader users to assist people using weapons that they aren't familiar with isn't reasonable. It has nothing to do with elitism or snobbery and everything to do with asking questions in the wrong place.

To most just getting started if it is flintlock it is tradional alot of people don't know better If you can't help some one,you can says I don't know try such and such forum for help with out snyde remarks. I also find it hard to beleive that people with the experiece shown here in muzzle loading have no experience in any other guns to help some one it is not unusual for me to be varmit hunting with a rifle with no wood and stainless barrel and have a cap and ball revolver on my belt or close shots on groundhogs
Roy

 

[endurojoe]

I'm late answering your post but I hope this makes you feel better about your choice of weapon. I shot this 12pt with a Traditions PA Pellet (lefty) 50gr. Goex fffg. patched round ball, at 105 paces on 12/29/07. Double lung, complete pass through. This is also my first flint kill, and like you my first flint rifle. I've had mine 3 years now and have enjoyed every PA late flint season, even more now! I have also tried TC Maxi hunters and Maxi balls with various powder charges, but without much luck getting a good group. Some guys are having good luck shooting powerbelts but I have a hard time shooting something that expensive that doesn't have brass attached to it. PRB's and black powder for me! I'm now looking at a kit for a lefty Track of the Wolf Leman 58cal. Read alot, listen alot, try alot, and get out of your truck and hunt!

 

[rf50cal]

Congratulations Endurojoe, that's a dandy buck for any season, but especially for the Pa. late season.