different disciplines

Good post!
There was a time when the only excuse for owning a muzzle loader was to take part in the "special" late season deer hunt here in Ohio. I owned and swapped off a bunch of T/C Hawken and Rengade rifles.
I got sucked up into making the smooth bore 12 ga. shoot accurately with foster type slugs. Way back then there were no rifled barrels or sabot slugs. We got pretty good making the 870 shoot under 3" at 100 yards too!
After taking plenty of deer with the shotgun I got into more challenging hunting and switched to the modern bow and grahite arrows.(yawn :snore
Well that wasn't much of a challenge so I got into pistol hunting. NO, not a 14" sawed off, scoped single shot rifelette, but a 6 gun(.45 Colt don'cha'know)
Well I never did connect with the wheel gun, but I did shoot a buck in a barber shop with my 4506 Smith.(honest)
I shot thousands of rounds of centerfire pistol ammo in training and competition, was a trained instructor in revovler, semo-auto pistol, assault rifle, sub-gun, gas laucher,scoped rifle, shotgun, (boring huh? :snore: :snore
and flat got sick of carrying a gun ans seeing dead people so when I retired I got to fooling with muzzle loaders and got thorougly hooked by the likes of birddog6, rollingb and others of lowly character!
Now that's about all I shoot.
Now I'm no idjit, in spite of what some my think, and have an 870 shorty stoked with 3" 00 buck for serious social intercourse.
But by and large I vastly prefere the slow deliberate fun of shooting black powder. ::

 

[leadball]

Oh, I cannot forget fishing

 

To me, its all about the hunt and the history. I love to shoot yes, and do so to maintain my ability to make a clean shot at the appex of the hunt. Its not about the kill, its everything leading up that point and the lovely meals that follow. I love my front stuffers, Tom, Bob and Lucifer. I first learned to hunt with a front stuffer. I own .54 paper cartridge Sharps rifle, a trio of Rollers, and a Smith carbine. But I also have some vintage modern long guns I also enjoy. I enjoy them all pretty much equally. Lucifer is perhaps my most favorite, as I built it from a kit almost 25 years ago, and hope to pass it on to one of my children. I occassionlly compete, but not to win. I do it for the comradity. To be in the company of those who enjoy the right to bear arms and actively pursue it. And most of all understand where I'm coming from. I must say that inlines seem to raise my hackles abit. Not my mug of grog, and to those who enjoy them, great.

I live in the police state of Massachusetts. Deer season is shotgun or muzzle loaders only. I and others fought hard to have the right to use our ML rifles for this season, as it was originally smooth bore only. I hope to one day convince the powers that be to allow me to use my paper cartrdige Sharps for this season. But be it shotgun or muzzle loader season, Bob, my .50, and I are in the brush. It just rubs my fur the wrong way to use a shotgun on whitetails. :winking:

 

[leadball]

I live in the police state of Massachusetts.

You mean The People's Republic of Massachusetts? Thats John French Kerry country. Thank God our Democrats in Minnesota and Wisconsin all hunt and fish :haha:

 

[oneshot]

I like my 54cal.Percussion best.

Then my Crossbow.

Then my Double Barrel Muzzleloading 12Ga.

Then my 50Cal.Inline.

Then my 12Ga.Inline

oneshot

 

Lots of interesting replys! I particularly enjoyed the one about a 45 Colt wheel gun. I can assure you that even tho you never personally connected with it the cartridge is fully capable. I speak from personal experience, as would Jim Linebaugh, Gary Reeder and Hamilton Bowen. It is my favorite big bore handgun caliber and my wife says I have too many chambered to that cartridge......but what does she know of guns?

My heart goes out to you guys who can't use rifles of one variety or another to hunt with. I can't imagine being denied that choice.

It was also interesting to read how many different disciplines many folks pursue. As others alluded to I started shooting more so when I pulled down on a deer, bear, elk or other critter I KNEW where the bullet was going when I pulled the trigger. I didn't then nor do I now want there to be any doubt on my part. Then I discoverd shooting for the sheer joy of itself. I still can't shoot only one type of firearm nor would I want to. The education I've gotten ballistically, historically and practically couldn't be paid for in an any college or university simply because it isn't taught, to say nothing of the hours of pleasure and comaraderie with other shooters I've enjoyed. I wish I had the time and money to shoot in every discipline I read about in this post. As with most of us, probably, I have neither an abundance of either.....but I ain't dead yet!!!!

Vic

 

[roundball]

Maxi, the .45 colt is a favorite of mine too...15 years ago I had a 6.0" S&W model 25...sent it back to S&W and had them take a big barrel blank like they normally use on the .44 magnum with the full underlug and make a .45Colt hunting gun with a lot of weight out front.
Took a Doe with it from a treestand that year, then got heavy into muzzleloaders the next year and haven't hunted with it or many regular rifles since...the year after I had them make it for me, S&W came out with a production model of that big heavy .45 Colt in a stainless version...it's a great handgun

 

[cayugad]

I enjoy my black powder rifles the most when I shoot. In fact I seldom shoot anything other then the black powder rifles. It makes no difference whether they are in lines or sidelocks or smoothies... they are all fun.

I also enjoy shooting my modern handguns and other modern rifles, but there is more joy when I have the black powder rifles and revolvers. ::