If Acra-Glas bedding compound had been available in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, you can be assured gunsmiths and gunmakers the world over would have used an ocean of it.
If unmentionable ARs and multi round magazines had been available in the 18th century you can be assured everyone would be shooting them instead of muzzleloaders
After reading through 6 pages of "To Glue or Not To Glue" it has become apparent that is really boils down to the fact that there are Two Types of shooters out there:
1) Those that have picked up a muzzleloader to experience the romance of their past, to learn the ins and outs of owning, shooting, and maintaining them. To learn the forgotten art that our forefathers once took for granted.
2) Those that think they are just junk guns but maybe they can reinvent it, possibly write a book on how they 'improved it' and make a some quick bucks.
For me; I prefer the #1 group for that is what drew me into muzzleloaders. I have no care to 'improve' on something that has evolved for already for centuries then became 'Obsolete' and replaced by what we now call "unmentionables" in this forum.
We use modern materials in building our new 'replicas' of the past for pretty much the same reason we can not 'truly' re-live (reenact) Living History...some foods and materials just are not around anymore.
Sure I can pour motor oil and synthetics down my barrel, I can use non-lead 'safe' projectiles (hey, maybe even Smurf RB so no one gets hurt!). Or I could simply empty all my Dangerous explosive powders so they don't blow me up, dull all those dangerously sharp flints, and just hang it on the wall and go shoot my AR (unmentionables) and try to 'improve' them.
Nope; I have 'Muzzleloaders', I want to learn how those back in the day used to put meat on the table, kept garments from their crops, and enjoyed a day shoot at the local county fair (maybe even win a cup doll or turkey).
The only thing that needs to be improved on my muzzleloaders is: Me
