How often do you run into other muzzle loader hunters?

[Sidney Smith]

Was out squirrel hunting the other day. On my slow walk back to my truck, I saw another hunter coming up the path. As it was the way out of the woods and back to my truck, I ended up crossing paths with the man. To my surprise, he was carrying a Flintlock. It was the first time I've encountered another small game hunter using a muzzle loader. We talked for a few minutes. I looked over his rifle. It was a southern style 40 caliber Flintlock. It was a very beautiful firearm. He told me he had the gun built for him. Whomever built that gun was an artist for sure. I told him he had one fine firearm. I then left him to his hunt and continued on my way.

 

[ppg1949]

I don’t do any deer hunting any more because the infirmities of age but in the early 80’s a friend and I used muzzleloaders during the regular shotgun season because Indiana didn’t have a muzzleloading season yet. We hunted public property that you had to drive through three creeks to get into. It was secluded with very little hunting pressure. I had hunted all day with no luck and near dusk decided to take the long walk back to my truck and wait for my buddy if he was not already there. I built a small fire and was warming up when a voice said “Hello, mind if I join you?”. To my surprise it was another hunter with a muzzleloader. After intros, as we warmed up by the fire I asked about his muzzleloader. This info my seem strange but as I remember he had a CVA flintlock smoothbore of 62 caliber. I never knew they made such a firearm. The best part was he told me of a small clearing he passed with grass about four feet tall. As he passed, a deer stood up. He took aim only to have a misfire. At the misfire noise, he said at least a dozen more deer rose up and bounded off. I didn’t tell him I saw the small clearing but I decided not to wade through grass in search of deer because it was getting late and I was to cold. That long story is the only time I have ever come across another muzzleloader hunter that I didn’t know in thirty years of ML hunting.

 

[Jim Wag]

Hi Sydney
I'm hunting deer next week
I hope I don't see any muzzleloader hunters

Jim in La Luz

 

[JeffG]

I've never run across another muzzleloading hunter.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Never. But if I do bump into another hunter and I have a muzzleloader they usually do one of two things!
1: go into denial at what they are seeing or 2: look at me as though I am crazy!

 

[Walkingeagle]

On an elk hunt far too many years ago I ran into a guy with a fully dressed out whiz bang sniper rifle. This guy was dressed in complete military clothing, web gear and including a ghille suit. We talked a bit and he commented that he believed me crazy for using (at that time) a .50 T/C Hawken percussion and wearing orange. Something to the effect that I’ll never get an elk like that. I never said anything as I was pretty sure I was dealing with someone whom had a screw backed off at least one turn, and was living some sort of Tom Berenger fantasy.
Walk

 

[mooman76]

WoW! I never have run into another ML hunter either.

 

[Grimord]

On state land here in CT I often see fellow muzzle loaders during the BP season when I get back to my truck. As there are few state hunting areas, it is not unusual to see other BP hunters during the deer season. In 40 years, I have never run into another muzzle loader hunter during small game season. All the deer hunters I see during the muzzle loader season are using in-lines with scopes. I don't think I have ever seen a hunter using a percussion side lock, or heaven forbid flintlock. I get lots of " he must be crazy using a flint lock looks".

 

[Cosmo]

Never have in my part of Texas. But public land suitable for stalking deer in my area is virtually nonexistent. The M.O. of hunters here is to get onto a lease and hunt from a stand/blind/tripod/deer box, within sight of a deer feeder. In that situation, if you tried to stalk deer you'd likely wind up with an extra hole in you somewhere.

 

[Okie Hog]

i often see other conventional muzzleloader hunters during the first week of Fort Sill muzzleloader season. There's a couple guys i sometimes hunt with during Oklahoma muzzleloader season. Never saw another muzzleloader hunter during Oklahoma deer gun season.

 

[ADK Bigfoot]

Except when hunting the opener of muzzleloading season with a small group of friends, I have never run into another muzzleloader hunter. And in my group of eight, I am the only traditional (side hammer or flintlock) in the group. Four or five of the guys used to have side hammer cap guns, but they complained about reliability. When "shooting off" at the end of the weekend, my flintlocks were the only 100% reliable muzzleloader in the group.

I came out of the woods one Sunday evening, dressed in my green knee breeches, green waistcoat and tricorn carrying a long flintlock. As I got to my car, two guys in a pickup were parked there and remarked, "What are you, some sort of elf?" (I am 6'3" tall; a little large for an elf.)

ADK Bigfoot

 

[Ames]

Never saw another. And I use traditional all season long.

 

[LawrenceA]

Where i live there isnt one to meet.

 

[toot]

I go to the STATE FOREST areas to hunt, I have done it for 60+ years and in all of that time I have never seen another hunter using a muzzle loader of any kind. when they see me they say what in the heck is that? you hunt with that? ETC.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I have run into more than one deer hunter using a muzzle loader. I wonder why it seems not many small game hunters use them.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Never. But if I do bump into another hunter and I have a muzzleloader they usually do one of two things!
1: go into denial at what they are seeing or 2: look at me as though I am crazy!

Ditto!

One fellow saw my flintlock and my deer, and said, "You had to be pretty lucky with that thing!" I replied, "Friend, you are confusing luck with hunting skill and marksmanship." He quietly walked away.

I foster the "He's a little nuts" opinion of me. About half of my neighbors are annoying sorts, and I prefer they stay at a distance.

LD

 

[Art Caputo]

While not to frequently in the Northeast I have run into ML hunters, but it has been a long, time since I seen a traditional rifle, and have never run into a flintlock shooter.

 

[tenngun]

I too have never met another ml hunter in the woods, unmentionables or traditional

 

[Patocazador]

I have never seen anyone hunting with a conventional muzzleloader other than my son when he was with me. During muzzleloading season (1 week) on public land I have only seen inlines. I used a flinter one weekend at a public spot and 3 people thought it couldn't work until I let one of them shoot it.

 

[SDSmlf]

Back sometime in the mid to late 1970s I almost ran into another ‘traditional’ muzzleloader hunter. Buddy told me that there was a guy hunting the other side of a clear cut I was hunting who had a TC Hawken that had misfired twice on him. Never actually meet up with the guy, but I was field dressing a buck that had come across the clear cut that I shot with my CVA 45 caliber two piece stock Kentucky rifle when my buddy came up to me. Likely the same deer the guy missed with his TC. It was opening day of the regular season, and only shotguns, pistols and muzzleloaders were legal to hunt with.

Have been hunting since the early 1970s in two or three states nearly every year, and other than members of my own party, that is it. Honestly don’t remember seeing more than one or two inline hunters either, let alone other traditional ones, but I’m not one to socialize in the woods while hunting and tend to avoid other hunters.