opinion needed, best all around muzzleloader!

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Maryanne, Ginger or Jeannie…

 

[Flintlock]

Yes

 

[hanshi]

The best muzzleloader is the one you like and that fits your build and the best you can reasonably afford.

 

[Dale Lilly]

A rifle or smoothbore that is short enough to use on horseback and in thick woods. It must be able to defend against large, dangerous animals. Yet it needs to be versatile enough to use for the range, and it must be pretty enough to hang on your mantle. Hawken, Hawken and Hawken. I have several Hawken style and many others as well. Just love MLs Dale

 

[45man]

This one. I got tired of the little things and am going for the 1000 yard shooting.

 

[Coinneach]

We did a lot of hunt or starve trips over the years. After the first year seeing a rifle was a rare thing. Smoothies feed you a lot better. 20 bore the overwhelming preferred gun, in flint.

I have to agree, ol Curly Gostomski use to say that a Flintlock Smooth bore was the ultimate survival gun, it enabled more independence in the sense of ammunition and can put down sizeable 4 legged game and feathered Fowl.

As a retired career Soldier who did more than a few Survival courses, I have to say that a Flintlock Smoothbore in 20 gauge is my preference.

 

[sheriff john]

I have two old original rifle over shotguns - one's a .54/12 ga, the other a .44 rifle/.44 smoothbore. "All Around?" ..well, sorta, but neither are really good at everything. What seemed like a good idea in actual use, actually has been disappointing. One's too heavy to carry, the other doesn't have a large enough bore to reliably kill even a rabbit more than 20 yards.

Have to go with a 12 bore shotgun as my "all around" muzzle loader. Single, double, flint or percussion. Originals beat repo's for me.

 

[Urban Coyote]

What are your requirements and budget? That is, if you're looking for a recommendation. If you're just ginning up some coversation that's cool, but a different matter.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Best all around? 12 gauge double. I've put a lot of meat on the table with mine in the last 40 years from quail to squirrels, rabbits, ducks and deer. Wads are fairly easy to find if I don't feel up to making my own. With the pretty much straight channel from the nipples to the chambers, even 20 year old Pyrodex goes off in it. Easy to clean up afterwards too. A real do it all gun that can be used in any gun season.

That just got me thinking: if one were going for a pre-percussion gun of equal versatility, a swivel barrel might be best. Did anyone ever make a swivel barrel with one smooth and one rifled barrel? Like a Drilling? Or is that exactly where two barreled Drillings came from?

Seems to me, apart from the question of durability, if you had to stay with flint and not go SxS percussion, a swivel barrel with one smooth and one rifle might do it most if not all? You could have a silver or gold letter inlaid near the breach of each barrel: S for Shot/Smooth and R for Rifle.

Maybe this doesn't exactly answer the question, but I concur that at least by the percussion and definitely the breechloading era, the good ol SxS was the most versatile gun for someone not going to war.

 

[Cattywompuss]

I have two old original rifle over shotguns - one's a .54/12 ga, the other a .44 rifle/.44 smoothbore. "All Around?" ..well, sorta, but neither are really good at everything. What seemed like a good idea in actual use, actually has been disappointing. One's too heavy to carry, the other doesn't have a large enough bore to reliably kill even a rabbit more than 20 yards.

Have to go with a 12 bore shotgun as my "all around" muzzle loader. Single, double, flint or percussion. Originals beat repo's for me.

You just answered my post. Daggumit! A whole bunch of wasted words! Not really, just funnin'.

 

[Cattywompuss]

A rifle or smoothbore that is short enough to use on horseback and in thick woods. It must be able to defend against large, dangerous animals. Yet it needs to be versatile enough to use for the range, and it must be pretty enough to hang on your mantle. Hawken, Hawken and Hawken. I have several Hawken style and many others as well. Just love MLs Dale

Gets back to other factors like location. I live in Alabama. I guess a southern Black Bear is a large dangerous animal, but only if you're really, really unlucky. Otherwise only humans are large dangerous animals in The South. And anything bigger than a .32 is sufficient for two legged varmints.

Say what you want about deer being dangerous, I reckon they can be. I once shot an 11 point buck on Halloween at 15 yards in self defense as we were both on the ground in the open, but being east of the Mississippi, dangerous game is scarce.

 

[LawrenceA]

This one. I got tired of the little things and am going for the 1000 yard shooting.

Just needs a piccatinny rail

 

[frankie]

That just got me thinking: if one were going for a pre-percussion gun of equal versatility, a swivel barrel might be best. Did anyone ever make a swivel barrel with one smooth and one rifled barrel? Like a Drilling? Or is that exactly where two barreled Drillings came from?

Seems to me, apart from the question of durability, if you had to stay with flint and not go SxS percussion, a swivel barrel with one smooth and one rifle might do it most if not all? You could have a silver or gold letter inlaid near the breach of each barrel: S for Shot/Smooth and R for Rifle.

Maybe this doesn't exactly answer the question, but I concur that at least by the percussion and definitely the breechloading era, the good ol SxS was the most versatile gun for someone not going to war.

great point

 

[Nobody85]

If lead was in a never ending supply, I’d definitely say a fowler. You can take most if not all animals in North America with one. If it were the end of civilization as we know it, and I could only take one; it would definitely be my 36 long rifle. It’s a great varmint rifle. If you had to, you could definitely take a deer with it. Best thing about it is that it’s really stingy with powder and lead. Just some things to take into consideration.

 

[45man]

Just needs a piccatinny rail

Yeah maybe a 4000 moa would work!

 

[45man]

Actually it is a tough question. Depends on use, weather, etc and if you will carry for miles tracking animals or sitting on a stand. Then there is target shooting to consider. I love a good flintlock but a downpour is nasty.
The solution is more then one gun.

 

[sheriff john]

You just answered my post. Daggumit! A whole bunch of wasted words! Not really, just funnin'.

Most originals I've seen are not swivel barrels although there are still a few to be found. Several modern attempts to market swivel, side by side, and o/u combination guns were tried but mostly they were double rifles like the Kodiak side-by-sides. Never very popular commercially, a few custom makers turned out beautiful flintlock doubles (way out of my price range) - even swivel barrels.

 

[frankie]

What are your requirements and budget? That is, if you're looking for a recommendation. If you're just ginning up some coversation that's cool, but a different matter.

under $2000

 

[Snake Pleskin]

under $2000

You have a lot of options if you have up to $2000 to spend That will cover any number of well made custom rifles.(IMHO)

 

[Kansas Kid]

If there was a best it would be the only one offered because it’s the best.