What brought you to the “dark side”?

[Grizzled Roberts]

Fess Parker got me also the history interest followed a few years later. A school trip to King's Mountain National Park in elementary school
was the initial spark. Now I go to the park and demonstrate my Ferguson Rifle. I guess the spark took hold.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Got tired of shooting woodchucks at 300 yards with a 10X scope and went looking for more interesting methods. Military surplus was great and brought back a lot of challenge and sport, but this little .36 T/C Seneca really caught my eye. That was in 1976.

 

[Celt5494]

I was probably 8 or 10 the first time I saw a flintlock pistol go off other than on TV. I actually got to shoot it as well and I was hooked. As I got older I began seeing the grace of a good ol' American flintlock and gathered an appreciation for the artesians that could construct such a fine firearm solidified everything.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I have always had an interest in early american history. First muzzle loader was an H & R modern rifle. Just never could get than gun to shoot. spent all my time clean it or cussing it's lack of accuracy. After that I stayed away from muzzle loaders even though I never there were good ones out there. After I retired from the US Army, I got a part time job workin in a local sport shop. Kept looking at the muzzle loaders in the rack in the store. Couldn't make up my mind if I wanted a modern rifle or a Traditional rifle. A sales rep for Knight offered to provide a demo for anyone we knew and us at the local range. I bought the Knight Disc on the spot. Started reading about and checking out traditional rifles. Today I have 5 TC traditional rifles. I still have the knight but it sees the woods or range very seldom. I think most people need some hands on time before they will take it up. The modern muzzle loaders are effective hunting tools, but traditional rifles are more fun. I really enjoyed my stop in Friendship, Ind to the NMLRA's range and doings back in May.

 

[omarick1948]

Cuzz when I started, back in the 70's. I was a good look'n figure of a Mountainman!______ Today, I'm an older good look'n figure of a Mountainman!

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

 

[Tom Compton]

Actually, I view it as having seen the light!

 

[Tumblernotch]

Jethro224”s “Bringin' 'em over to the dark side.” thread sparked a thought.
Just what started you into side lock muzzle loading?
I was into cap locks back in the ”˜70s just out of curiosity. In 2009 I was going to start Cowboy Shooting but when I saw the cost of the extra gear I decided to not pursue that venture. Now what do I do with the money that was slated for Cowboy Shooting? Why get into flintlocks of coarse. What else, a natural progression. Now Miss Elizabeth is convinced I have lost what little was left of my mind. Some on this very forum are beginning to suspect the same. Anyway what brought you to the “dark side”?

I was borned here! Never shot any other kind of muzzleloader.

 

[oldarmy]

I was bored shooting center-fire weapons.
When you fire thousands of rounds a year.
It's gets to be old.
Needed a challenge and boy are flintlocks that..
Add in smooth-bores and now you can have some fun on a nice summer day.
Plus, I only shoot the ones I build, so it's the added fun of knowing what you shoot is your own work.

 

[Lonegun1894]

I always had the interest and curiosity in how things used to be done. When I turned 18 (in 1998), I was told I could get a BP handgun, since it wasnt a firearm, so I bought a 1858 Remington copy. That got me hooked, and 3 months later, I bought a Traditions Kentucky .50 caplock pistol, fast forward a few months, and it was a .50 CVA St. Louis Hawken caplock. While I was in the Navy, I mostly played with that CVA and Traditions. Then went and got a Lyman GPR .54 FL, then a CVA Squirrel caplock .32, and then, and then, and then..... I'm not addicted and dont need to go to any stinkin meetings, honest. :blah:

 

[Roundballrules]

I spent many teenage years hunting and plinking with a bolt action .22 rifle so the first time I laid eyes on the gaping hole in a friends .54 caplock rifle I was drooling. :shocked2: He let me fire it a few times and I quickly ordered a .54 Hawken from Cabelas. Then I found out about those weekends called "rendezvous" so along came a .54 Lyman Great Plains and finally a .45 curly maple flintlock made by Jackie Brown. Did I mention my .45 TC Patriot caplock pistol and two other pistols? The bug bit hard! :grin:

 

[ebiggs1]

I am glad you and Roundballrules are having fun with side locks but about that needing “meetings” part?
I don’t know but I”¦”¦”¦”¦”¦”¦”¦”¦”¦”¦”¦

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Walt Disney and Davy Crockett. Love of history too. :thumbsup:
Many years of shooting modern stuff, but I have always preferred the muzzleloading types. Slower paced and easier to relax.

 

[rdillion]

My love of history brought to the "dark side". I had quit deer hunting for a couple of years until a college roommate introduced me to MLing. Killing a deer with a scope mounted rifle never really impressed me. Don't get me wrong I still hunt with my Rem 700 BDL but I prefer the M.L. Here lately when I carry a modern rifle it has been my Puma 357 lever gun. Two deer to it's credit so far. Last year all the meat in my freezer came from the 40 cal MLer. I think it tastes better. :grin:

 

[John Wasmuth]

Was given my first BP .40 cal family hand me down rifle when I was 6, very very old rifle that started out life as a flintlock full stock, ended up a half stock. Killed a lota food with it for many years.

 

[smoothy]

I got a CVA Colonial pistol kit when I was 13 ('74) that got my interest. But when I moved from Wisconsin to Illinois in'82 where you couldn't use a centerfire rifle, I wasn't going to use a degenerate shotgun (as I saw it back then). So I got a Thompson Center Renegade kit in 54 caliber.

 

[rabjr]

A guy in a long hooded flowing robe with boney hands and carring a Scythe. Didn't talk much.... :wink:

 

[ebiggs1]

No light saber?

 

[rabjr]

No, just a Scythe.

 

[David W.]

What brought me to the dark side? Only the shadow knows!

 

[luieb45]

Well, I have always researched local history a lot and the civil and revolutionary war and that type of stuff so I would dream of using muzzleloaders then I started researching how one works and found the forum and it went from there. But what I also believe got me started is when I was a little kid and went on vacation to Colonial Williamsburg and got a toy kentucky rifle with a working lock(no nipple just flat steel plate). So that's why I ended up with a real kentucky rifle. Also to make shooting that toy gun more realistic when I was a little kid I would put those little tiny fireworks that you throw on the ground and go "snap" I would put those on the metal piece that the hammer of my toy gun rested on and would shoot those making a pop noise. Now I am just getting into flintlocks.