What do you see as the future for Traditional Muzzleloading

[akapennypincher]

As many who participate in the Sport, Hobby, Crafts, etc. associated with TRADITIONAL Muzzleloading hit 60, 70, and 70+++. What do you personally see in the future for the hobby. I ask this question as over this pat weekend I went out to the shooting range, and unlike in the past on weekends it was not on a WAIT LIST Mode.

 

I think that anything that shoots something other than BS will be illegal for law abiding citizens to own shortly after Sen. Obama is corinated King.

 

[tg]

The true traditional hunters/shooters will survive but will likely become a progresivly smaller percentage of the ML community, before long I think someone will delevope a carteidge that can be loade from the front and ejected from the rear but not loaded from the rear, and as the saying goes "if it loads from the front"
This may cause a major shift in thought in the ML world as it may finaly become obvious what has been hapening to the sport for many years.

 

[roundball]

I think it will continue to dwindle away next to nothing and the reasons I think that are:

There's no big "draw" for it like "primitive hunting seasons" as they've been over run;

The era of big screen westerns and pioneer type movies has passed by and no longer have a following so that "draw" is gone;

There are less places to shoot every year;

There are less places to hunt every year;

There are almost no places that carry the equipment that people can walk in and see, handle, etc;

There are less knowledgable people to pass on the knowledge;

Not trying to be gloom and doom, just honest.

 

[bwhoffman]

I dislike change. a lot of it anyways.

 

[Homesteader]

It's an odd thing to realize you're a dinosaur, isn't it? I've had that experience in many areas of my life: Muzzleloading, for sure. Judo was once very popular, but has been mostly replaced by flashier (and less effective) karate. (Styles you can get belted in in 18 months!) I'm a Ham radio operator, and that's definitely fading away. Much of my business is still done by handshake, and until a few years ago I was literally debt free. People look at me as if I were from Mars when I mention that.

Oh, and then there are the really odd things, like a belief in personal liberty, responsibility, limited government, self-sufficiency, honesty... I guess they're all as passe as front-stuffers, huh? :shake:

 

[BrownBear]

Grim. Lots of bald heads and white hair running around in this crowd and darned few youngsters. I encouraged a youngser I know to start reading this site and a couple of others, and he did for a while.

Then he quit, saying: "All those guys do is argue. No one can do anything right, so where's a newcomer to go without getting chewed out for doing something wrong?"

 

[Zonie]

It's sad to think that our site actually drove away a potential newcomer.
We often don't realize how bad some people look when they get into their "heated discussions".

Makes me wonder how many other potential newcomers we've lost.

 

[outdoorman]

I guess I can see where the youngster might have been coming from. But, to read some of the "disagreements", one must understand that what works for one may not for the other.

It's kind of like two guns of the same kind shooting best with two different sized loads.

Outdoorman

 

[RJR]

I don't know guys. I see a pretty steady future for our hobby/sport. In the past year, we've added 10 "new to muzzleloading" people to our muzzleloading club, mid to late 30s and early 40s. Some single women too. Seems most folks get interested in muzzleloading after they get tired of all the bang/bang/bang of the other shooting sports. They come to us when they decide they want something more laid back and relaxing. I've been in muzzleloading off and on since 1975 and seems most shooters were always in their 40s on up, rarely many younger. I believe it will continue with steady numbers, sometimes a few more - sometimes a few less.

Rick

 

[hatchetjack]

I would have to agree with everything Roundball said. He pretty much hit the nail on the head. I would like to add that young people think that the new ones we don't talk about here, are what is needed to be able to hunt deer, with any success. They think these new fangled ones are corvettes, and the traditional style muzzleloaders are Model T's. An example of this; three years ago on a bonus season hunt, the owner of my company offered me a chance to hunt on his private timber. His son, son -inlaw and a young friend thought I was half a bubble off plumb when I pulled out my LGP 50 and loaded up a patched roundball. Everybody in our 7 man group offered me an extra shotgun or a in-line to use because they didn't think the LGP could do the job especially the young 20 year olds. Needless to say not only did I get a deer I am the only one who did. They shot and non of them hit one, needless to say I was never invited again.

 

:hmm: I called the President Of the National Muzzleloading Rifle Association and made the suggestion that the members send a gift membership to our troops in Iraq. Then I sent a gift membership to a soldier who I know through his mother who works where I bank. Hopful that at least one young man will become interested in BP. The suggestion to the NMLRA went no where. :shake:

 

[tg]

"Grim. Lots of bald heads and white hair running around in this crowd and darned few youngsters."

I beg your pardon, the hair is platinum blond

 

[outdoorman]

Well, that doesn't surprise me that you weren't invited back.

Whenever someone who knows everything is proven wrong, the person who showed them up is blackballed.

But I do like to see the mighty brought down! Serves them right for not believing.

Outdoorman

 

[Walks Alone]

It's sad to think that our site actually drove away a potential newcomer.
We often don't realize how bad some people look when they get into their "heated discussions".

Makes me wonder how many other potential newcomers we've lost.

I clue might be how many folks are actually active on these forums daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly when just the other day someone cheered that the forums had reached 13,000 registered users. Gives a false impression of actual useage. A quick looksee at the members list shows hoards who have joined but never posted at all, posted a few times before disappearing, maybe even quite a few times but yet haven't been active for years. Doesn't mean they were all "driven" away, but its a sure bet some where.

 

[Stumpkiller]

It's doing a lot better now than when I started in the late 70's. Much more information easily available. Scads of custom gunsmiths. Lots of materials and quality components. Cabela's doesn't sell many traditional style? So? Who had Cabela's in 1975? :rotf:

Seems like there are a lot more folks involved with the traditional aspects.

'Course, there are several factors of scale more non-traditional shooters of modern muzzleloaders that tend to wash over us.

As far as newbies? I'm trying to think of any interest I ever tried to get involved with that I didn't take some lumps. We're getting too thin skinned as a society.

Pain and suffering makes man think. Thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable.

 

[WV MZL HUNTER]

As a NRA member I believe you are correct. :shake:
:shake:

 

[rigwelder]

as a brand new member, and fairly young being 27, i think the biggest problem is that muzzleloaders are not fashionable. the majority of people i know, who hunt, are of the mind that what you need is a long range rifle. they dont see the fun and challenge in trying to sneak up on an animal to make your one shot count. that being said, ive never managed to kill anything, yet. for my part, what got me interested in bp was the movie The Mountain Men. thats why ill take my LGP .50 over any inline outhere. i guess its the "romance" of it, if you want to call it that. as far as your arguments running people off...please, the offroad forums i usually frequent make you guys look tame. like someone else said, people are just too thin skinned.

anyways, love the forum. lots of good info on here, especially for a newb like me.

 

[bingo1952]

My personal view is that it will follow approximately the same path that traditional archery has. The folks who either build their own bows or buys a modern glass recurve or long bow are probably 10% of the the archery community and I would guess we are about the same. There will always be a hardcore group who refuse to shoot anything but a side lock or under-hammer of some sort. People will drift in; get bored and drift out but there is always the person that falls in love with it and sticks around.

 

[kevthebassman]

I don't think traditional muzzleloading will ever die. Sure, it might not be fashionable right now, but when a lot of the current members got into it, we had Jeremiah Johnson on the silver screen, etc. That got a lot of guys started, true, but the sport still had appeal.

I'm only 22 myself, and skipped over inlines entirely, had a caplock for a while then went to a flinter soon after. I'm thoroughly hooked. Flinters have a certain magic that you just can't get with a suppository rifle or an inline.

I imagine that as the years roll on, muzzleloading will wax and wane with the times, but it will always be there, lurking, waiting for a big blockbuster movie or a change in hunting regulations. Heck, look at SASS. How many folks do you think were out shooting their single action pistols and coach and lever guns for fun before SASS came along?