What do you see as the future for Traditional Muzzleloading

[mykeal]

"...My own personal experience and view is so opposite roundball's that I hardly know where to begin..."

This thread was started with a request for opinions on the subject...I posted my opinion.

The thread does not ask for you to comment on whether you agree with my opinion, and to be honest the tone of it seems particularly pointed...

So, people should just keep their mouths shut lest you perceive disagreement with your opinion? I'm terribly sorry for offending your sensibilities - unlike you, that was not my intention, regardless of your perception.

 

Claude,

I have an 11 yr. old stepgrandson. I took him out with me shooting after he saw my guns and just sat with me one evening while I did a "LIKE IT OR NOT" scheduled cleaning of them. Peppered me with questions. I let him shoot the .32 squirrel rifle. Now when I get the chance to go shooting I call his mom and off me him and his dad goes. When I pass the .32 will go to him and the .50s will go to his dad. They both love them my stepson will be getting a kit gun "hope it's a GPR" and we will put it together...together. I think the sport will survive because so many of you gents out there can tell a similar story. :thumbsup: As far as heated debates go If I ever had someone jump my back that would be the last time I ever post. I might read the posts but involve myself....NOPE. I suspect that may be what others do.

Jay

 

[Chasam2345]

I agree with tg 100%, look at the dreaded inline "muzzleloader", it is so much closer to a high power rifle than a muzzleloader

This is the perfect example of what the "Anti's" love to hear. No MZ comes even close to a centerfire in range or ballistics. Look at the ballistics on Hornadys shotgun slugs.2000 fps with a 300 gr bullet. How much BP will you have to load to equal that? Can not be done. A MZ will not even match up with a Modern Shotgun let alone a centerfire. Not even the Savage 10ML will compare to a 30/06 at 2750 fps,and smokless powder in a front stuffer is just wrong.
Please refrain from feeding those who would destroy our sport by perpetuating this myth.

 

[Claude Mathis]

As far as heated debates go If I ever had someone jump my back that would be the last time I ever post. I might read the posts but involve myself....NOPE. I suspect that may be what others do.

This is starting to get off the subject (future of the sport) and lean toward conduct on the Forum, but I'll address it.

It would be unfortunate for someone to discontinue their participation here due to only one incident.

Everyone has their own tolerance for what I call "perceived conflict". I call it that because some folks think there's a conflict just because someone doesn't agree with them. You see this mostly in young people and immature adults.

There are those who can engage in a long running, heated debate and those who cannot handle the slightest disagreement. What I have tried to do on the Forum is allow people to express their opinions, to the extent that they are not personally abusive to others. What I cannot do is shelter people from disagreement or disappointment.

Let's get back on topic and if anyone wants to continue discussing member conduct, please post in "Using the Forum".

 

[laufer]

my 8yr old son is in the game, so I'll have fun as long as i can handle it. my old gpr is his 'new' rifle now and we have a lot of fun.
trying to convince a friend, soon he'll be hooked on too. one by one.

 

[roundball]

I've gotten two hunters converted from mod-lines to Flintlocks...one killed his first buck (7 ptr) last year, and as good a hunter as the other one also is he should get his first this fall...

 

[tg]

"
I can see a newcomer being a little turned off by some straight, no nonsense advice, but generally, I think newcomers are treated very well here"

I would agree Claude the problem starts when members of the forum get involved in their own opinions and somewhat heated excganges and leave the newcommer who started the thread on the sideline, I know I have been guilty of this myself, it is difficult to hold back and try to present a polite, controlled position on a topic at times when the other side (according to ones own thoughts) is so far out in left field that one has concerns about the newcommer being served a heaping helping of BS.

 

[Mountainman56]

Personally I have never owned an inline, I have never shot an inline and I have never even held an inline. I started blackpowder around 1975 and I don't believe there were any inlines then. In all honesty I believe it was the "looks" of the rifle pure and simple that first attracted me to it. I believe that still holds true today. There is something classic about a traditional percussion rifle and perhaps even more so with a flintlock. I have a friend who has a rifle and handgun collection that will make nearly anyone envious and he is adamant about his disdain for my front stuffing rifles. Don't get me wrong, he is impressed with what they can do, they just ain't his cup-o-tea......that was until I told him I was building a flintlock and surprisingly THAT got his interest. You can bet he will be getting a chance to shoot it when it's finished.

I believe there are enough people, like us, who are more interested in HOW they harvest their game rather than in HOW MANY they harvest to keep traditional muzzleloading alive. When I think about it there are many, many more people shooting tradition muzzleloaders than there were when I started and I think there will always be someone, like us, who is intrigued with the "old ways". Not too many though, cause then we wouldn't stand out in the crowd.

:2

 

[Chasam2345]

My 10yr old grandson had his birthday party at a local archery range. I saw a number of stick bows for sale. the old ways never die out completely.If new things did not take over,we would still be hunting with clubs. We should not be so narrow minded as to put down others interests Your friend might wind up with a flinter in his collection All the better for him

 

[PaulN/KS]

The shooting sports have been fading for quite some time and, as the country gets more urban and the ranges get less available it will decline even further. Not what we want to see but it is happening...
Traditional muzzleloading is a small segment of the shooting sports. Some of us shoot them for fun, hunting in a historical manner or as re-enactors. We should promote traditional muzzleloading as best we can for as long as we can...
Be nice and show them how much fun we have. I'll keep doing it as long as I can and I hope my daughter will be able to enjoy it as well...

 

[kevthebassman]

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 don't buy it. If they were interested at any level, they would ignore the politics and dwell only in the practical discussions about the sport. Case in point, I love sailing and traditional sailboats and dislike "go fast" boats and Jetskies intensely. I naturally gravitated to a wooden boat forum similar to this where most of the regular posters are dyed in the wool communists. I decided that I like the nautical discussions regardless of the politics of whomever posted them and restrict myself to that content and never get involved in political discussions there. (It is pointless trying to argue with a committed communist, never mind a hoard of them). It is not really reasonable to conclude that I would give up my interest in that sport or this one simply because there were people on a website making posts I did not agree with.

Spot on. When some of our members get into their weekly pissing contests, I simply scroll right over the posts, find the information I'm interested in, and move on.

Besides, the arguments on this forum don't hold a candle to what goes down on some of the car forums I read. Those guys are very passionate and very opinionated.

 

[nchawkeye]

I wish you guys could see the look in the eyes of the kids that I talk with at school...For about 25 years I have taken my flintlocks to public schools in the area and given a lecture on the develpement of black powder and how guns originated...I hit on the Lost Colony and Jamestown and how Jamestown almost failed because the settlers didn't know how to live off the land and didn't have the proper equipment....

I show how to make fire with flint and steel, take them through the development of the matchlock and then show them a flintlock and associate this with the flint and steel...I then load up the pan of the lock in my hand and show them how it works...We then go through the settlement of Central NC and hit on Kings Mountain, Cowpens and the Battle of Guilford Courthouse...Finally, we go outside and I show them how to load and shoot a flintlock...

A few years ago, we had a Senior make a flintlock as his Senior project...He had been in one of my earlier classes...

I think as long as we present and educate the public on the historical aspects of muzzleloading then we have a good chance to have a strong following for years to come...

If we are selfish and don't share our passion and experience with others, it will die a slow death...

 

[Claude Mathis]

I think as long as we present and educate the public on the historical aspects of muzzleloading then we have a good chance to have a strong following for years to come...

I agree. It's the history and heritage that will keep this alive, not the attraction of an additional hunting season.

 

[boomer56]

I enter this discussion only to echo parts of earlier posts that seem to bear repeating. I entered muzzloading with an inline to extend my season, and ended up at age 22 shooting on the single shot range with a bunch of graybeards using sidelocks. It didn't take them long to convert me, and I've never looked back. Although I will say, as a noob I found the inline easier to use (if very ugly) and I struggled to get decent performance out of my GPR until I found this forum. You guys are an unparalleled resource for a new shooter and are gonna help put some prb venison in my freezer this year. :v

So I guess to sum up: Online shooters can be turned from the dark side, younger guys can (and I have to believe do) get great information from this site, and there are certainly some of us out there who hopefully have decades of frontloading ahead of us.

 

[tr07416]

Truth is I really can't do much to save our sport.
Truth is I can't really do much to save anything.
Truth is I can't really get anybody to do anything they don't want to do anyway.
Truth is I mostly only want to do what I want to do and really don't give a flip what other people want to do anyway.

Before I leave the range I always ask if anybody wants to shoot a flinter and some inliner or shotgunner or 22er always does. They always
compliment my guns and walk away saying something
like "cool." That makes me feel good.
TR

 

[flashpanner]

I am involved with a group of participants that do a living history day twice a year. I get alot of interested people asking how to get involved or where to go to get info. I refer them to this forum as well as publications, and web sites. Some people have returned with a sparked interest.

 

[mr.fudd]

I actually think that traditional muzzleloading has a brighter future than modern muzzleloading. It has history on it's side and when you get right down to it a traditional muzzleloader can be just as accurate and powerful as it's modern counterparts. When you want to get a flavor of the revolution or the frontier, you're not going to get it with a Knight. For that you've got to get a traditional ML. There are plenty of history buffs and shooters out there and they will guarantee at least some interest in traditional ML's for the foreseeable future. As game departments tighten up their rules and hunting continues to decline however, I don't see modern muzzleloading getting any bigger than it already is.

I don't see the same thing happening with compound bows though. Unlike the inline rifle, a modern compound bow really is a significant improvement over a traditional bow. They also fill a real niche that modern muzzleloaders don't. A bow is both an effective and a quiet way to hunt. That means it can be used in areas where no gun could be.

 

[temple]

i have been in the sport of reenacting pretty much since birth. i'm what most of you would call a youngen in age. but let me tell you there in no firearm that I own more treasured than my brown bess. my parents gave it to me for my 18th birthday. i have shot many muzzleloaders, modern rifles, pistols, machine guns and so forth in my short life, but nothing will ever compare to the thrill i get just holding that bess. they can have all my other guns and even the knives i've made, but they would have to pry that bess from my cold dead hands. i love muzzleloading i hope to someday pass it on to my children( if i have any). i think i can definetively speak for myself and my friends in saying that as long we are breathing muzzleloading will be around.

 

[Chasam2345]

[

I don't see the same thing happening with compound bows though. Unlike the inline rifle, a modern compound bow really is a significant improvement over a traditional bow. They also fill a real niche that modern muzzleloaders don't. A bow is both an effective and a quiet way to hunt. That means it can be used in areas where no gun could be.[/quote]

i agree 100% Drop a green Mountain barrel in a TC Hawken and it will shoot the same as an inline. There is a movement however back to traditional bows that is gaining momentem much the same as traditional muzzleloading has.The old ways will never die out. I will not however take up spear hunting,but there are some out there that want to.

 

[Chasam2345]

Be glad you live in NC not NY. If you showed up near a school here they would lock down the school and call a SWAT team.

Good work with the kids keep it up