whats your favorite part of muzzleloading, what keeps you hooked?

[ETipp]

Hunting. Squirrel hunting to be specific. For this ole boy, nothing tops squirrel hunting with a small caliber traditional muzzleloader. It’s a true test of patience, hunter skills, marksmanship, woodsman ship with a little luck thrown in.

 

[Tim_IA]

I have no idea why I enjoy it so much, but I do. Flintlocks are my passion, but I enjoy percussion guns as well, even though they feel so modern.

So much enjoyment, so little time!

 

[Daryl Crawford]

Hunting with muzzleloaders is fun. It takes a bit more from the hunter. I also enjoy shooting them more than modern arms. It is more relaxing and process oriented. I appreciate the history of the late 18th Century.

 

[Hermit Tim]

Memories. Every item I fool with brings back memories of great times, old friends and family events from the last 65 years. Hunts, shoots, fixing stuff in someone's shop, trips to Dixie Gunworks, driving to Friendship, meals, even arguments of long ago come back as I look at and fool with different items. It's a part of my life no one can take away, so, kinda like petting an old hound dog, muzzle loading's real pleasant and don't hurt nobody.

Good points.

 

[Hermit Tim]

I had been hunting all my life but didn't start deer hunting until I was about you

I went hunting for the first time last year and it was a blast started later than most as I was 25 but it is something i think I will do every year now

Been hunting all my life but, like you, I was about 25 for my first deer hunt. There just weren't any deer in the family farm so it was squirrel, rabbit, and quail. For years I hunted with either traditional muzzloaders or single shot/lever action rifles after I started going for deer when I bought my own place in another county. 2017 I decided to go black powder only and haven't looked back. Now I've got a small collection of BP rifles, shotguns, and pistols to cover all my hunting needs. Always room to add another one or two when I can though. BP is just much more satisfying to me.

 

[Eutycus]

Memories. Some years ago we had a shooting event and everyone had AR15s except me.I had the one and only muzzleloader there. My granddaughter was happy to tell everyone "that's my grandpa".

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

Pulling the trigger.
Talking KY history to anyone that will listen.

 

[waksupi]

Most of our group are back country mountain people, very few city folks. They are the only group I can be around and feel comfortable. I've been to rendezvous around cities, I won't go back. They are too noisy and show offs. They only start to become decent people after 4-5 days in camp, after they drop their BS.

 

[BigAl52]

Im not a hunter but I enjoy the camaraderie with fellow shooters that also enjoy shooting muzzleloaders. I like both Flint and Caplock. I also like the fact that I dont need to fill out no form for some gun grabber to know I just bought another gun. I dont but can make my own patches and balls. Its all fun and as long as I have powder rocks and caps Im good to go. Plus I have videos I can watch from the @B P Maniac Shooter I can watch on Sunday that make me wanna shoot more

 

[SciAggie]

I love the guns. Walnut or curly maple, rust blue/brown steel, engraving, wire inlay - works of art and the furthest thing from most modern firearms.
I like the intimacy between the shooter and the gun - how closely we are connected - each shot carefully loaded.
I like the nostalgia and the link to the past. I like that they are as effective at hunting and taking game now as they ever were.

 

[oldwood]

What keeps me shooting m/loaders? My dear old Dad put a gun in my hands at six yrs. of age. He taught me how to cast the lead bullets for the old 32-20 , since there was no ammo for it. That was hard times in the coal regions , but we kept shootin'. By 1972 , modern guns became somewhat boring from shooting much competition . Started restoring original m/l'ers folks had laying around , and finally built some BBess kits for a local fort. By 1974 , I bought a Getz 44" "C" wt. .50 barrel , and a precarved , and inlet maple stock for the new barrel. My new friend Fred inlet the barrel , and drilled the R/R hole. I was off and running , more competition , but quickly made new friends at shoots. The folks shooting m/l'ers were different in that they were people you keep as life long friends. That's how it was , I have no regrets.........oldwood

 

[Splitear]

I love all of the rabbit holes you can fall down. There is no way to learn it all, and each new experience unlocks a new avenue to explore.

I also enjoy the process involved in shooting. In life I’m pulled a million different directions. When I’m shooting (and even cleaning) I’m able to focus on the process and tune the rest out. It truly is a meditative state.

 

[bpd303]

Restoring old guns to bring back their bark and every time I shoot one of my flintlocks, it's as if my grandfather was right there with me with his 36 caliber original Ohio Vincent flintlock he taught me to shoot with so many years ago.

 

[Cowboy]

The journey!

Total hands on every aspect in building each and every shot you send down , wether hunting, range time, or competition.

Learning and improving along the way. Gaining experience and enjoying the fruits of your personal growth.

Historical aspect of whatever you’re into related to black powder shooting.

Lastly, the friends you meet and the sharing with each other along the way.

Your Journey.

Respectfully, Cowboy

 

[Tony Rothrock]

Of course there is the history. I also enjoy the hands on experience - making the stuff yourself, from propellent, to projectile, to the weapon itself. Then if the "Stuff" ever really did hit the fan in a bad way, conventional weaponry will eventually run very short or out of supplies. With a flintlock, I can make most everything I need to make it go boom.

 

[Kicking&Screaming]

Most of our group are back country mountain people, very few city folks. They are the only group I can be around and feel comfortable. I've been to rendezvous around cities, I won't go back. They are too noisy and show offs. They only start to become decent people after 4-5 days in camp, after they drop their BS.

Yup

 

[No Answers]

Trail walks: each unique target presents a challenge to see if I can make it clang.
I always show up early before the shoot and stay for chili to visit.
Club shoots and rendezvous provide opportunity to escape modern living for awhile, but I don't have to stay there for my entire life.

 

[JimFlint]

I stay involved for the tradition and joy of shooting black power in any form. Over the years I have met so many awesome people at shoots, all willing to help the newbie that I was. In New Hampshire, Lou Adabahr watched me shooting and thought "this guys needs help". I would shoot what I thought was a good score and he would tear up the target in front of me and say "you can do better". Lou was a great mentor for me and I appreciated all his help. Great times at weekend shoots all over New England, mostly in the late 70's to mid 80's. I started with a CVA kit when that was all I could afford, and that worked for me. I purchased a cheap Navy Colt replica that frustrated the hell out of me until I was able to afford a Ruger Old Army and a single shot inline 10 Ring from San Antonio ,TX. As shoots hopefully start coming back now that we are allowed to gather socially again, I look forward to attending and participating. I guess it's the people you meet and the discipline it takes to do black powder shooting well that keeps me involved. When you are at the line, it's only you who finds the 10 ring or throws one on the edge of the paper. Oh, and I love the smell of black powder in the morning!

 

[Rebel bull]

for me it's the comradery of a shoot. before I retired I was shooting in excess of 1,000 rounds a year, now I live on the family farm and can shoot out to over a 1/2 mile any time I want and don't shoot even 20 rounds a month other then our monthly shoot (350 miles away 1 way) unless I'm working on a gun for someone

 

[oreclan]

The history of it. Seeing how simply made mechanisms such as flint or caplocks can function so well and yield outstanding accuracy never ceases to amaze me. Even shooting my most basic and simple handgonne takes me back in time. Just imagine the sheer astonishment and fear of the people who were destined to be the first on the receiving end of those gonnes. Unbelievable.

I agree. The idea that my ancestors used these flintlock muzzleloaders to survive on the frontier. They defended their family, friends ,and homes with these weapons and used them as a tool to help feed their families.
At least five of them fought in the American Revolution with their rifles and muskets against the British military.
Two of my uncles were killed by Indians on the Ohio River in two different situations ,but their families continued on to settle the land. Without black powder flintlock muzzleloaders it wouldn't have been possible.