dburns51

I am just getting into ml.
For 30 years I hunted with strictly centerfire rifles and wanted more of a challenge. I started hunting with traditional bows and wood arrows. I total enjoy bow hunting and will continue to do so. When the cold Nov. weather hits the arthur in my hands makes it hard for me to shoot my beloved bows. So not wanting to go back to the centerfires I am giving inline mlers a try.

Semisane

Thanks for the compliment Breechplug. If I took a shot at a book I'd have to come up with a title. "Sanity Is For Wimps" seems too obvious, and "The Road To Semisaneville" too cute. How about "They Call Me Semisane"?

Well, I'm all packed up and heading for the hunting lease for the last weekend of deer season. It's raining like the devil right now, but I'm going anyway. See you guys Sunday night.

Breechplug

Good Luck Semi! Anyone of them titles would certainly draw attention.
(BP)

Buck Hunter 1

I lost about 35 years of ML shooting time listening to people who were just plain lazy in their ideas of ML'ing. They still laugh at me and make remarks about time and work in shooting them. I was at an auction and had my hand up before i knew it and bought an old Traditions Bolt action Hunter?. Had no ideas how to shoot, clean aim etc. that gun. Got fixed up ata big box store by an old timer laughing at me spending money and asking stupid questions. First year I shot a buck w/ it have not hunted w/ a centerfire in 2 years. I now shoot flint and inline and am loving it. This site and reading these posts just cranks me up more.

Big Z

I picked up hunting after my dad signed me up for a hunter ed class. I was interested in it all, and always looked forward to getting my Outdoor Life or Field and Stream magazines in the mail. I read them cover to cover in no time at all, and hunting dominated the TV. It was media that pushed me towards muzzleloading--got my Omega for Christmas in '05. I've learned a lot since then and really enjoy helping friends with any of their guns. Reloading, archery, and minor gunsmithing have all become hobbies of mine. Hoping for a sidelock for my next gun.

littlekid

The history, the process involved, the SMOKE and smell, the dirty hands from shooting and cleaning, and (of course) the satisfaction when a patched ball hits where you want it to. The 'dirty hands' occur more with my .44 Old Navy Colt revolver.

gearheart

Davey Crockett Daniel Boone and Hawkeye on the TV when I was a kid got me primed. Firecrackers too. I love the smell of Goex in the morning because of that. I've done skeet with a 20 GA side by side. What a blast that was. You need a spotter to tell if you hit or not. A friend loaned me his 54 Renegade for BP season and even though I never shot at a deer that time I knew I had to have one. I have only 2 ml rifles, a 54 TC Hawken and a 50 TC White mtn. with GM lrh barrel. I need to get a rock sparker but I'm a lefty so I'm looking at a southpaw kit from Track of the wolf. A 36 cal squirrel rifle would be perfect.

falcon

Got back into muzzleloading in about 1999. Since then, 90 percent of my hog kills and nearly all of my deer kills have been with a muzzleloader. My muzzleloaders are accurate enough to take deer and hogs out to 150 yards or further. However, unless conditions are idea, my shots are limited to 100 yards. i like the concentration that comes from knowing that you have one shot.

IMO: A .50 muzzleloader kills hogs better than most centerfire guns.

Steve F.in MD

I started about 30 years ago with a cheap Italian made sidelock, just to extend my deer hunting opportunities. Now, countless muzzleloaders later, I have narrowed it down to four, but I am always on the prowl for more.

wabi

They make me a better shot!
I started shooting/hunting at an early age. My first guns were an old single shot .22 and a single shot 20ga. I did pretty good with those guns. In my teens I switched to repeaters (a bolt action .222 and an autoloading 20ga, and I noticed my shots per game bagged was not as good a ratio anymore (especially with the autoloader). It wasn't the guns, they were accurate. It had to be my mental approach - oh well, if I miss the first shot I'll have a second.
In my early twenties I got into muzzleloaders. It's been a love affair ever since that first squirrel hunt with a .36 T/C Seneca. Nothing comes close to providing the level of personal satisfaction of taking game with a muzzleloader using bullets (or balls) I cast myself, using accessories I made myself, and taking the time to make sure that first shot does the job.