ORIGINAL: Doegirl75
I guess I'll be the in-line advocate here. If you've accepted the challenge of using a flintlock and are willing to abide by it's limitations, great. May you never see the bottom of you freezer
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What I don't understand, though, is the thinking that using an inline is somehow cheating. Lazy, some of you call it. I spent I don't know how many hours I spent on the range trying to develop loads for my gun. I practice at least once a week to keep my shooting skills sharp. I swab in between shots, and the gun gets cleaned after each and every stinkin' shooting session. I honestly don't see the "easy" part.
It makes me wonder how many in Pennsylvania pick up a flintlock like 2 weeks before the late season, figure out how to get it spark and go boom, a couple more shots at a pie plate 50 yds and away they go... But, they're "Real Hunters" and not those cheater in-liners...[&o]
Doegirl, what you say is very reasonable.
The real handicap is having to put a powder charge and bullet in from the front end, whether flinter or inline. I have used both sidelocks and inlines, and believe me, a well-tuned flintlock causes no handicaps or hardships at all. They can be loaded and fired as fast as an inline, and have just as long an effective range if one uses a big bore rifle that will carry a lot of momentum downrange, knows the trajectory of their rifle, and can estimate ranges accurately!
Granted, really wet weather does cause more of a challenge, but it is possible to keep the powder dry! Just use a cow's knee or put plastic wrap around the lock section and muzzle of the gun.......