I used to hunt with a muzzleloader because of the additional challenge and a sense of "doing it the old way". Now Ionly hunt with a muzzleloader because I enjoy it. Like Cayugad, harvesting an animal isn't much of a priority for me these days. But I truly enjoyshooting the rifles year around (in good weather and when IFEEL like it, Cdad ).

The "take two pellets and a PowerBelt" mentality upset me a little at the onset, as did the marketing hype and packaged product that made shooting a muzzleloader seem as simple as buying a .270 and a couple of boxes of shells - but the resultant influx of newborn muzzleloader hunters has produced a certain percentage of newer users that want to know more, that love to experiment, that have come to appreciate some ofthe challenges, and that fill these forums withtheir own good input and advice. The opportunists will fall by the way as they lose interest. Where I used to see no oneelse in the hunting woods during muzzleloader season, I will now occasionally encounter another hunter - and that encounter is always friendly.