For what it's worth, I agree 100%...I've never seenthe inline rifle itself as the major issue, and have actually made the occasional post that since the hunter has made the $$ investment, at least let the rifle itself be used.

My opinion (and I believe that of most others) hasbeen centered around all the items ofmodern advantage that are 99.999% of the time associated with inlines, thatprovide long range and/or performance enhancements.

Scopesare themost obviousone of course, followed by other things not normally available back in those days such as hot 209 primer ignition, sabot/jacketed bullets, smokeless powder, etc, all of which push a rifle into the edge ofcenterfire type performance.

But I agreethe rifles themselves should be allowedin if used with components typical of those used back in those days like patched balls, conicals, #11 caps, flints, etc.

And like you said, once the scope is taken out of the equationa 1:48" sidelock is a pretty darn accurate rifle...I think the scopedictates the type of hunting...with a scope we're prone to sit over crop fields, powerlines, etc...without a scope, we're usuallyinto the woods where shots are usually 25-75 yards...so an open sighted side lock is fine.