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Old 07-07-2007, 01:12 PM
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crooksight
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Default RE: Can anyone explain muzzleloaders to me?

Dear brother , i have most likely forgotton more about MZ loading then i care to admit do to age and spunk. back when i got serious around the early 1970's muzzleloading was mainly a hobby of those wanting to connect with the past. a long rifle or plains rifle wascharged with a measure of ffg or fffg followed by a greased piece of pillow ticking, then a round ball , started down the barrel, cut flush with patch knife to the muz, then ramed home, then the ignition charged or capped. sounds like a lenghty process, but with practice can be prudently done. yes it was a smelly, messy cleanup. Today muzzleloading has changed to meet the market place to take advantage of all the conveniant short cuts todays muzzleloader wants.... thats not to say it's bad, just good marketing. we as hunters see a multitude of choices available if we have the cash to fork over. i was lucky enough to experiance the nationals at friendship in the early 1980's,took 1 first place at the tennessee state championship,even had my name misspelled in the NMLRA magazine once, took a few trophies in PA.& tn.those were the days of fixed sights...... that was then, now i welcome the optics,the sabots,pyrodex & 209 primers that will make your piece bark instead of click like the old #11 caps in wet weather. ...i'd say shop around, get good advise at the store leval. as long as you get one that fits your needs. i personally shoot a .45cal encore w/ an old weatherby 3-9 scope i bought off ebay.there are many good pieces out there that are much cheaper.i justify the encore because i canuse other barrels.did i sayi lovethe 209 primer,lol. get you a piecethats easy to clean (removeable breechplug)and work up a loaduntil you are confident you know what it will do at any given range. speedloaders help save time in the woods and are cheaper than the pellets. ...hope i haven't rambled too much and have shed some light for you *
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