I started muzzleloading back in the 70s...I do own an inline, but I haven't even loaded it the past 2 seasons...I use my flintlocks...When I started inlines weren't around, they were developed for the guys that didn't want to learn to use a side hammer...

Muzzleloading seasons came about because of the lobbying efforts of the NMLRA, back in the 60s...

I have always loved American History, so I guess that's my reason for sticking with my flintlocks...As most deer in the US are killed within 100 yards, I just don't see any real challenge with my Knight Disc with a 3x9 Leupold scope on it...Not much difference than using my bolt action rifle with a Leupold...

Muzzleloader barrels aren't made to withstand the higher pressures of smokeless powders...I have seen this explained and it had to do with the fact that the cartridge guns have a closed breech with the cartridge case expanding to divert the gasses toward the end of the barrel...With muzzleloaders, the powder is poured directly down the barrel, so the breech sees the same pressure as the back of the projectile...

Another point...When muzzleloaders were introduced tbe barrels were made of iron, not steel, the Bessemer furnace wasn't invented until the mid 1800s...Only then was steel produced in mass quantities...Remember steel is iron that has carbon mixed in, to make it stronger....

So with black powder, the iron barrels were strong enough to contain the pressure of the powder...With steel barrels, better powder was developed and the stronger steel helped contain the higher pressure of smoke less powder...

Make sense???