I find it interesting that so many seem to think that the ignition design of a muzzleloader makes such a huge difference in the range cappabilities of the gun. The fact is that the sighting system and bullet has more to do with it than the ignition system and the shooter has even more to do with it than either.

When you put the range differencesinto mathmatical terms for the different hunting methods (CF rifle, Muzzleloader and Archery) the spread of muzzleloader cappabilities shows there really isn't that much, if any, more advantage than exists within the other hunting systems. Here are some figures to consider based on some common CF rifles that represent their range differences. Also, some muzzleloader loads that represent round ball and high speed sabot loads that would represent the spread of somewhat common loads and a couple of the extream loads out there. And finally a comparison of a fast bow and a slower bow that compare the spread there.

To keep the comparisons Apples to Apples I used a 6 inch point blank range for all the gun loads and total drop at 50 yards using the same arrow for the archery comparisons.

Load Bullet Weight Speed6" PBR
30-30 Win 1702200 206
300 R U-mag 1802960 289
7mm Mag175 3000297
300 W Mag1803250 312
7mm Mag140 3350 330

.490 RB180 1670 129
285 Barnes2851780 171
200 SW2002100 198
Savage 200SW 200 2400226
Ultimate2752300 220

Bow typeArrow WeightSpeed 50yd drop
Stick 600 200 -118
Compound 600 300 -52

Now I realize that there are faster and slower loads within each of these catagories but these showa range that can be considered to be representative of each group.

The range break down expressed in percentage difference is as follows.

CF 30-30 to WM30-30 to 7mm175 30-30 to UM 30-30 to 7mm140
40% 44% 51%60%

MLRB to 200SW RB to Barnes RB to Ultimate RB to Savage
53% 32% 70% 75%

BowStick to Compound
127%

By far the greatest spread in range is in the Archery world. When comparing normal inline and traditional muzzleloaders the spread is still within the percentage of CF spreads.When the Savage and Ultimate are included it does exceed the CF a bit but still doesn't come close to the differences seen in the Archery spreads.

Then again, none of this means much if the sighting system is the same for whatever your using. At that point it's the guy pulling the trigger that determines how well things go, not the cosmetics of the gun.

I shoot and hunt with both types of muzzleloaders and find that with similar loads I see only minor differences in the accuracy of my trads vs my inlines unless I use iron sights vs scopes. When using my GPH and a peep there is almost no difference until I'm out around 150 to 200 yards, I still can hit the kill zone just not quite as tight a group.

That's my 2 cents.