One thing missing in this thread is the effectiveness of any of these " primitive" weapons at taking more game. Do people really kill more animals just because they have an in-line vs. a sidelock? For the last 2 years in Colorado the DOW has released more and more cow tags because the hunters haven' t been successful in bringing the herds down to a level that they feel is manageable. In fact there are many units where you can now kill more than one elk.
I don' t believe it is because they are stomping into the woods with inferior weapons, it is because we are largely stomping in with inferior skills.
I know I have lost some edge in the last several years because I just don' t shoot as much.
I think DOW calls what we are talking about " Method of Take" . And as long as you are flinging a stick, or loading from the front, and need to be closer than 100 yards to an animal that can smell, hear and sometimes see better than we can, I call that pretty darn primitive.