I definately think you and your buddies should try muzzleloading. If you' re like me you' ll find it highly addictive. One thing I really like about hunting with a muzzleloader is that it gives me two extra seasons to hunt outside of the two shotgun seasons. Muzzleloaders are also allowed in Iowa during any gun season as well. I' ve always hunted the early ML season, and I really enjoy it a lot. It' s not so cold, the leaves on the trees are just starting to turn, there is still a lot of active non-deer wildlife (last year I had a raccoon walk up so close I could have reached out and touched it), and the woods are peaceful and quiet. The only shots you hear are the occasional distant waterfoul hunters or a distant ML report. During the ML seasons the concentration of hunters is low so you don' t have to worry so much about someone else moving into your line of fire, and the pressure on the deer is low as during Early season the only hunters that have had a crack at them are the bow hunters, and the bowhunters don' t rile the deer up too much.

I also find I greatly enjoy spending time at the range experimenting and working on the " perfect" load. It' s also fun when you are dialed in well enough that you' re outshooting many of the centerfire guys. Nothing like the sound of a ML going off to break up the monotonous tone at the range, too. Crack, crack...BOOOOOM!

Get a ML if only to try it out for one season. If you don' t like it I' m sure you won' t have any trouble selling it.

Mike