ORIGINAL: sabotloader
SWThomas
I have a couple of issues wwith your post...
I mean, the majority of us are shooting BH209 which isn't the cheapest powder by far
Do not think that is an accurate statement at all - I would be willing to wager that BH does not have much more than 10% of the market when it comes to ML powder sold across the nation.
have the possibility to take home a trophy animal, why skimp on the ammunition?
A very good theory but in realality again Hornady's market share of the ML bullet sales is so far beyond anybody elses it is really unbelievable. A survey completed 2 years ago indicated that Hornady XTP's controlled something greater than 60% of the bullets sold. It was in a Black Powder magazine - can not remeber the exact name - except that it is out of business now. Hey XTP's work and they work very well for a lot of people - not my choice the Hornady name is bigger than Speer and thier sales network is humungus....
I'm shooting a $650 rifle with a $200 scope on it, I'm not too concerned about $14 for 18 bullets/sabots.
But do you have any ideal how many $150 - $200 ML's are out there in the real world and they probably are not shooting BH or Barnes - far more of them than there is of us...
Shoot the Eskimos use 22's...
Actually, yes, I think that first statement is accurate. I wasn't commenting on the entire muzzleloading community. Just what I've seen on this forum and ModernMuzzleloaders. And pretty much every inline owning member on either site has at least tried BH209. If my use of the word "we" meant every muzzleloader owner in the world to you, then yes I was wrong.
I don't doubt for a minute that there's a whole lot of people who shoot Hornaday XTP's. They're cheap and they kill game. Some people go with the bare minimum it takes to get the job done and what will make the smallest dent in their wallet. Nothing at all wrong with that. I just choose not to.
Yes, yes I do have a good idea of how many $150 - $200 muzzleloaders are out there. I don't have the figures but I have a pretty good idea. I know quite a few people who have the lower end TC's and the Remington Genesis' and the lower end CVA's. That's great and I'm glad they like their guns. I'm not saying anything bad about them. And a lot of people don't research things like you and I. They just go with the powder and bullets that daddy went with or whatever they have available to them. Again, nothing wrong with that. I just have this habit of researching things to the point of obsession whenever I take on a hobby. And through my research I find what (in my opinion based on research) the best products are. That's why I own and use what I do.
Again these are all just my opinions. A lot of you gentlemen will forget more about muzzleloaders than I'll probably ever learn. That's why I like hanging out here and trying to absorb as much of your expertise as I can.