I have been intrested in muzzleloading guns since I was a child watching Davy Crockett and Daniel Boon shoot them on television. In 1970 a Friend of mine had built one and loaned me his Dixie Gun Works catalog. For $35.00 plus shipping I ordered a plinker percusion kit. A week or so later it arrived, What I got was a lock, a maple board, and a 48 inch 30 caliber smooth bore barrel, trigger, trigger guard, butplate, underrib, two thimbles, and a set of plain sights. In those days I had very few tools but a friend bandsawed the roufh shape of a stock. From there with an electric drill, a wood rasp and a half inch wood chisel, I made it all work. It took me six months but when I finished it I ooaded it and it shot. I proudly displayed it on the livingroom wall and tookit out to the country to shoot on ocasion.

I had never considered a muzzleloader to be a serious hunting tool but Georgia was starting to hold primitave weapons hunts on several WMAs and Some of my friends were going and had told me how much fun they were having. In 1976 I bought myself a CVA Kentucky rifle kit 45 cal. Paid $59.95 . That November I went to a managed P.W hunt and killed a nice 7 pointer. The following year I took a nice doe. As the years started to go by I found myself taking my frontloader during the regular season and using carterage guns less.

About 1980 I ordereed a cva Big Bore Mountain rifle in 54 caliber. I killed a good nunber of deer and a wild boar with it. In 1985 I killed a nice 10 point buck with it. By now it was a rare ocasion if I used a conventenal deer rifle.

In 1989 I ordered a Hatfield Flintlock in 50 caliber. I had a lot of problems with hang-fires and mis-fires and several missed deer that year. I did manage to shoot a nice doe toward the end of the season with it. I got rid of the rifle and ordered another Hatfield in percussion.

It always nagged at me that I had not masrered the filnter. In 1993 I ordered a flint lock to convert an old percussion rifle to flint. I took it to the woods and killed nice spike with it but still had problems with mis-fires and hang-fires missed several deer.

I started using natural flints that were knapped and began to have better ignition and more success with my hunting. Since 1999 I have hunted pretty much exclusive with flint rifles. One exception, I ordered a 1874 sharps in 45-70 and killed a 6 point buck but it just didn't do much for me so i put it back in the cabinet and started hunting with flintlocks again.

Well, that's my story. what's yours? Why hunt with muzzleloaders?