My dad started me hunting in 1947 with a $20 H & R Topper 16 guage single shot. He and my uncle would give us one shell and if we missed a rabbit or quail we didn't get another shell until the next hunt. It was a great lesson on patience and shot shot choice. Over the years I moved on to an A-5 Browning and others and when deer populations in Georgia increased to a huntable levels I used bolt action rifles for many years before going to a Ruger No. 1 in 300 Weatherby. Like a lot of you, I had become a shooter and not a hunter. In 1999 I made the move to muzzleloaders and gave my kids my CF's. It was a great decision and now I shoot nothing but ML's for large and small game. I welcomed the challenge and I spend far more time on the range. tinkering with my equipment and loads and hunting than I ever did with CF's. My early trainng has paid off big time and in the last 6 years I've not needed a second shot for anything I shot.